School's Out

Initial thoughts as I started listening: Great week for short albums, I think this is 4 in a row that are about 35 mins. Love Alice Cooper, you know what you're going to get here. After actually listening: You DO NOT know what you're going to get here. That was a trip, after 2 fairly basic rock tunes to open this album went on a wild trip across musical theatre, blues, jazz, and an orchestral closer. I can see people being put off by this but I really enjoyed it, while it was all over the map there was still a cohesion to it, and the amount of creativity and talent that went in is on display big time.

I wasn't expecting the sounds of this album to be as varied as they are.

A broadway show with guitars and snakes.

School's Out catapulted Alice Cooper into the hard rock stratosphere, largely due to its timeless, all-time classic title track. But while the song became Alice's highest-charting single ever (reaching number seven on the U.S. charts) and recalled the brash, three-and-a-half-minute garage rock of yore, the majority of the album signaled a more complex compositional directional for the band. Unlike Cooper's previous releases (Love It to Death, Killer), which contained several instantly identifiable hard rock classics, School's Out appears to be a concept album, and aside from the aforementioned title track anthem, few of the other tracks have ever popped up in concert. That's not to say they weren't still strong and memorable; while such cuts as "Gutter Cat vs. the Jets," "Street Fight," "My Stars," and "Grande Finale" came off like mini-epics with a slightly progressive edge, Alice Cooper still managed to maintain their raw, unrefined punk edges, regardless. Other highlights included the rowdy "Public Animal #9," the mid-paced "Luney Tune," and the sinister, cabaret-esque "Blue Turk."

My Uncle gave my brother and me this lp. The cover opened up like an old school desk. Lots of killer tunes on this one. I've always liked this album, extra stars for the nostalgia trip.

Expected a cheesy glam rock stomper, based on the ludicrous opening title track, but was really surprised to get an album of great blues/soul/funk with some really great tunes and a lot of riffs and sounds that wouldn't be out of place in the 60s or 90s. Drifts towards cheese at points but holds together excellently.

Very bluesy, awesome album with a different sound every song and high school themes. I love it.

2WS-FM used to play the riff of 'School's Out' as the bed track for one of their station promos, and every time, every single time, like a Pavlovian response, I would think to myself "Excellent! They're playing School's Out, that's a great song!", swiftly followed by the bitter disappointment of an exhortation to keep my dial tuned for the greatest hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Those hits, ironically _never_ included 'School's Out'. I was first exposed at the age of 7 or 8 to Alice Cooper in his iconic (and super cheesy) appearance on the Muppet Show in 1978. The Muppet Show was the perfect place for him. The big show-stopping final number was 'School's Out', with Alice mugging to the camera in a devilish body suit, jostled by giant monsters. It was awesome, and just the right level of anarchy, danger and dissolution to capture the attention of small child. This album is a big, cartoonish Bob Ezrin production; fun, technicolor, dramatic. Ezrin was the go-to guy for rock opera production by 70s bands of limited musical ability (see also Kiss, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Peter Gabriel. Don't @ me, bro, you know it's the truth). Bob Ezrin loves a theatrical album with a narrative thread -- he famously sequenced Nine Inch Nail's The Fragile to that end. This album is a very loose retelling of West Side Story (with a few obvious references) and Ezrin takes this band of middling technical ability, but with a ton of charisma and theatrical flair, and plays to their strengths without sacrificing the humor and fun. It's fun and funny, but not an album I NEED to own. I'm giving 2.5 stars, rounding up for 'School's Out' which is the best track on the album by a mile and contains this lyrical moment, which encapsulates the clever/stupid dualism of rock and roll better than anything else ever written: "We ain't got no class / We ain't got no principles / And we ain't got no innocence / We can't think of a word that rhymes!" Genius!

The rockin' title track matches the energy of kids starting their summer. The rest of the album is good, too, but you just can't beat the excitement of the first day out of school.

'Schools out' might be the hit record but 'Blue Turk' is the piece de resistance on this enjoyable album.

What a fantastic album from start to finish! Hats off to Alice cooper!

First song is classic, the rest is a very dynamic listening experience. It rocks hard and is in your face but still not too glitzy.

Two words. Fuck yeah!

