alice cooper Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Alice Cooper “Love It to Death”

sfilzen — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 19:19:09 +0000

Alice Cooper “Love It to Death” 1971. Today’s pull for the track “I’m Eighteen” because my kid turns 18 today. Hard rocking glam rock, Love It to Death is Alice Cooper’s third studio LP. It’s considered among the vanguard of hard rock/metal of the 70’s and inspired some of the heavy hitters of the 70’s punk scene including Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols (he auditioned for the Pistols by performing “Eighteen” and mimicking Cooper’s delivery), Johnny Ramone of the Ramones (he wrote his first song based on “Eighteen’s” chords) and Pat Smear of the Germs (Smear reportedly was inspired to start playing guitar after listening to Love It to Death). The record hit #35 in the US and went to #28 in the UK. The first single, “I’m Eighteen,” went to #21 in the US, making it the band’s first top 40 hit and its lasting influence has it included in many best-of all time lists. The second single released was “Caught in a Dream,” the album’s opener. A big riff-filled rocker, it squeaked into the top 100 at #94 in the US. Besides those tracks, I also dig “Hallowed Be My Name,” another hard rocker, “Black Juju,” an evil-tinged psych-rocker, and the glammy “Is It My Body.” One of the kiddo’s belated birthday presents is to see Alice Cooper perform here in Milwaukee in May.

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Various Artists “Zapped”

sfilzen — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 16:37:48 +0000

Various Artists “Zapped” 1970. Today, December 21st, is Frank Zappa’s birthday (b. 1940 d. 1993). Not being much of a Zappa fan (and therefore not having much in the way of Zappa vinyl), today I’m spinning this Zappa-level weird compilation record issued by Zappa’s Bizarre and Straight Records and distributed by Warner Bros. via mail order for its Loss Leaders release series. Avant-garde to the nth degree, the record has samplings from artists like Alice Cooper (“Titanic Overture” and “Refrigerator Heaven”), Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band (“The Blimp” and “Old Fart at Play”), The GTO’s (“Circular Circulation (Do Me In Once and I’ll Be Sad, Do Me In Twice and I’ll Know Better)”) and two track from Zappa himself, one as The Mothers of Invention (“Holiday in Berlin, Full Blown”) and another sung by Captain Beefheart (“Willie the Pimp”).

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Alice Cooper “Love It To Death”

sfilzen — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 17:26:00 +0000

Alice Cooper “Love It To Death” 1971. Gatefold, released by Warner Bros. Why this for today’s pull from the vault? It’s Alice Cooper’s (Vincent Damon Furnier) birthday and I chose this album in particular because it is only one of two in our collection and 1971 is the year of my birth.

“Love It To Death” was Alice Cooper’s third album release, marking the band’s first real success (with the hit single “I’m Eighteen”) and the record reached #35 on the Billboard charts. I’ve never listened to Alice Cooper much as the band always struck me as metal-tinged shock-rock. Sadly I was only seeing the book for its cover. Reviewing “Love It To Death,” I’m struck by the similarities to late 60’s British rock like T. Rex. I also hear the influences of surf and psychedelia in the album’s rhythm and chord progressions. In summary, far more listenable than I had imagined – which should not be a surprise given the enormous influence Alice Cooper has had on musicians for 40+ years.

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