School's Out
Alice Cooper
1972
Album Summary
School's Out is the fifth studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1972. Following on from the success of Killer, School's Out reached No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM 100 Top Albums chart, holding the top position for four weeks. The single "School's Out" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 3 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles Chart and went to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart.
WikipediaI wasn't expecting the sounds of this album to be as varied as they are.
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.
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."
'Schools out' might be the hit record but 'Blue Turk' is the piece de resistance on this enjoyable album.
Very bluesy, awesome album with a different sound every song and high school themes. I love it.
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
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.
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.
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
-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.
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
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.
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!
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!
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.)
This album is so much more quirky than I imagined. I really liked it!!
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!!!
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.
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!
4/9 Dude just makes great fucking albums. Standout Tracks: Gutter Cat vs. The Jets, Blue Turk, My Stars
Aprendí que Alice Cooper al principio era el nombre de la banda y luego ya el vocal se cambió legalmente el nombre. También aprendí (y me impresionó mucho) que son de la segunda ciudad más aburrida del mundo. Con todo y eso, el disco es muy buen rock setentero y destacan Blue Turk, Public Animal #9, y especialmente Grand Finale que para 1972 tiene unos arreglos de orquesta que nuestra generación pensaba que Metallica se había inventado.
Lo escuché un par de veces y perdió mi atención. Lo volví a escuchar a conciencia y mi primera impresión fue que no combinaban las canciones, en especial Gutter Cat porque parece más de... de... musical? Entonces cambió mi perspectiva. El disco es como un musical, un disco concepto aunque creo que no desarrolla como tal una historia sino que captura diferentes momentos de chicos que acabaron la preparatoria y que, según vemos en la canciones, no tuvieron los mejores desenlaces. Aunque quizá sea obvio esto, el darme cuenta me permitió quitarme esta expectativa de lo que "debería estar escuchando" y verdaderamente disfruté este disco. Dejando la alineación clásica de una banda de rock, las canciones incluyen metales y sintetizadores para crear una obra maestra. La primera canción, que es la más conocida y que da nombre al disco, nos encamina en una dirección engañosa de música sencilla y riffs pegajosos pero el resto del disco no es así. Las diferentes escenas que retrata cada canción están muy bien construidas, letras que no son obvias aunque con atención no son difíciles de descifrar y arreglos musicales extraordinarios. Al revisar las letras sí me pude formar la imagen que creo que buscaban expresar. Tracks: My Stars, Luney Tune, Public Animal #9
This album gets "most surprising" of the list so far. The titular track is great and fun, but also I've heard it 10,000 times. Track 2 and 3 were... not great. I was like "Okay, this is middle school boy music", which is fine, but I ain't in middle school anymore. Then we get the rest of the album! There's jazz, there's show tunes, there is a big fan finale. So much depth for a hard rock album. Most improved.
Rock and blues plus a theme that ties everything together what more could you ask for?
Fun and theatrical and West Side Story??? Also was confused for a while because I confused Alice Cooper with Alice in Chains before I looked it up lol
Primer apropament a Alice Cooper i bones sensacions. Un disc de rock conceptual al voltant dels dies d'escola i institut. Comença amb potència, amb un "School's out" impecable i efectiu, que ha vingut per quedar-se. Bon grapat de temes honestos i directes, ben executats i d'escolta agradable. Molt bona recta final del disc amb una secció de cordes sorprenent que esdevé un inmillorable colofó a l'àlbum.
La verdad me pareció mejor de lo que pensé que iba a ser. No creo que es algo que volvería a escuchar, pero en definitiva me la pasé bien. Está lol pues y tiene momentos moviditos y jazz-ish.... Blue turk fue la que más me gustó. Mood: pero es que si prefiero volver a la escuela
Way more interesting than I expected. Fun listen and the perfect length
There's more than meets the eye. I associated Cooper very much with metal and shockrock, maar this totally different. Pleasent surprise!
Veel beter dan ik had verwacht. Mooi en gevarieerd plaatje. Ga ik zeker vaker draaien.
So weird and so over the top. Alice Cooper was totally somewhere else with his music. I liked it a lot.