This is some classic rock with a great jazzy element.

I remember buying this album off the back of the title track "School's Out" which defined the summer of 1972 in the UK for me - our teachers hated it! I think this album showed me that music could be theatrical, not just rock, for example "Gutter Cat vs. the Jets". Loved the album back then, and I still play it occasionally.

Cooper’s jazzy rock has always always appealed to me, and, as one who just can’t seem to get out of high school, the satire of School’s Out is all the more appealing. Grading on a slight curve.

Well. I guess I'm an Alice Cooper fan now too. This is a super fun and thoughtfully crafted collection of songs. There's a lot of cool and interesting things happening. Blue Turk is quirky and feels like it's out of a spy movie. Big fan of Gutter Cat vs. The Jets too. Because cats. And because the song is also super cool. Love how he rocks out and how the guitar shreds in My Stars. Public Animal #9 is boppy and catchy and rockin. Alma Mater and Grande Finale both felt like the ending to the album. I guess he decided to do a lyrical finale and an instrumental one. Cool by me, I vibed with them both! Loved how big and dramatic Grande Finale was, and chef's kiss to the POW closure. School's Out (the song) is kind of played out, but I have a better appreciation for it now in the context of the album. This was a great time!

I've always been a big fan of Alice and, of course, heard the title track of this album many, many times. Oddly enough I have never listened to this album in its entirety. Many of the tracks are superior to the title track. While I do not like it quite as much as, "Love It to Death", it is still solid. I can hear the Ezrin and Zappa influences here. 5 stars.

Rain is falling down my cheek Searching for the sea Tomorrow, like the rain I'll be back home again I watch, the bus As it pulls out of view Someday like that bus I will be leaving too But you know It breaks my heart To leave you Camelback My high school And now, alone Crying in my beer Cause old friends said goodbye I guess I'll be leaving too Yeah, this is absolutely a great album and worth the listen and then some. 5/5

I never listened to the whole album. Of course I knew the song School's Out. I thought it was timeless. An unsuccessful attempt to get my nephew excited about it, especially when he was in the right situation, proved me wrong. But now, I've listened to the album in its entirety. It wasn't what I expected, it was better. A really great album with interesting influences from different musical genres. It was a lot of fun. The album is worth listening to again. 5/5

It's bloomin ace. In the book, it's described as overproduced, but Alice Cooper is all about artifice, it's exactly the right amount of produced. It gives no time to concepts like genre, opening with the punky hard rock of Schools out, then ambling through FM rock, jazz, musicals and nostalgic balladry and doing it all well! Underrated classic.

Ok, I must be tripping because outside of the title track, this sound less like what I expected Alice Cooper to sound like and closer to an Amon Düül II record in spots. A proggy, psychedelic surprise.

Very surprising. Was not excited to give this a listen as I've grown up with (and every elementary school final day singing) "School's Out" and knowing some more of AC's hits, I did not expect the pleasantly *weird* variety herein. The track "School's Out" needs no review other than everybody knows it, it's silly fun, but honestly nothing like what's to come and the least-interesting song on the album.... ...horn-infested and more than a little creepy "Blue Turk" ...the West Side Story-ish "Gutter Cat vs The Jets" ..."Alma Mater" sounds like it was stolen from a Paul McCartney and Wings session. ..."My Stars" could (or should) have been a deep-cut on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (and frankly better than some of its throwaway tracks). Alice(the singer - as this was also the name of the band at the time)'s vocals are almost instantly recognizable - for better or worse - but aside from that I would not have been able to identify any of these as an Alice Cooper recording. Preconceived notions shattered. As a collection, the relatively short (37 minutes) length is perfect as it ends before it might get tiring. I almost can't believe I'm saying this but after 3 listens today I would listen to this again. 7/10 4 stars

Consistently unexpected song structures and proficient instrumentation redeem this record that would otherwise come off as a campy, kiddy halloween affair, similar to Alice Cooper's stage act at its most worn out. Plenty of great tongue-in-cheek moments to boot ("Grande Finale", "Alma Mater"). There's lots to like here even if it is sometimes insufferably whacky in a 70s "freak-out" sort of way. This is the type of record you'd hear spinning at an independently owned novelty shop.

