ALICE COOPER RUINED MY BIRTHDAY - by Scott Carr

OK, that may sound a little harsh but it is 100% true. On my birthday in 1989 Alice released an album that I think is the worst thing he ever put down on tape. The aptly titled Trash was released twenty seven years ago today but my disappointment in this record and Alice are still as vivid as yesterday.

It's exciting when you learn that one of your favorite bands or artists are gonna release a record on "your" day. I remember in 1980 AC/DC released their career defining Back In Black album on my birthday. While it took me awhile to get used to singer Brian Johnson as the new voice of AC/DC, there was no denying that they had made a great record.  Also in 1980 Kiss made their debut performance at The Palladium in NYC with drummer Eric Carr, who had replaced the recently departed Peter Criss. Out of all the days in the year two of my favorite bands picked my birthday for these events. I felt like the coolest kid on the block.

Fast forward nine years and I am still at an age when birthdays are still exciting and seem really important. I had heard that Alice Cooper was gonna be releasing his new album on July 25th, so I knew my birthday would include a trip to the local mall to pick up his new record. I woke up bright and early on that birthday morning and could only think of one thing, I gotta get to the mall and get the new Alice Cooper record. Everything else could wait but I had to get this record. So I headed to the mall and was waiting patiently for National Record Mart to open. Once the store open I dashed in and grabbed the new Cooper record. I might add that I was the only one waiting in line but my enthusiasm for this record was like I was racing to get the last copy.

Alice had semi-retired after the release of his 1983 album DaDa. Alice was in bad shape during that time, struggling with alcohol & drug addiction and he decided to step away for a few years and get clean. Alice resurfaced in 1986 with the album Constrictor and quickly followed it up with 1987's Raise Your Fist and Yell. Both records were supported with very successful tours. Alice was healthy again and his shows during this time are considered some of his best. Alice had something to prove and you could tell he was ready to reclaim his title "the king of shock rock." I saw Alice in 1986 on the "Nightmare Returns" tour and I still consider it one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell were both solid records but they didn't burn up the charts. Alice's concerts were sell-outs but that had not translated to record sales.

I liked the direction had gone with Raise Your Fist and Yell, it was a little more heavy metal than Alice had ever been but it worked. I had planned on getting more of the same with Trash but that was not the case. I became a little concerned when I saw the album was produced by Desmond Child. Desmond was credited with turning Kiss into a disco band. Desmond had co-wrote "I Was Made For Loving You" on Kiss' 1979 album Dynasty. Of course Desmond would go on to work with many other artists including Aerosmith, Joan Jett and Bon Jovi. Desmond had become known for his slick production work, so I was a little nervous at what his collaboration with Alice would bring.

When I got the record home and put it on the turntable I knew instantly that this was a different Alice than the one that had made Raise Your Fist and Yell. The production was very slick and big. The opening track "Poison" was pretty good but had a more commercial sound than anything in Alice's catalog. The album is loaded with special guests including Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, and Steve Luckather among others. It felt like Desmond had called in a bunch of favors on this record. Desmond co-wrote almost every song on Trash and every song felt like it was trying to be a hit. The weirdest thing that struck me about Trash was the New Jersey twang that Alice had developed in his vocal delivery. I was like what the hell is wrong with Alice's voice. I was underwhelmed with the entire record and my birthday was ruined. How could Alice let me down on my birthday.......I was crushed.

The irony of all this is, Trash went on to be one of Alice's biggest records and  a worldwide success. It was his first platinum record in many years and the videos from the record were staples on MTV. So the direction Alice chose with Trash connected with a lot of people but not with this birthday boy.

All these years later I have still not warmed up to this record. I usually pull it out on my birthday to give it a spin but it still falls flat for me. Alice redeemed himself in my eyes with his next record, Hey Stoopid, a much better record all around. Alice has released some great records since Trash but none have been on my birthday. The only way I can see Alice making all things right with me is making a new album with all original surviving Alice Cooper Group members and releasing it on my birthday.

If that doesn't happen......I still have Back In Black!

I posted some videos below so you can decide for yourself.

Also for some further Alice Cooper reading you can check out my review of Muscle of Love here

Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH  bands Radio Tramps andReturning April.  Scott is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.

