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Readers' Reviews

ALICE COOPER
School's Out (Warner Bros.)

It's here! It's finally here...! THE (new) PUNK ANTHEM!!! "Glory Hallelujah" used to do it for grammar school, hence "School's Out". "The Jets" used to do it for high school, hence "Gutter Cats vs. The Jets". College students never had anything so good 'cause of too many peace freaks, except for a handful of bomb-throwing radicals — well, now they can claim "My Stars" (highly explosive). "Luney Tune" will replace "They're coming to Take Me Away" for you mental patients out there. In short, if you have a disruptive bone in your body there's something here for you. Children, Adolescents, Radicals and Maniacs are all potential J.D.'s. ALL PUNKS QUALIFY! Oh, I forgot, lechers of both gender will get a charge out of it too (i.e.-"Blue Turk")... well, the packaging might turn you on... at any rate, it's useful. Ya get yer moneysworth with Alice.

Basic rock n roll: scorching, ornery, loud, offensive, stupid, sophisticated, loud, bad, glorious, gutsy, nasty, loud, dirty, raunchy, repulsive, driving, LOUD! Loud, yes, but always musical. Oh yeah, and humor... "Alma Mater", the ultimate sentimental put-on (I'd love to unleash them on an unsuspecting Love Story).

Alice at his vocal best here. He gets an A+ for guttural noises on "Public Animal". Turning into a werewolf, probably. Groveling on the floor, probably. Drunk as a skunk, definitely!

Come on now, is the stage show really the only thing to Alice Cooper? Is it all gimmick? OF COURSE NOT! You love and peace people (formerly flower children) would like to dismiss it as merely that. But I wouldn't care if there were no theatrics to go with School's Out in the concert hall. Just hearing this thing LIVE should incite a riot. If the local deejays had their ears open, they'd ban this thing for its sick, screwball philosophy. Everyone knows that banned records are always the BEST. And this one will distort thousands of young minds. But what else is there to being teenage but being deranged???? - LONG LIVE THE MUTANT! LONG LIVE ALICE COOPER!

Linda Danne - Long Island City, N.Y.