Not what I expected, Blue Turk was nice.

Sounds like a concept album for a musical about a rebel in an American High school. Couple of cool songs and School's Out is obviously a classic, but a bit lightweight from someone like Alice Cooper, not what I expected

I've never been a fan of Alice Cooper. I was surprised by some horns and jazz/soul type arrangements, but i have no urge to seek this one out.

What the hell, guess this is a masterpiece. Alice Cooper is much as it is musical theater as it is hard rock.

Only knew some of Alice Cooper's hits. Pleasantly surprised by how this album was put together.

One of the few rock hard rock albums I truly love!

Wow. Just try look past the theatrics and silliness of Alice Cooper's stage persona. This is a really tight album, varied and does a good job keeping to its concept. Sounds a decade ahead of its time. 10/10 Shockingly good shock-rock

Schools Out is a classic. Gutter Cats vs the Jets has some very surprising synth, and the frantic bass of Street Fight is great leading into the very jazzy Blue Turk.

I was wondering... if I was a teenager in the early 70s, I'd loooose my mind listen to this! I never had listen a Alice Cooper album until this day, but of course I knew the track "School's Out", and when I saw the album here today I thought "Oh another regular rock album with at least 2 or 3 good tracks". But turns out to be a great album, where all of the tracks got this "last day at school" vibe. Love it! 5 stars.

awesome album. Never would have appreciate the range

This was actually pretty great! I thought of him as like an 80s artist, maybe for the makeup look etc, but this came out in 72 and is pretty classic rock oriented. Couple great songs and has a West Side Story twinge

I appreciate that it has the decency of only being 37 minutes.

I cannot believe that people were worried about the kids based on this music. This is so obviously theater kid music. How did anyone generate a moral panic about it? That said, it's a little too broadly theatrical for my tastes. A little theatricality is a nice seasoning. Full theatricality is a broadway show, which I love. This is stuck somewhere in the middle.

This record does a great job building towards exciting climaxes and modulations constantly, even when, like in “Gutter Cat vs. The Jets,” the direction taken is completely out of left ballpark. “School’s out,” while boasting juvenile lyrics, sets the stage for a wide sound moving forward, especially leading into “Luney Tune”, which is a surprise hit due to its instrumental and melodic variety. Going forward it becomes clear that the records greatest strength is that of its ability to seamlessly blend timbre and styles, like in the track “Blue Turk,” crashing big band energy against hard rock. The following tracks, “Public Animal #9” and “Alma Matter” provide polar ends of earlier track’s smoother blending, yet the tracks play to the strength that an extra minute or two provide, taking these ideas to a contextual extreme. “Grand Finale” wraps things up, acting as a sort of highlight reel of the many sounds that came before. It’s skippable when compared to the rest for sure, but feels like a nice bonus after the more thematic and candid ending of the previous track. A great record overall that kept me hooked from start to finish.

Magnificent - some killer classic rock to open, then spreads out to Show Tunes and a jazzy take on The Doors, leading to with McCartney-esque drama before bringing down the curtain with a final Broadway climax

Perfect timing. Unis out.

yes this was great. one of the reasons i love rock is the instrumentals (and you know how bad i will glaze good instrumentation). what’s more is this is VERY experimental so beyond the baseline rock feel to the songs this album pays tribute to genres such as classical, musical theater, jazz, etc. for example “luney tune” ended with an INSANE string outro (95% sure it was the violin but i’m not well versed in strings). “gutter cat vs. the jets” i believe is intended to reference west side story but i’m not 100% sure. i liked it anyways. “blue turk” is SO jazzy. all these songs tell a story which i appreciate. 5/5.

I always thought this was a one song album. I was so wrong this is a full conceptual album that has not gotten their fair dues. Amazing theme album with chronological story telling. They got my 5 stars

This is how to do shock Rock. It’s a tremendous band and a great journey. Alice cooper should be a reviled figure but he is rightfully beloved. He’s a nice guy and a great rocker. School’s out expressed my feelings to school precisely.

Bruh

Great

Easy 5 stars Alice at his best

It's a good one!

This was completely different from what I expected, and almost like Stray Cats for a second. Good thing I love Stray Cats.

