School's Out

Sounds like an album for children that want to drop out of primary school. The book describes it as "a graphic riot of stabbing riffs and seditious slogans", but I'm struggling to see where they found them.

With bangers like “Poison” and the heavvvy black eyeliner, I thought Alice Cooper was gonna be way harder core than this corny shit.

Alice Cooper has never really been my thing, so I wasn't expecting much from *School's Out*. However, I was happy to give it a couple of listens today and see whether it could change my opinion. I was actually quite surprised by this album. I was expecting something much heavier, full of generic American hard rock, but it's far more glam rock than I anticipated. There's a theatrical, almost playful feel to the music, although at times it crosses the line into being rather corny and naff. What surprised me most was how much I enjoyed some of the musicianship. "Blue Turk" is a great song, with a jazzy, bluesy sound that really reminded me of The Doors. I wasn't expecting anything like that from Alice Cooper, and it was easily one of the highlights. "My Stars" was another pleasant surprise, with some excellent musical arrangements. Unfortunately, the album is quite inconsistent. Some of the songs feel a bit immature, and there's a lot of theatrical nonsense that doesn't really work for me. Tracks like "Street Fight" and "Gutter Cat vs. the Jets" are particularly corny and don't offer much musically. I appreciate that the theatrical side is part of Alice Cooper's appeal, but it's not something I particularly enjoy. "School's Out" is obviously the iconic track here, and it's a great rock anthem, but I was surprised to find that I actually preferred several of the other songs on the album. Overall, *School's Out* was better than I expected. It's not an album I'll be coming back to, and there's still too much silliness for my taste, but it has certainly changed my perception of Alice Cooper. There's more variety and musical talent here than I had given him credit for. Not really my thing, but an interesting listen nonetheless. Favourite tracks: "Blue Turk" and "My Stars" were the real surprises and probably my favourites. "School's Out" is obviously a classic, but I enjoyed these two even more. Least favourite tracks: "Gutter Cat vs. the Jets" and "Street Fight". Both far too corny and theatrical for my taste. A bit naff, really. Album artwork: I love the album cover. Easily one of the best things about the record.

Ok album. Always thought Alice Cooper was one of the good guys so happy to get the chance to listen to this. The music itself is fairly standard rock.

More varied and better than the other Alice Cooper album I got so far, but didn’t blow me away. Bonus points for a little bit of musical theatre thrown in.

I liked some aspects of it, but I generally don't like musicals and much of this sounds like it was written for one.

I own and love the song School's Out. I play it every year on my last day of work. This was an odd album. There was a West Side Story theme and a Western motif in it. It was nice and short though!

More classically “glam” sounding than I was anticipating, which was a good thing Not something that I would be interested in re-listening to much, but a good album

The majority of my knowledge about Alice cooper comes from Wayne’s world. This should’ve been an indicator of how cheesy this is

It's a fun, fine album - it'd be 3.5/5 if this gnerator would allow for that. Always love a bit of Alice Cooper but I prefer his 80s music. Still solid stuff tho. School's Out was my fav song of the album. Alma Mater (my fav first listen) and My Stars were my other higlights

The year is 2007. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock hits the shelves and a little young me picks up his plastic guitar with conspicuously colored buttons. "School's Out" is the only song I would listen to. I give it a 3/5 for Guitar Hero III.

Very funny to hear a song and realise that’s what your parents were referencing a million times. Feel like that will be King Curtis for my kids. Apart from the catchy one, solid rock but nothing particularly special. Also love the random west side story bit. Specific rating - 4.1 Fav song - school’s out Least fav- Grande finale

Fun to listen to School's Out when I'm back at my old school (university). I really like the song School's Out but the rest of the album is no where near as good (some pretty bad in fact). Favourite song: School's Out Least: Street Fight

A few gems here

It has great songs here, but i won't be listening to the album again.

Repeat listen

What a fun case of a song that's improved by the context of the album. The quintessential song for cheeky school kids (save Another Brick in the Wall) is revealed to be intentionally a cheeky song for school kids as later tracks show that the album is mostly the overly aggressive bluster of youth. The earnest and unsure spoken parts of Alma Mater laid bare the mindset of the album's protagonist and broke my heart a little. I am always underestimating Alice Cooper and this album showed it is to my detriment.

