ALBUM REVIEW: Alice Cooper - School's Out

    In the previous year of 1971, Alice Cooper (and his band of the same name) had finally broken out into the mainstream. Their first two albums made little headway on their release, but with their third album Love It to Death, Cooper finally had a hit. Not only was the album given golden momentum off of "I'm Eighteen", but the entire project showed a reinvented Cooper, with an added theatrical element and glam rock hookiness to their tunes, and the result was a fairly kickass album - their following album Killer was even more-so, rocking even harder and being even better song-for-song. The result were career-defining, and the infamous nature of their shows did even more to put Alice Cooper on the map, and rightfully so. So, how do you follow up two excellent albums like that? Well, with a not-nearly-as-good one. School's Out has its moments, including a surprising influence from jazz rock at points, but it can only really hope to live up to its two predecessors in most ways.

    Cooper has always been one for his expansive tunes and theatrics (at least for as long as I can remember), and frankly moments like "Dead Babies" or "Ballad of Dwight Fry" can speak for themselves in terms of quality. It's funny, though, because School's Out is arguably the most cinematic of the Cooper albums up to this point - I'm hesitant to call this a concept album, but with its ingrained themes of rebellion and school throughout, it leans on the line. Why is it ironic? For as excellent as Cooper's theatrics typically are, some of the album is incredibly weak on actual quality, even extending to the Top 10 single of the same name for the album. "School's Out" has a killer riff, yeah, but there isn't much beneath that surface depth - this ain't no "I'm Eighteen" or "Under My Wheels", and that's for damn sure. Something about it, and certainly other moments on the album, is nothing short of juvenile, and it really does subtract from the album. Generally, the first half is a lot weaker, too, with a moment like "Luney Tunes" never even really getting off the ground to crash in the first place. Even some decent moments like "Gutter Cat vs. The Jets" suffers from this (not to mention that it's followed by the pseudo-intermission of the somewhat lacking "Street Fight").

     Luckily, a good amount of the second half is decent enough to make up for what is largely a disappointing first half that can only dream of living up to the height - well, the second half and the jazzy "Blue Turk", probably the album's most unique and creative moment - heck, I'd argue it's creative for Cooper even. Can't say I've heard jazz rock on any of his albums, and it being close to the greatest song here is a nice bonus. Immediately from "My Stars", it's clear that the second half is what I proper expected from Alice Cooper - a damn good time. These songs fit the classic Cooper mold far better, albeit there's still a fresh influence of show tunes and jazzy moments throughout which, again, is not necessarily expected from Cooper. They aren't all like this, as a song like "Public Animal #9" is not only thoroughly kick-ass, but is straight-through glam rock. A song like the climatic "Grande Finale" that closes the album reminds me of, and I'm completely serious in this assessment, Chicago just a little bit. Overall, this second half makes up for the first half by just mostly being a very solid rockin' time, and for also having a new style from Cooper.

    Cooper is a very talented and fascinating figure in music, and he never disappoints in the department of delivering an experience with his albums. School's Out isn't necessarily a failure, but it is a disappointment in comparison to what immediately preceded it - while I haven't heard Billion Dollar Babies, I suspect it's also weaker that what would follow. While the band certainly doesn't fail on delivering some damn-good rock style, his macabre sound and style is not one suited for more juvenile subjects - give me the loony bin, not luney tunes.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to School's Out.