West Side Story jumpscare - good throughout, 1st track legendary

I already love Alice Cooper!!!

Grandioso descubrimiento. Cuanto talento, sonidos novedosos, una garra super llamativa. Es potente sin caer en ser desagradable ni estruendoso. Muchísimo ritmo, con variación de instrumentos, por época tuvo que ser bastante innovador en su momento. Muchas de las piezas quedan para mi lista personal, puesto que me ha encantado. Muy recomendable

Makes me think about gh3

Very bluesy, awesome album with a different sound every song and high school themes. I love it.

I like his music and songs very much! This album is brilliant! School's Out song is a masterpiece! It is one of my favorite by Alice Cooper! Alice Cooper forever!

Much like the great Vincent Furnier, I also often spontaneously break into show tunes mid-way through street fights. If I may make a comparison that I assure you, dear reader, will hurt me more than yourself, I think a good point of comparison to Alice Cooper in their early years as a band is KISS. Both were known for their shocking makeup, theatrical live shows, and heavy Rock sound. And Alice Cooper pull it off so much more effectively. KISS, outside of their look, were always just another run-of-the-mill 70’s Hard Rock group. There was some Blues influence on some of the slower tracks, and some of the poppier ones could be considered Glam-adjacent but the only thing that could be considered actually interesting about their music and performances was all due to the makeup and the pyrotechnics. Alice Cooper got to the theatricality first. And they did it while also making music that was strange and experimental without sacrificing any of it’s Proto-Punk edge. School’s Out, their fifth album, is the project where their theatrical nature first came to the forefront of their sound. Their third album Love It To Death had refined their early sound into a classic Hard Rock rasp, and following album Killer had introduced a more Glam and Experimental edge with a horn section and multi-part suites. School’s Out sticks with these innovations and dials them up to 11. There are more horns, more keyboards, more nods to Musical Theatre. It’s an ambitious project that, like the excellent Blue Turk, often feels like it’s about to fall apart into a ramshackle mess, but is always somehow kept together. I think the key to the musics stickativeness is also the key to my preference to the band over KISS. Listen to the musical and vocal run in the second half of My Stars verse. It’s a fairly sophisticated musical phrase. When I showed it to my brother, he suggested it sounded a bit like a flamenco run. And yet it’s held together in a Hard Rock context by Alice Cooper himself, and the sheer attitude with which he sings the damn thing. Attitude. That’s all it is. But attitude is so important in Rock, and if your personality is gonna be that of a group of Detroit street kids who try and shock with snakes, fake executions and quotations from Rodgers and Hammerstein, you’d better be secure in your convictions. I really love the self awareness that this album has. It’s all a bit silly, and over the top. But as a semi-concept album about high school losers and jokers, that makes perfect sense. We’re all a bit silly and over the top in school, trying to make an impression, trying to make the best of our time of relative freedom before bing ground up by the capitalist work system. I’ve always assumed that Alma Mater was an answering machine message sent to the narrator’s high school buddied before he left for college or work in the big city, and his realisation that despite having thought of his time as that of a ‘lifer in the state penitentiary’ he’s actually gotten out. And he’s likely never gonna see these people ever again. But at least they’ll always have the memories… they’re never gonna forget each other… right… right?

This might be my most pleasant surprise so far. Absolutely fantastic.

Das ist wahrlich ein frisches, unbekümmertes, spielfreudiges und niveauvoll arrangiertes Album. Es macht richtig Spaß dieses Album zu hören. Kein Lückenfüller. Sehr auffällig ist das kleine Meisterwerk aus "West Side Story" in einer Hardrock-jazzigen Version: "Gutter Cat vs. the Jets" / "Street Fight". Hammer. Alice Cooper habe ich bisher unterschätzt und bin jetzt ganz begeistert.

I had no idea it was so cinematic and had such groovy attitude. I know his deal, and I know his hits, but this was like a complete rock opera almost and was just a total blast. So pleasantly surprised by all the blues and jazz influences, too. Completely silly but also amazing. Wild to think he was 24 but it was like his third or fourth album already.