сначала думал даже поставить 3, но потом понравились неожиданно отдельные непопсовые песни, например alma mater - итого 3.5

I always expect Alice Cooper to rock harder than he does. But I guess this is the hardest you're gonna find on the golf course? Getting Alice Cooper playing standards disguised as hard rock the day before Halloween isn't lost on me either. The horns (and ONLY the horns) on Blue Turk are great though. One star for them alone.

Очень средне, ни рыба ни мясо. Ничего особенно не запомнилось с него

School’s Out School’s Out is a glammy banger, but after not being particularly enamoured by Billion Dollar Babies I didn’t have much expectation beyond that. Gutter Cat vs the Jets is obviously a nod to West Side Story, but it's shit. And it typifies of much of the album - whether it’s a pastiche, a piss take or a tribute it reveals that as much as I like Alice Cooper himself, they really are just a musical theatre band with outsized visuals who occasionally make a banger like Schools out of No More Mr Nice Guy, but mainly trade in pretty anaemic and limited stagey glam-rock. There is really very little that stands out beyond the title track, the only other song I kind of liked was Alma Mater with its very Beatles-esque harmonies and shifting sections. There’s not really anything to come back to so it's a 2. 🏫🏫 Playlist submission: School’s Out

Svag 3a.

Schools out är en banger men resten är en knapp 3a

Ah de e nice! Hyllar alltid spooky sound. Rätt långt ifrån mästerverket billion dollar Baby dock. Svag fyra

Schools out – en favorit från CDn Absolute Rock Classics 2

I am torn on this one. I like Alice Cooper and this was not what I expected. It was quite different. I liked the fact that it was different. I liked the versatility it showed. There were some interesting sounds and a bit of fun. But with all that being said I just didn’t think the songs in this album were that strong or impressive.

I’ve always loved Alice Cooper. He inspired so much of the music that came after, even if only tangentially. Alice Cooper certainly has his schtick but he owns it and does it very well. Yes it’s campy and corny sometimes but it’s fun. And that’s all it is meant to be. And he was a great performer. Still is really and he’s got to be mid 70s now. I don’t remember when I first heard this album but I know it was one of the first records I listened to that was different from what my parents played all the time. Must have been like 5th grade or so, so it had been around for like 25 years already at that point but I still loved it. I love the bass on this record. Is this a five star album? I don’t think so but I’m giving it a solid 4.25/5

A bit, dare I say, juvenile and dated in its portrayal of rebellious youth. Never realised how weird and ranging this album is. Feels more like a rock opera concept album than anything else. Feels a bit too musical theatre for my liking. Some great tracks but a bit meandering as an album.

School’s out is a terribly juvenile song. Cringe even when you’re in high school. To my surprise, the album got a bit better after a few other dorky songs. All in all, it remained kitsch. No doubt Alice Cooper owns this, but it’s not for me.

un peut mid mais ca va

I was expecting this to be more of a hard 70s rock record like the title track, which is a quintessential tune packed with rebellious youth spirit. Instead, the album leans much more into art and glam rock. It features fantastic use of strings, horns, rock piano, and operatic vocal styles, with subtle jazz influences and echoes of Iggy and The Stooges scattered throughout. Throw in some great psychedelic vibes, and you get a surprisingly well-rounded rock album.

The origins of glam that lead to most of the popular 80’s rock are summed up right here. To be honest, it was more varied than I expected and not very shocking by today’s standards. It was fine but definitely of its time.

Wasn’t expecting Westside story references

eccentric theatre kid glam rock musical vibes

I didn’t know what to expect from this album not knowing much of Alice Cooper. This was just so uninspiring and i got bored real quickly.

Good solid rock album, didn't blow me out of the water. 5.9/10

I get a kick out of Alice Cooper. At the very least, he never takes himself too seriously. It’s all a show and it’s a really decent time. I can’t claim that this is brilliant or anything, but it’s better than most of the garbage pumped out by preening rock stars.

An interesting one with great production. Three-leaning-four!

I knew the titular track here, but wasn't really all that familiar with Alice Cooper's wider body of work. I usually like to write these notes straight after listening to an album, but for one reason and another I didn't and so listened again a few days later. Second time round I enjoyed it a bit more - Blue Turk (as others have commented, I also noted the Doors influence) and Grand Finale standing out, the latter a fitting closing track. Decent.

Imagine being in seventh grade when School’s Out (the song) hits the airwaves. Kids went crazy, parents hated it, and it got plenty of play every June for the next twenty years. And it was the only song from the album that got any radio time. Turns out Blue Turk is the top track, maybe a bit grinchish, didn’t know they had such range. It’s juvenile, I can see why the band may have a problem playing some of these songs live fifty years later. (2.9*s) Truly though Alice Cooper was a cross dressing female for a long time.