Alice Cooper's official music video for 'Poison'. Click to listen to Alice Cooper on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/ACooperSpot?IQid=ACooperP As featured on Classicks.

Alice Cooper's official music video for 'House Of Fire'. Click to listen to Alice Cooper on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/ACooperSpot?IQid=ACooperHOF As featured on Classicks.

Alice Cooper with his hit from the late 80's "Bed Of Nails".

Music video by Alice Cooper performing Only My Heart Talkin'. (C) 1990 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

This Month In Music History - Alice Cooper: Muscle of Love by Scott Carr

 

November, 20, 1973 - Alice Cooper: "Muscle of Love" is released.

"The album in the plain brown, slightly greasy wrapper"

Muscle of Love is the seventh and final album from the original Alice Cooper Group. It was released on November 20th, 1973 and was the follow up to the hugely successful Billion Dollar Babies album which was released in February of the same year. Muscle of Love was considered a failure upon it's release as it peaked at No.10 on the Billboard charts and only attained gold status whereas Billion Dollar Babies had made it to the No.1 position on the charts and sold in excess of a million copies.

Muscle of Love was an attempt by the band to make a straight ahead rock and roll record without all the trappings and theatrics that they had so carefully crafted with their previous albums. Muscle of Love was the bands first album to not be produced by Bob Ezrin since their breakthrough 1971 album Love It To Death. It was originallly reported that Ezrin dropped out of the project because of an illness but later reports indicated that Ezrin was at odds with the band.....mainly guitarist and chief songwriter Michael Bruce.....over the direction the album was taking. It was decided that Jack Richardson and Jack Douglas would co-produce the record in Ezrin's absence. The result is a solid collection of songs that have aged well. Over the years Muscle of Love has become a fan favorite and many feel it is right in line with all the other Cooper classics of the day. Two singles were pulled from the record..."Teenage Lament '74" and the title track....but neither track managed to make much of a dent on the singles chart. Other highlights on the album include "Working Up A Sweat", "Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo)", "Never Been Sold Before", "Hard Hearted Alice" and "The Man With the Golden Gun". "Man With the Golden Gun" was originally intended for the soundtrack of the James Bond film of the same name but the band turned the song in too late and the song was not used in the film......so the band decided to include on their album. 

The packaging of the album is unique as it came in a shallow corrugated cardboard carton with a stain intentionally printed along the bottom of the carton. Many of the records were returned by retailers because they thought the cartons had been damaged in shipment....so it's actually pretty tough to find vinyl copies of this album that don't have a "cut-out" notch on one of the corners that indicates it as a return. 

This album marks the last time the original Alice Cooper Group would record together as it was decided that Alice Cooper (the group) and Alice Cooper (the man) needed a break from each other. Alice would release his first album as a solo artist in 1975....with his very successful Welcome To My Nightmare. It was originally thought that the group would reunite for another record after Alice finished up with Welcome To My Nightmare....but this never happened and three of the original Alice Cooper Group members formed the band Billion Dollar Babies and released an album entitled "Battle Axe" without Alice. "Battle Axe" was a bomb and the band disappeared soon after.....Alice would continue on with his solo career and is still releasing new music and touring to this day.

In 2011 The Alice Cooper Group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and later that year the surviving members of the original Alice Cooper Group joined Alice in the studio for the first time since the Muscle of Love record and they contributed to a few songs on his Welcome 2 My Nightmare album. Sadly Alice Cooper guitarist Glen Buxton passed away in 1997...so a full Alice Cooper Group reunion wasn't in the cards.

In recent years Alice has been performing the title track from Muscle of Love in concert.....which is a nice tip of the hat to an album that many have forgot about. If you are an Alice fan.....I'm sure you have heard this record before but if not....I highly recommend that you give it a listen. 

      

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This video, for the purpose of music history and education, is a tribute to the Alice Cooper band's career in the '60s and '70s. In 2011 they were deservedly inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. "Muscle Of Love" was released on their same-titled album in 1973.

Alice Cooper performs at the 2012 Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. URL link to all videos captured at this event: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8578EB48831B6624

Switched live, shot by us & never edited videos @ U.S.Cellular Pavilion,NH USA Copyright Disclaimer.Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.