Alice & his band were still trying to find their sound at this point but really hit a sweet spot with the title track and a few others. Their music was always more interesting with visual accompaniment but at the same time, what an exciting journey
Overall good, I'm not really a stadium rock fan but it's a good album! I could have done without the loud hissing at the end of My Stars, and the sexual undertones of Gutter Cat vs. The Jets, both minor things though.
Was not in the right brain space yesterday to give this one it's dues. Listened to a couple tracks, and of course it's good! It's Alice fucking Cooper!
title track brings back memories of playing guitar hero in like 2007 or 2008. this song is so good. look at the gap in streaming numbers between this song and the other album tracks. on song number 2, yeah this is perfectly listenable for me. singer's voice is super nice and music is interesting enough to keep me interested*. song 3 has so many little things i love and cool switch ups and it kind of sounds like a song from a musical lol. oh next song does as well. oh it's just an interlude. lyrics aren't that idiotic or if they are, fittingly so, i'm satisfied. i'm having a great time actually. i was in a little bit of a weird mood but thankfully this album was a lot of fun so it wasn't affected by that. it's also nice and short. it's an easy 4 baybe. *rereading before posting, i'm leaving that sentence as it is to show how tired i am haha
Good album. Didn't expect that from Alice Cooper. (7/10) Favorite Tracks: School's Out, My Stars
De la seva primera época daurada, és el disc amb menys hits instantanis. Fora del tema titular, la resta són 'album songs', però això no les fa menors. Tot el contrari, és un dels discos d'Alice Cooper on més es pot tornar a descobrir nous matissos, des dels aires jazzístics de 'Blue Turk' al rock punyent de 'Gutter Cat vs the Jets', passant pel dramatisme d''Alma Mater'
Классный экспериментальный альбом по меркам того времени, переслушал бы в компании.
Pretty good album. Alice Cooper is one where I'd like to listen to and get into his music a little more. 1RS
I'm partial to "Killer", but this is still a great album. I was never a fan of Uncle Alice's move to concept albums that bordered on Broadway shows, but this one only skirts that style. Already in my library.
A carnival of musical styles that has much more range than the lead single suggests.
None of the deep cuts are as good as the stone cold classic title track, but Alice Cooper has a goofy theatrical sense of humor that made this album a pleasure to listen to.
Somewhere between a 3 and 4… but I’m feeling generous. Not as heavy as I was expecting.. some pretty eclectic stuff on here. It’s good.
I know this album but first time listening from start to finish. Alice Cooper is great.
Not what I expected when I saw it was Alice Cooper. Very diverse and well done lyrically
Enjoyed this one. Lots of good tracks, not so much a fan of the Westside story rendition and a few other parts were annoying but for the most part a good album
Pretty interesting and not at all as hardcore as I expected from Alice Cooper. Some nice acoustic work even.
Dès les premières notes, on s'aperçoit que la prétendue Alice est en fait un homme. On se sent dès lors bien honteux d'avoir jugé l'artiste sans le connaître. Et celui-ci ne manque pas de nous prendre à notre propre jeu en démontant notre pensée binaire. Tout est passé en revue: les jouets roses ne sont pas que pour les filles et les bleus pour les garçons ; une fille peut très bien porter un jean et un garçon une jupe, etc... En bref, un album dérangeant mais nécessaire.
Kinda hard to talk about rock legends without Alice Cooper, I think. Solid album too.
While Alice Cooper (person) may have been the first to introduce horror and gore imagery into rock&roll, it should not be forgotten that early 1970s Alice Cooper (band) was one of beauty and variety. Interestingly, moments on this album (Alma Mater) remind me of McCartney's early solo work.
Brought back great memories of a 16 yo guy..still fun although my tastes have changed and after listening again pretty decent album..love the fact that he is also a scratch golfer…rock on Alice
Liked two of them. My Stars and School's Out. My Stars is fire. I like guitar solos and chorus.
This album was so much better than I anticipated. There were rock songs, nods to musicals (not my fave but an interesting take), and even a brass send off.