THE Alice Cooper album. If you don't like the man or the band, I bet you can't help but enjoy this one. It's got a lot going on with hard rock, blues, pop, country, big band, jazz, etc. "School's Out" is obviously the main event and a classic but the rest is great. I really like "Alma Mater"...a late Beatles vibe. Vincent Furnier shocked the world with his antics and pissed off the establishment...love it. And the dude is still going! A great record with a summer party time attitude. 3.55 stars for being such a Luney Tune.

Figured I'd get more shock jock glam rock out of Alice heading into School's Out. Title track is cited as his best/biggest song (kinda lame and not that great really) so I figured this one would be marginally better than Billion Dollar Babies. Low expectations were definitely exceeded as I was glad that he branched out a little bit more on this one. I felt like a got more diversity and some rockabilly influences on this one which were more palatable than anything I got on Billion Dollar Babies. Oddly enough, I might make the argument that School's Out is the worst song on the album somehow. Not that everything else is great, just that it was all a lot more listenable than most of his glam rock nonsense. School's Out is actually an OK album, but not for the reasons I would have expected. It's certainly one I would revisit over any of his other work which isn't a high bar to clear. I appreciate Alice Cooper for being a pop culture weirdo and sticking to it despite any naysayers. At one point I watched him sing Welcome To My Nightmare with The Muppets and loved it so he'll always have that feather in his cap. Otherwise I don't have other reasons to visit Alice and his dark wonderland. 2.51 stars

It’s fun. What’s there not to get. Unlike most of today’s music, these albums were written to create a great live performance. And these guys were getting a kick out of freaking out the hippies. We only get half the experience when we only get to hear the record.

Alice Cooper ken ik als een stevige rockband. Cue mijn verrassing toen er een nummer als Blue Turk voorbij kwam. Is dit geen jazz?? Sowieso is de rock op dit album niet perse van het standje TERING HARD, maar meer genuanceerd dan ik had verwacht van tevoren. Begrijp me niet verkeerd, de nummers die je verwacht van Alice Cooper die zijn er absoluut ook. Ik bedoel op My Stars word gewoon gerockt, zelfde voor Public Animal #9, maar dat zijn nummers die ik ook iets minder interessant vind. Al moet gezegd dat My Stars dan wel weer lekker klinkt en dat de stem van de zanger(Alice? ) wel erg lekker klinkt op meer rock nummers. Alles bij elkaar is dit best wel een vermakelijk rock album, met de meer jazzy nummers als Blue Turk en Grande Finale(Holy shit wat doet dat nummer zn naam eer aan) als absoluut hoogtepunt. De rock nummers daaromheen zijn vermakelijk, maar persoonlijk heb ik meer met de andere genres die gedaan worden. Wel is het album relatief kort, verveelt het door de vele wisselingen niet snel en word alles gewoon voldoende uitgevoerd. FAVO: Blue Turk, Grande finale

Maybe this is one of those albums where you just had to be there when it was first released, because it is honestly awful listening to it today. Milquetoast and uninteresting, not to mention the only thing of note is one of the most overplayed and annoying songs ever written. The second half is marginally more listenable, but doesn't make up for a really bad first impression

Middling, 2.8

Did I like this. No Would I listen to it again. No Was it as bad as I thought it would be. No 1.5 (amazingly)

(classic) art rock

Meh

Surprised how eclectic it was musically - really solid 4

This was significantly better than Billion Dollar Babies, to the point I'm surprised it's the same band within roughly the same time frame. I'm also confused by why people seem to like Billion Dollar Babies more? To me, this one had all the energy that that one lacked, as well as some much-needed variety in sound with songs like the jazzy Blue Turk, built off of the jazz standard with a similar name, Blue Rondo a la Turk. Pretty easy 7/10 on this one, vs. 4/10 on the other!

Fascinating album. Starts with the banger that we all know, then becomes something else entirely. I appreciate the experiment. Blue Turk was cool as hell

I don't know how to rate this. On one hand, this could've easily been a full length album of Rod Stewart-type hard rock; instead, Alice Cooper surprises you with tons of creativity and variety packed into a relatively short and cohesive runtime. It's a fun concept! On the other hand... Well, as much as I respect its idea and execution, there's very little on this album that actually grabbed me. Can't really say I'd come back to it. A high 2, but still a 2! :') Standouts: My Stars • Alma Mater

This is an extremely ambitious and weird album. I've seen Alice Cooper live, and this is a lot more in line with the creativity and skill I saw on display than Billion Dollar Babies was. Clearly, this was a creatively interesting effort that came after the smash success of BDB, right? Nah, BDB came after this. Guess I'm out of ideas!