I thought I'd enjoy that. Did not expect it to be a 5-star though

LP

Unexpected! Almost like listening to a musical

Listened all day!! There was some favourtism bias for a few songs due to nostalgia and childhood, but ones I didn't know before quickly became everyday favourites that I'll be listening to forma long time 💜

This is the first album on here that I haven't listened to before to earn a five. I enjoyed everything about it!

One of my favourite albums from my early teens. Good hard driving rock and roll!

I used to listen to the track School’s Out sooo much growing up but never listened to the album. Hopefully the rest is as good as the track. If you played Gutter Cat Vs. The Jets to me blind I would’ve guessed it’s a Les Claypool song. Sick ass baseline and weird af. Love this song. Blue Turk doesn’t have nearly enough Donald Faison but still a sick jazzy one. Great tune. Kept thinking how My Stars would be sweet to listen to live. Gonna try to dig one up on YouTube after this run. Grande Finale was just that. Crazy sounds! Reminded me of Pink Floyd a bit. Love a good concept album. Was leaning towards a 4 but that last song and the fact it’s a concept album sealed the deal for me. 5 stars great output, Alice.

Fantastic

Wow, Alice Cooper is way more innovative than I thought!

Much more varied than I expected

never listened to alice cooper before except from his big hits like poison, no more mr nice guy and the title track schools out. man this album was so much not what i expected, it was awesome. elements of jazz rock. loved it

This was an unexpected one for me. I always thought Alice Cooper was a cookie cutter hard rocker from the 70s and didn’t really dive too deep into his works, but this album showed a lot of range and soul. The last two tracks of the album sealed it for me.

5 stars

Alice Cooper returns to high school! This is an straight ahead rocker that hints at his theatrical style to come Enjoyed reliving this one. Had this one in the original vinyl package

Love this. Hello Detroit.

Solid album. If I were a teen in the 70s, I would've gone nuts over his music. What an interesting collection of songs, and I especially like the inclusion of brass instruments - I was just thinking about horns in rock songs & how they often add that extra kick. Metal heads & goths owe a lot to Alice. He's the Godfather of the macabre.

I think I'd say that this is a perfect glam rock with an edge type of album

cool

I gave the last Alice Cooper album I was given a warm review because, fun. Obviously I'm familiar with the title track of this album but I'm going into it thinking "do we need more than one Alice Cooper album on this list"? Indeed we do! I guess I'd consider this to be a concept album? It is surely a weird wonderful ride. Five stars. Five very fun stars.

sounded pretty fun on the first listen but I wanted to give it a second one just to be sure and it was really so much better once I was adjusted to it such a fun, weird, experimental album I get why a lot of people don’t care for it, but I thought it sounded really neat 9/10

Quite the unexpected journey but I loved every second and genre change.

Se sintio muy theatrical y el jets song!!! 😭😭😭😭 peed my panties right there. y en grand finale

that opening guitar riff is seared into my brain. it's one of the most iconic openings in all of music history! it's bangin', it's recognizable, it's lively. the riff was created by glen buxton, and it must be one of the most well known song intros. fun fact: the opening riff music notes are engraved on buxton's grave in clarion, iowa. truth be told, because "school's out" is such a classic and mind-blowing song, it overshadow rest of album. but with alice cooper as my favorite artist, i've listened to this album hundreds of times and i have such a soft spot for the rest of the album. the lyrics! alice cooper is one of my favorite songwriters, and too often i don't think he or the group gets their due. these lyrics are witty and enjoyable. some of it is dark in typical alice fashion. who doesn't enjoy the lyrics from "school's out"? this lyric from "blue turk" is actually one of my favorite lyrics ever: "tastes like roses on your breath/but graveyards on your soul." considering that the alice cooper group met in high school and this album is the group's second to last before their dissolution, this album reads like a tribute to their respective high schools in a musical format. so many of these songs are about school or reference cheating math tests. a song's title is even straight up "alma mater." i'm not sure if anyone could deny this is indeed a concept album. it isn't as tight as cooper's later solo albums but could possibly be the alice cooper group's most concept-y album. bob ezrin, notable producer of pink floyd, was definitely a contributor. "gutter cats vs. the jets" uses west side story (which uses the school theme as well), and of course the melody returns at the end of "grand finale." the final song of the album is even an instrumental!