“School’s Out” is the second Alice Cooper album I’ve had here in a couple of months (the other being “Billion Dollar Babies”, released the following year). By comparison, “School’s Out” is looser, more varied, more ambitious… and much better. It’s the title track that has become “School’s Out”s stratospheric, enduring legacy (check the Spotify plays of each song for proof). The euphoric, anarchic and somehow slightly menacing chorus call of “school’s out for summer” introduced the Alice Cooper band to the world as a heavier offshoot from glam rock, retaining theatrics and flirting with camp shock value: a pantomime Iggy Pop. It’s an all time classic track and the one most closely associated with Alice Cooper, but there’s much more lurking in the background. “Gutter Cat vs. The Jets” branches from a bass masterclass from Dennis Dunaway into a full-blown West Side Story cover of “Jet Song”. The sleazy “Blue Turk” features a squalling brass section, threatening total collapse but still managing to cling on to a catchy chorus. Alma Mater has a much more interesting chord progression than I expected to hear in an Alice Cooper album, taking cues from Paul McCartney as much as anyone else. It’s easy to see how producer Bob Ezrin (referred to by Cooper as their George Martin) brought out the best in the band and enabled them to work with grander concepts and visions, injecting orchestral arrangements into tracks like “Luney Tune” and the gloriously overblown “Grande Finale”. Also, incidentally, the success of “School’s Out” is perhaps also the start of Ezrin’s strange tendency to use children’s voices in his work (he would go on to include a children’s choir in “Another Brick in the Wall: Part Two” and plaster screaming children all over Lou Reed’s “The Kids”). So it’s sprawling, far-reaching stuff… but at heart, of course, “School’s Out” is still a glam record. It cycles through styles like stunts in a circus routine with unabashed theatricality. Aside from the title track, “Public Animal #9” is the most thrilling rock track on the album and also the most straightforward: it is enough proof that there’s still meat on the band’s bones, substance to their style. This album isn’t perfect- “My Stars” in particular feels like a bit of a misfire, and none of the other tracks strike with the same immediacy as “School’s Out”- but it’s still damn good fun, successfully instilling a giddy teenage wonder at the concepts of rebellion and coming of age.
I am fascinated by Alice Cooper Alice Cooper the band, Alice Cooper the character, and Vincent Fournier the person behind the mask. They all (as the story, or stories, behind them) have a depth and substance, and quite some contradiction, that escape to most; dudes be like "Alice rocks!" and they completely miss the point, but I am not here to illustrate. Actually, nobody is, even the documentary that was released a few years ago failed at really getting a grip over the whole thing. I saw Alice Cooper live a few times in the later years, his shows are quite something, it's a bit like going to the opera and ending up at a horror burlesque theatre. Yes, I saw Alice Cooper stab a baby, slash a nurse, be put in a straighjacket, be hung, be decapitated, and always come back scarred but undefeated. I guess I will be forgiven by the reader if I see all this as a metaphor of the individual struggling with the modern society. And that's exactly what this record tries (and in a way succeeds at doing so) to capture between garage-psych and Broadway-esque musical, and almost everything in between: the theatrics, the horror behind the irony, the Greco-Roman tragedy. Even if I already had the record and had listened to it before, on this occasion it took me several spins to really get an idea of the complexity of these songs; a really challenging but rewarding experience.
None of the songs bested the title track, but it was still a pretty good album. Not as good as billion dollar babies but still good. Very eclectic production
Man I love classic rock. Full of energy and way ahead of it’s time considering it came out in 1972. Alice cooper is sick. Favourite track - school’s out
'School's Out' è una delle mie canzoni preferite, quindi questo album parte almeno da 4* Purtroppo perde un po' di mordente, ho trovato bella 'Gutter Cat vs. the Jets'
Buena conjunción de banda de rock, encabezada por el carismático Alice Cooper. Rock sin estridencias y con buenos ritmos.
Vet inte alls vad jag ska ge den här skivan men kommer dra till med en fyra bara för att jag blev så förvånad? Aldrig lyssnat på Alice Cooper bortom hitsen, vem visste att de var ett jazzband??
I only knew the title track and the reputation of Alice Cooper as a shock rocker but this was completely unexpected. A wide variety of music that was completely unexpected.
I expected this to be more 80s hair band rock. It was a bit deeper than that imo. A pleasant surprise!
