Alice Cooper - School's Out

Alice's Best

Alice's best and most consistent album. The hit title track only scratches the surface, the rest hold up to that standard. I would speculate that the reason only the hit single appears on Alice's best of's is that this album is itself a best of, and should appear alongside any Greatest Hits that might be in your collection.

If you're downloading mp3s, the only track I'd leave behind would be the Grand Finale. It's an instrumental summary of all the songs on the album suited for filling out the last track on the album without breaking the theme of the album.

I'd download the other eight tracks en masse but if you're looking to test the water with a few tracks start with Blue Turk, Luney Tune, and Gutter Cat. Follow up with My Stars and round out with the remaining tracks. Street Fight isn't a song per se, but Gutter Cat just doesn't sound complete without it. August 11, 2008

classic Alice

Most people probably want School's Out because of the popular title song, but little do most people realize this is one of Cooper's most consistent albums. The best songs on the album are the best songs he ever made, such as "My Stars", which sounds like some kind of crazy drug trip, "Luney Tune" with its classic glam rock style that Alice was exceptionally good at (and a really good pleasant middle section along with some *fantastic* guitar playing), and "Alma Mater", which sounds like something Paul McCartney was doing around the time Let It Be was made. Just listen to the way Alice's vocals sound!

"Grande Finale" reminds me of James Bond, someone I was never really a fan of (or the movies) but a great instrumental nonetheless. It's probably his best album, but then again, he had a few other really good albums in the early 70's as well.
July 12, 2008

Good Songwriting

Alice Cooper's dramatic side really comes to the fore in 1972's School's Out. But, aside from the title track, which might just be Cooper's most famous effort, this album is largely unplayed on classic rock radio.

"Luney Tune" is classic Cooper, for certain. The band combines strong instrumental work and good vocals with interesting melodies to really create a great sound, while "Gutter Cat vs. The Jets" has an eerie, almost Eastern vibe, in that Zeppelin-esque way, and strikes the most obvious comparisons with West Side Story. "Blue Turk," with its jazzy feel, is another album highlight, and it really showcases the varied talents of the band, as they pull off different styles with ease.

And that's just the first half. The second half of the album is knockout track after knockout track, with "My Stars," "Public Animal #9," and "Alma Mater," which really carry the second half of the album and make this a great record. "Grande Finale" is a bit weak, as a closer, but after three standout tracks, it's forgivable.

In truth, the first time I heard this album, front to back, I wasn't too crazy about it. I found it a little too gimmicky, and relatively weak, compared to the Alice Cooper group's other big albums (the masterpiece Love It to Death, the near masterpiece Killer, and the also strong Billion Dollar Babies). I still find it the weakest of these "big four," but it isn't weak, overall. The quality of the musicianship, performance, and songwriting has won me over on this one. February 26, 2008

Classic Cooper

I love the West Side Story connection in the lyrics of the songs from SCHOOL'S OUT. This is classic material from one of the best. January 10, 2008

Demented and wonderful!

This is a clever album. You gotta give ACG credit for that much. It's also a very good album. I assume you've heard the hard-rock hit title track, but that's only one of the album's many fantastic songs - others include the bombastic rockers "Luney Tune" and "My Stars" (love the guitar solo!), as well as the sinister cabaret of "Blue Turk". And there are a lot of little things that add to the album's demented charm, like the incorporation of the West Side Story Jets theme ("Gutter Cat vs. the Jets"), a screwy children's choir on the title track; and horns and strings on "Grand Finale" (which also uses the Jets; theme), "Blue Turk", "Luney Tune" and "My Stars". Make no mistake, it's way over-the-top, but in a good way. Oh yeah, there's supposed to be a concept to this thingy too, about a kid's misadventures at school or something. There are some bits that irk me, like the sound collage "Street Fight", the hideous "Alma Mater", and "Public Animal #9", but this could very well be their best after Killer. September 25, 2007

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