it's an album I'm very familiar with so this will be a bit wordy. This was the Last Alice Cooper album that I really liked all the way through. I was 16 when this album came out and the previous album, Killer, was even better. The early albums had some great guitars, bass and drums. Schools Out - classic, big hit Looney Tune - There's a guitar part in this song that sounds very much like "ooh that smell" by Lynyrd Skynyrd which was released years later. Gutter Cat- love the bass intro and the overall musicality of the song and doing the west side story stuff was pretty clever. My Stars is a cool song, piano part is cool. Blue Turk is a really different but great song. Alma Mater - I still play the first seven chords to the song when I'm trying to tune my guitar. Overall I think it's a great album With a lot of catchy hooks.

I was led to believe (as a child of the 70s) that Alice Cooper was just too scary, and I'm a little upset to find that this album I've never listened to is magnificent and full of humor and musical variety. Even just the packaging with its model desk cover and panties album sleeve is celebration-worthy. Mind you, the title track has been a favorite of mine for years, and I should have suspected that the band was more fun than I thought (the lyric "We can't even think of a word that rhymes" has always made me laugh). Today I learned that "Alice Cooper" was the name of the band at this time as well as the persona of the lead singer. When a song about an alley cat segued into the "Jet Song," then went into the jazzy, meow-filled "Street Fight" my mind was blown. This album is taking me to incredible places. I don't even know how to begin describing "Public Animal #9" but I love it sooo much. "Alma Mater" is a wonderful closing to the school story. And then it's possible that "Grande Finale" is my favorite album closer of all time. Pow!!!

This album is so much more quirky than I imagined. I really liked it!!

I made an "ew" face when this came up and now that I've listened I think my face should apologize. I loved it! These kind of rock-n-roll theatrics are totally my thing. I kind of wish I hadn't been looking at the lyrics because there was a very nice musical theater surprise awaiting me in the song Gutter Cat vs. (no spoilers). In addition to that one, I loved the jazzy Blue Turk, the epic My Stars, and the White-Album-esque Alma Mater. This was great unexpected fun. (But p.s. it's kind of cruel to assign School's Out homework to a college professor one week before the start of the school year.)

I went into this extremely familiar with the title track but never heard any of the rest of this album. “Schools Out” is such a classic that it makes me wonder why I’ve never heard of anything else on this album. Stir together guitar rock of the 70s and a generous helping of Broadway. Add bits of jazz and blues. Fold in marching band music and a trombone solo. Add generous helpings West Side Story. Blend. Bake into a deliciously wild and eclectic album. A genuine and wonderful surprise. I love it!

Based on the only two songs of theirs played on the radio, my impression was that Alice Cooper's music was just light-hearted and a bit silly. Now I see why they are considered one of the greats, and I will no longer be missing out!

damn. banger

Not at all what I expected from Alice cooper

Alice Cooper au début des années 70, c'est un des meilleurs Rock qu'on aura jamais. On ne peut pas en dire autant d'Alice Cooper dans les années 80. Prefs: TOUT Moins pref: RIEN

-An incredible album -"School's Out" is in the uppermost echelon of songs that I just expect everyone to know/have heard. It's also a banger. Incredible opening riff, iconic and relatable lyrics, and the hilarious "We can't even think of a word that rhymes" lyric. -The rest of the album is super cool as well, with great instrumentals to back intriguing mini-story lyrics.

Just a solid rock album even after School's Out

5/5. Hard rockin rager man 😎🤘

Loved it

Whether it was last day before: Xmas break, spring or fall break, or was last day of school... This album was rocked by everyone going to their cars. Not and was most students singing, there was teachers singing and it was the most nonchalant good bye but yet everyone felt equally included

Surprisingly enjoyable!

Amazing album! Way more prog than I thought it be. Go Cooper!

Nice one! Inspiring Jazz Rock

One rocking album. Hadn't heard before. Loved it.

I'll admit, I'm surprised this one got into the book over the previous 2 Alice Cooper band albums (Love It To Death and Killer). This isn't to say it's a bad album, far from it, I just find it weaker overall when compared to those two albums. School's Out the song is a classic though and should be heralded as a classic.