Killer (Expanded & Remastered)

Alice Cooper

Released on 1/11/1971 by Rhino - Warner Records
Main artists: Alice Cooper
Genre: Hardrock

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Language available : english

After the success on their Love It to Death album and its hit single "I'm Eighteen," Alice Cooper seemed poised to make a giant leap to the head of the hard rock class. Killer delivers on the promise and then some as it offers moments of sweaty rock & roll brilliance, oddball horror ballads, and garage rock freak outs, all wrapped up in a glammy, sleazy package. Working again with producer Bob Ezrin, the band craft a sound that's powerful and lithe with guitars that slash and snake around each other, drums and bass that provide a solid foundation but also aren't short on melody and hooks, and of course Alice Cooper's one of a kind vocals. Whether he's strutting, crooning, or going slowly insane, his voice is like the character in a movie you can't take your eyes off for a second because you might miss a small gesture or look that will shock and surprise. The one-two punch of "Under My Wheels" and "Be My Lover" is one of the great album operners of all time, both songs taking classic rock & roll tropes and giving them a evil twist with romping horns, doo wop background vocals and the kind of libertine lyrics that are guaranteed to drive parents crazy. After this, the album takes off in a variety of directions including the horror prog ballad "Dead Babies," the raucous rockers "You Drive Me Nervous" and "Yeah Yeah Yeah" that come across like Steppenwolf tracks made by real bikers, the Western gunfighter ballad "Desperado" -- which juxtaposes some lovely orchestrated strings against Cooper's croaking vocals -- and the oddly rollicking title track where Cooper does a convincing carnival barker imitation while guitarists Mike Bruce and Glen Buxton get a chance to unwind and kick up some dust. Each and every track is handled with the same kind of unbridled glee that lets the listener know the band is having a blast; it's hard not to be swept along for the ride. The album's centerpiece "Halo of Flies" is a stunning work of rock & roll that encompasses the gutter freak psych of the band's earliest work, the expansive scope of prog rock, bits of the Sound of Music, martial drum solos, very stoned blues riffing, and Cooper's alternately pleading and withering vocals. It's the work of a band who can barely control all the ideas flowing out of them, yet somehow manage to corral their energy and creativity into something epic and unique. Indeed, there was no other group quite like Alice Cooper operating in 1971 and Killer is the moment where they put all the pieces together and began to soar.

© Tim Sendra /TiVo

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Killer (Expanded & Remastered)

Alice Cooper

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Under My Wheels (2023 Remaster)

00:02:54

Michael Bruce, Guitar, Keyboards, Writer - Glen Buxton, Guitar - Dennis Dunaway, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Neal Smith, Drums, Background Vocals - Rick Derringer, Guitar - Bob Ezrin, Producer, Arranger, Keyboards, Writer - Alice Cooper, Lead Vocals, MainArtist - Brian Christian, Audio Recording Engineer - Joe Lopes, AssistantEngineer - Randy King, MasteringEngineer - JACK RICHARDSON, ExecutiveProducer

Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 2023 Warner Records Inc., a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. ℗ 1971, 2022 Warner Records Inc., a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.

Be My Lover (2023 Remaster)