This surprised me. I was only familiar with the title song, but there are some decent rock tunes on this album.

Much higher ratio of musical than I was expecting. Nice short varied album.

not really sure what i make of this album. the title track is.... well. i've heard it a lot. like, a LOT. and i'm still kind of a bit sick of it. but the rest, idk, it's not really offering me enough to make enduring that first track feel worth it? i do like "alma mater" quite a bit, that one's easily my favourite track on the album, although i couldn't really describe why beyond "i like the bits where the drums pick up and the vocal processing is fun". other than that i guess i like the goofy synths on "gutter cat vs the jets" and "grand finale"? but like..... that's kind of all really...... it's not terrible i guess. maybe this could've been a 3 if the first track wasn't so drilled into my head as a kid that hearing it still make me flinch. but like..... it is..... so............

3,75 (album intéressant, voire surprenant)

J'avais jamais écouté d'Alice Cooper, mes attentes étaient pratiquement nulles. Je dirais que c'est meilleur que ce que j'aime ça. Maintenant, si on pouvait avoir un autre album réalisé par Bob Ezrin très bientôt, je pourrais approfondir mon opinion. 3.5 étoiles

We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!

I kinda liked this one, I think it's from 1972. 2.7

This rocks. Can hear the doors influence on some of this but no weak songs here

I'm aware of this album, but basically only recognize the title track. Other than that, I've never listened to this album start-to-finish. Yeah, just kind of meh. Don't get me wrong, I respect Alice Cooper, but his music is frequently more style than substance.

Fast paced, and I like the song that sounds like two musicals mixed I didn’t expect it.

Of course I know Schools Out, but this was still way more varied than I was expecting.

Some classic hits, but the album seems weak by modern standards.

It's not bad, but not worth seeking out

Very funny how I can mentally parse each major instrument in the title track, thank you guitar hero 3. What I don’t remember is how sweet the school kid melody section is. “Blue Turk” is like a more swanky Doors cut. Very enjoyable, a strong vocal presence from Alice Cooper backed by an ultra-colorful instrumental. “Alma Mater” had a mid 60’s Beatles sound going for it, to the point where I strongly feel like it would fit right in on Rubber Soul. Other than these songs, I didn’t get too much out of this one. Nothing was expressly bad though. Soft 3/5

I think Alice Cooper was best enjoyed live back in the day. Album is fine, not great. I enjoyed many of the cuts, but I found it a bit uneven.

Would've been a 5 if it cut out the extraneous instrental solos (not you Grand Finale, you can stay). Fun, punchy, and energizing.

I don't understand the appeal. The one saving grace was that the bassist kinda cooked, but bass alone has never has never saved an album.

Three star album with an extra star for the inclusion of West Side Story

"School's Out" features one of the finest opening riffs in rock history: dynamic, thrilling, and full of drama. Hitting number one in the UK when I was seven years old, the track, along with the wider early 1970s glam rock movement, helped shape my lifelong taste in music. As a whole, "School's Out" is an eclectic, surprisingly varied album with a strong musical theatre thread. Though occasionally uneven, it avoids repeating the title track’s formula, revealing a level of musicality that belies the band's shock-rock reputation. Side one 1 "School's Out" (5/5) 2 "Luney Tune" (4/5) 3 "Gutter Cat vs. the Jets" (5/5) 4 "Street Fight" (3/5) 5 "Blue Turk" (4/5) Side two 1 "My Stars" (4/5) 2 "Public Animal #9" (3/5) 3 "Alma Mater" (4/5) 4 "Grande Finale" (Instrumental) (3/5) Total - 35 Average - 3.9 438/1001 232/438 albums reviewed were new to me.

Hard rock for the earl 70s. But mediocre even for those days. 2.5/5

This Rock Opera album feels like listening to a rock opera with the curtain closed and no idea what is happening on stage. The guitars, drums and bass give it a hard-rock foundation, but the music keeps expanding into jazz, blues, orchestral passages and Broadway-style theatrical arrangements, while Alice Cooper shifts between singing, acting and exaggerated character performances. I can hear that I'm supposed to be following a larger dramatic production, but without the visual impressions and stage context, many of the changes feel abrupt rather than meaningful. There is enough variety to keep me interested, but I often feel like I'm missing the scene that would make the music make sense. For me, that makes it an interesting but only moderately satisfying album.