Everyone's favourite cadaverous, golfing evangelical Republican makes his most famous album, the grand celebration of the teenage boy (strictly speaking, this is by the band Alice Cooper, led by Alice Cooper, who would later go solo under the name Alice Cooper). Although not a concept album, School's Out sticks its central theme out like a tongue. This theme is, of course, the unthinking delights of the male adolescent. This extends even to the artwork: the original sleeve came with four legs so the "desk" could stand up, the album opened like a proper desk, revealing depictions of a catapult, a pen knife, marbles and a comic book. Topping all this was a pair of paper knickers covering the vinyl itself, a girl's underwear being the greatest prize a boy's desk could hold. As such the music itself, though firmly hard rocking, actually comes across as oddly ingenuous. It's the music of a 13-year-old playing GTA, still feeling mildly guilty over his fifth wank of the day. The opener and title track, Alice's Cooper's most renowned song, has become the quintessential song about the end of the school year, which is a fantastic turn of events because it is a brilliant song. They pitch the song perfectly, sufficiently childish and mischievous without being obnoxious. However, the album beginning on such an apex may cause the rest of it to appear diminished to the listener. One leitmotif that occurs throughout the album is West Side Story, one of Alice Cooper's (the man, not the band) favourite films. Indeed, Gutter Cats Vs. The Jets lists Bernstein and Sondheim in the credits. The inclusion of these allusions is thematically fitting, what with those finger-snapping street toughs dancing into a rumble. But you may find that this pushes the album over the line from self-awareness to self-parody. Personally, I'm fond of dear Alice, so I'm happy for him to indulge his peccadilloes. The album rocks like a bastard, and has several aces (Public Animal #9 is a particular killer), but I can't quite muster five stars for it. Maybe the issue is structural: you start off with School's Out, you inevitably have to come down after that peak. Still, it's not as if you won't enjoy the descent. Michael Bay's favourite film is also West Side Story.
strong 3.5 will round up. Other Alice songs off other albums are more fun.
I was not expecting the “West Side Story meets 1970s hard rock” sound at all. I guess now looking at the album art above this text box, it’s not accidental. I enjoyed this album. Kinda fun listening to “School’s Out” on in June, too.
I had no idea this was a concept album. Reminds me a bit of the Meat Loaf album. Best track: School's Out
Not my favourite AC album, but probably my favourite from when it was an actual band and not just Alice with hired guns. Everyone knows the title song but it's kind of an outlier - the rest still rocks but has more of a psychedelia influence, kinda similar to early Sabbath. These first days of heavy metal (if you'd call it that at this point) hadn't completely shaken off the 60s influence, so there are a few Beatles-isms around. But they aren't jarring or anything. And at half an hour this is a great album length. 4/5.
After "School's Out" the album got a little boring to me. Felt like a bit of a time piece in an archaic way. I didn't really care much for Luney Tune or Gutter Cat. They just felt like what you'd expect Alice Cooper type punky rock. They're fine, but not for me. However once Blue Turk hit everything changed. The album picks up this progressive element and I started to recognize the story this album was going for. Fusing Jazz and Blues into this very complex rock structure. The words started to matter a lot more. Telling a story about a guy being this archetypical "bad guy" getting in trouble all the time, and being unapologetic for it until the end where he finally "graduates" and hopes all of his friends stay his friends. I love it. It all links back to the bonified classic "School's Out" in such an intelligent way. I did not expect such a concept from the album that features "School's Out"
Much more variety than I would have expected. Really enjoyed it, would probably never have picked it out to listen to without this.
What a weird album. There's some really good songs on it but also the most unhinged things lol. Big variety of genre blending too. Very interesting.
What a weird concept album. Totally at odds with the Alice Cooper concert I saw on Showtime in the 70s, but maybe I wasn't clued in then. An 4 for the effort.
I LOVED this album! Most of the songs on it I really enjoyed. I will be listening to it more.
Rock/Heavy. Or is it? Songs like Alma Mater would be difficult to classify under rock, they sound very mellow and pop-like. Blue Turk sounds like being in a Jazz club after midnight. And the finale...the Grand Finale indeed! It was pretty sweet. Is it a disco song in an Alice Cooper album? It does sound like it. Favorites: - Grand Finale - Luney Tune - Blue Turk I checked statistics in Spotify and apparently "School's out" has 120 million plays, whereas all other songs have under a million. It's a shame that so many songs just fly under the radar because they don't appear in a movie or get picked up by radio DJs.
