THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF ALICE COOPER: CD Box Set

By: Steve Biodrowski
Date: Thursday, October 28, 1999

As we roll toward the millennium, our sensibilities have become so jaded that attempts to shock are no longer easily effective. In fact, they have developed a de rigueur air that is exactly the opposite of shocking: a true shock should be unexpected, but what is more expected from rock stars today than outrageous behavior? There's something almost desperate about Marilyn Manson's public personaa calculated quality that pushes all the appropriate buttons, but the overall effect is manufactured and artificial. Consequently, the appearance of this four-CD box set is a welcome reminder of a time when rock-n-roll truly seemed dangerous.

Alice Cooper, in the early days with the original Alice Cooper Group, was a strange paradox, both obviously derivative and genuinely innovative. A song like 'I'm Eighteen' was clearly an Americanized version of the sensibility previously expressed in The Who's 'My Generation,' yet other songs like 'Dead Babies' and 'I Love the Dead' took pop music in a direction it had never dared to go beforeinto the depths of horror. Sure, there might have been novelty songs like 'The Monster Mash,' but no one had ever been genuinely frightening to such a degree. On top of that, the live Cooper show was a gaudy, elaborate affair, filled not just with lights and fog machines but with staged antics that included, from tour to tour, a gallows, a guillotine, and an electric chair.

By the mid-'70s, the original group split up over internal tensions. The other members (Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Glenn Buxton, and Neil Smith) were resentful of Alice's place in the spotlight, and Alice wanted to continue (and even expand on) the outrageous theatrics, while the band wanted to focus more on the music. Since his first solo effort in 1975, WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE, Cooper has worked with a variety of back up musicians to create a continuing series of albums that keep the old magic alive.

This box set attempts to encapsulate Cooper's entire career, from the early days before he adopted his nom de plume (his real name was Vincent Furnier, before he finally changed it legally) up until his most recent releases, THE LAST TEMPTATION and A FISTFUL OF ALICE. Inevitably, considering the amount of material to be covered, the result is both wonderfully exciting and occasionally disappointing. As with The Who's similar four-CD retrospective, MAXIMUM R&B, this is a compromised effort that tries to supply all of the greatest hits for the casual fan while also intermixing lots of rare and unreleased tracks for the benefit of the hard-core aficionados.


Having used the word 'disappointing,' one should quickly clarify that there is little actually included here that could be considered disappointing; the word applies only to omissions that would be noticed by those who wanted to find their favorite vinyl album tracks remixed for CD. Certain periods of Cooper's career (especially the less commercial '80s efforts) are under-represented, and the song selection doesn't so much built to a climax and simply run out. But even if you already have all the official Cooper releases, you will be pleased to find an abundance of tracks previously unavailable (a demo version of 'He's Back' that is considerably different from the one ultimately released) or available only on other albums (the remake of 'Under My Wheels' from the movie THE DELCINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, PART II: THE METAL YEARS).

The sound quality is impressive for old-timers who have only heard the tracks on album or cassette. The only exceptions are some of the demo tracks, which (understandably) are not as polished, but the historical value, not to mention that energetic rush of creation often captured in early recordings, is more than enough to compensate.

The set also offers an opportunity to watch Cooper's growth as a songwriter. The early tracks (from when the band was variously called The Spiders or The Nazz) are fairly simple, '60s-style rock, fun in an almost nostalgic kind of way. The early days as Alice Cooper show a lot of cleverness, abetted by the musical identity supplied by the original Alice Cooper Group, but here credit needs to be shared with the other members, especially guitarist Michael Bruce, who wrote many of the memorable numbers (e.g., 'Be My Lover'). These tracks have good ideas, but they are often limited lyrically, depending on instrumental interludes to pad them out to full length. However, over the course of next two decades after the breakup with the original members, Cooper developed into a very competent craftsman in his own right. He has always relied on his collaborators (including oft-time producer Bob Ezrin) to flesh out his ideas musically, but lyrically and structurally he has developed to a point where is work truly does stand on its own merits, quite beside his notoriety. The old accusation that his fame depended solely on the horrific stage show, not on the songs, can no longer be taken seriously.

The box also include an 82-page booklet with an introduction by John Lydon (otherwise known as Johnny Rotten, of the Sex Pistols), a biography by Jeffrey Morgan, a selection of photos and album cover art, and various testimonials from those influenced by Cooper (including Rob Zombie, Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, Motorhead's Lemmy, and horror directors Wes Craven and John Carpenter). For those interested in the details, there are two lists of the songs in the set, the first containing credits, the second offering behind-the-scenes insights from those who worked on the songs. All this, plus the cool cover art, makes this a worthwhile package at a price tag of $59.99.