3.5 Alright

wasnt what i expected, was some nice instrumental but overall not for me

Quite good, the blues is present and that's why I loved "Blue Turk".

So hard to rate this because it’s a wild mix of genres and styles. Not the soft-70s-hair-rock I was expecting. Really enjoyed’ Blue Turk’ which sounds like The Doors then at one point in the second half they turn into prime Rolling Stones. The album is let down by some of the nonsense though, where they just sound like a parody band. An interesting listen.

Kind of surprised by how much I actually dig Alice Cooper and all his weirdness. 4 Boolean: True

Had more variety than I expected, but wasn't enough that I would want to relisten I think. Had a cool ending though. Rating: 6/10 Favorite Song: Blue Turk

2.5. it's not horrible it's ok

Eh, not my favorite. There are diverse elements in the songs, though, and I like what Alice does with his voice, turning it into an instrument of its own. Not bad, but not my cup of tea.

Okay album

Actually quite enjoyed this album! Goes all over the place after starting with a cheesy "Schools Out". 4/5

If you aren't familiar with early Alice work beyond the classic singles, this album will come as a real surprise due to the myriad styles it covers.

okeeei medio un rejunte de muchas cosas, pasan demasiadas cosas

"Gutter Cat vs. The Jets" followed by "Street Fight" is a fun combination. My dad has a fondness for West Side Story that I now connect to this album. Not for me, just ok

Nice. I mean, after the opening track it really doesn't get better, but overall it's a good rock album.

This was weird. I never really knew what the next song was gonna be like. I liked the variety, if any of these songs were repetitive throughout the album, like if it all sounded like any one of these songs it would be so much lower for me. Between a 3 and a 4 Gutter Cats vs the Jets (fav) Blue Turk

Barely remember listening to this. Just didn’t grab my attention at all. Probably deserving of a relisten and rerate but I’ll wait a little for that

I really liked the sound of this, a lot of it was not what I expected and I enjoyed all of the songs. Grand finale did remind me of nfl theme song. Btwn a 4 and 5

It’s good, his voice is quite unique and it’s a little bit operatic at times

- .... it's the Coop. Complete with dark humor, great writing, great playing and visionary production. His / their first 5 or 6 records are up there with the best of the best. -

My knowledge of Alice Cooper is limited to ‘School’s Out’, ‘I Wanna Be Elected’, ‘Poison’, ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ and ‘Hey Stoopid’, so I was reassured by the presence of SO. Turns out that was a mistake as it very much an outlier in a lot of ways. Coopers vocals work when he is screaming over loud guitars, but I was surprised by how little of that there is. Away from this style of song Cooper’s vocals limitations are highlighted quite starkly. A lot of the music also feel like first takes and could surely have been improved by subsequent run throughs. ‘Gutter Cat vs the Jets’ is like a poor man’s Elton John crossed with Prog Rock and whilst having theatrical promise fails to deliver on any level. For an album that is only 37 minutes it somehow manages to feel it drones on and ‘Grande Finale’ is just unnecessary, but I feel the band put more into that than elsewhere.

One of 3 Alice Cooper songs I like are on this - the problem having it at the beginning is you’re not expecting anything to top it. And you’d be right. “School’s Out” saves this album from being a complete write-off, but not by much. It’s a 1.5 for me, but I’m not feeling remotely generous enough to stretch it to 2.

What an amazingly random album! I only knew the title track going in and nothing else sounded like it at all. It was far more jazzy, poppy, musical theatrey than I ever could of imagined. I can see how many people would absolutely despise that cheesy mix, but it's absolutely something I can get on board with. Probably nearer a 3.5, but its getting a 4 because it surprised me (and to even out the inevitable low marks from my group, who I know must have hated this with a fiery passion). 4/5

Schools out is a great tune but doesn't represent the rest of this album um at all. After the opening track, you go on an adventure of jazz, blues, glam, orchestral. "We can't even think of a word that rhymes" is still one of the best lyrics ever.

Very enjoyable. I liked it quite a bit. Always enjoyed his hits. But now I'm starting to like how varied their discography actually was.

Really surprised how much I enjoy Alice Cooper’s stuff. I grew up thinking he was just a madman. I did not realize how clean and classic his music is. 3+