Wow, I love Blue Turk. I was not at all expecting this from Alice Cooper. Wow. There's a lot more to this than I would have guessed. I like.
And here's the album where the Alice Copper Band goes all show tuney, showing off their jazz chops believe it or not...and believe it or not they damn well pull it off. The album starts off conventionally enough with a couple of straight ahead rockers; with the all-time classic School's Out and then Luney Tune, which is a great tune as well than things get a little sideways as Gutter Cat Vs The Jets is a West Side Story tribute and a pretty good one at that. Then Blue Turk continues the jazzy theme and it sounds freaking awesome; great guitar work, some nice keyboards and some very tasty horns. My Stars sounds like it could have been a The Who outtake from Quadrophenia and Public Animal #9 is a bluesy number that swings like hell with a stonesy feel. And the album closes with a lovely nastalgia laced ballad number in Alma Mater and Grande Finale brings back the West Side Story, big band feel. I had this album as a young teenager but it must not have impessed me then as I remeber little of it apart from Scool's Out and perhaps Luney Tune. Well it impressed me on this listen and I think I'm going slot it into my current playlist. 4 stars
I just joined yesterday after my son invited me to the group. This is my first review and 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.
Was minder hard-rock dan ik dacht. Wel leuke nummers, met goeie samenhang onderling
Am I an idiot for not being aware of the overt WEST SIDE STORY bent on this album? I wasn't prepared for "Gutter Cats vs. the Jets" on here but enjoyed his take on it. "Blue Turk" was solid. "Public Animal #9." The "Grand Finale." I enjoyed my time with this one. That said... I think "Billion Dollar Babies" is a superior record. I wrote "Elected" into the script for THE CAMPAIGN as a music cue, but I don't think anybody ever bothered to actually listen to it. Lol. Here's hoping that one makes it on the list, as well.
The second in a trifecta of incredible Alice Cooper albums (topped and tailed by 'Killer' and 'Billion Dollar Babies'), 'School's Out' is testament to what a strange, idiosyncratic band they were. Before Coop went off on his own wobbly but varied solo career, he and his compares made some of the most interesting music of the era. It doesn't quite fit into any box - too complex and twisty for straight-up garage rock, too dirty to be prog and far too dark to fit in with glam. It's not heavy metal, either, despite its aggression. So what is it? Alice Cooper music, I guess. All the musical performances are great but the standout for me is bassist Dennis Dunaway, who anchors everything with his looping, rubbery, kinetic playing. The double-stop riffing he does on 'Gutter Cats vs The Jets' is insane, and insanely good. I feel like every time I spin 'School's Out' I find something else to geek out about. Very cool!
The first song on this album was very welcome after this past week of the dregs of this list. And NIN. Three tracks in, we've got Stephen Sondheim. Give this man a Nobel Prize. We end on Sondheim, too? What is this album? It's a delight, that's what it is.
varied sound rock style favourite song: blue turk guitar sound is very cool short album
Come for the ubiquitous title track (School's Out the song is an all-time 5, no one denies this). Stay for all of the surprises the Alice Cooper Group has up their sleeves. This somehow continues to get even better with age.
I'm a huge Alice Cooper fan, so I know this album well enough, but I imagine it might surprise or confuse more casual or new listeners. Alice is most known for his shock rock persona. The title song would become by far the most popular song off of this album, and one of Alice's all time biggest hits. While School's Out (the song) is not entirely shock rock, it's probably the closest example to that on this album. That said, this album came at a time when Alice Cooper and his band were still experimenting with their sound and deciding where exactly they intended to land. (It wouldn't be until Alice's next album, Billion Dollar Babies, that they would really cement that shock rock sound that he's so known for.) This album is an example of the band's exploration prior to breaking fully into shock rock. Alice Cooper would continue experimenting throughout much of his career, but most of that exploration would still be centered around shock rock. What you have here is an intentionally bizarre, not-quite-shock-rock, progressive hard rock album that is most certainly also a concept album (it was never declared to be so, but the songs certainly have an overarching theme) with qualities not unlike a musical. While this album is not yet manifested fully into shock rock, you can hear the hints of it; the album is fairly campy and odd. It has an almost dark cabaret/burlesque quality to it mixed in with glam rock and hard rock, a combination that could maybe even be considered proto-shock rock, thereby making it an important stepping stone in what Alice Cooper would become. While this is not my favorite Alice album, it is no doubt an incredibly important piece in the story of shock rock. This particular album lands at about a 3.5 for me, but I have no problems bumping it to a 4.
When this one popped up I was a little bummed. Apparently I had a specific image of Alice Cooper. I truly enjoyed this album.
An impressive album for the time, but didn't stand out enough for me in the now.
This was actually not horrible. Pretty mellow, actually, which I always find hilarious when these proto-Goth, monster lovin', scary make-up wearin' 80s bands are really just softies at heart (albeit with some serious issues with public education - no need to blow up the school, Alice). Maybe you could teach the kids about the history of Milwaukee and put the fun back in education...
i already knew the title track and at first was let down by the rest, but after listening more the album grew on me
I'm not too familiar with Alice Cooper. Starts off with a banger, School's Out. Then tries something that feels completely different. Maybe that's his style. IDK man. It's a good album, it's got history, it's got style and grace, it's got that signature AC voice.
Decent rock album but nothing more because the rest of the albums fails to live up to the quality of the first, title giving song
4/5. Energetic, experimental and rebellious, strummy electric guitair and a strong bass line make for a good classic rock listen on the less expirimental tracks. Some are too expirimental (Gutter cat vs the jets) but some are fun and bluesy (Blue Turk). Fun for active listening but not great jam out music.
Alice Cooper was considered "devil music" as a function of my upbringing. My, how times have changed! Realizing that this was as hard as you could rock at the time, I recognize its boldness. I enjoyed the album, and would listen to it again, but it's another in the "wouldn't seek it out" club. 3 stars.
honestly not what I expected from Alice Cooper, more artsy than expected but some songs lack energy
The song “schools out” absolutely rules and it’s an end the school year summer anthem for kids everywhere, probably will be forever. But the rest of the album falls short after a great opener
Enjoyable. Like Motorhead, one I'd never have listened to either but I was very pleasantly surprised.
Classic, hard rock. Not my favorite type of music, but I can appreciate why people like it. It’s not bad instrumentals, but I don’t love the vocals. It has some musical vibes and unexpected parts. Interesting/unique sounds.
Me predispuse a decir que no me iba a gustar el disco pero la verdad es que no es malo, tal vez escuché a Cooper cuando era muy niño y por eso no me gustaba (la verdad es que poison no me late) pero no sabía que tenía baladas muy buenas y que sobre todo este disco estuviera plagado de ellas
I expected your standard classic rock album but this was... weird af lol. Points for weirdness.
Tuve que darle una segunda escuchada a este disco porque en la primera de plano no me latió nada. Escuchándolo con más detalle, me da la impresión de ser una transición entre the Doors y Aerosmith. Agradable, pero nada extraordinario. Guardé la canción de "Alma Mater" porque se me hizo simpática la letra.
I liked the concept of it, felt a little pandering to the kids of the era. But overall good sound to it and quite liked some songs
school's out is one of my favorite songs. unfortunately for this album, it's the first and best song on it.
Schools out is the obvious winner of the album, the rest was just pretty generic rock/hard rock for me
Pretty fun album. Kinda rough around the edges, but kinda Alice’s stile, right? Probably won’t revisit it, but it was fun. Favorite Tracks: “School’s Out” and “Blue Turk”
Alice Cooper is a legend and I always respected him. Not the best album I’ve heard but I like the element if theatre and the same theme carried out throughout.
Otro disco que me suena a lo que siento que la gente le gusta cuando dice que es rockera. A veces me da risa la voz de Alice Cooper (y luego el maullido, jaja). Desenfadado, con sus buenos momentos, está bueno para pasar el rato, pero no me hago fan de él. Ese interlude, "Street Fight" está cagado. Y me gustaron "School's Out" y "Public Animal #9". El "Grand Finale" sí le hace honor a su nombre... 7/10
“School’s Out” by Alice Cooper (1972). I was a junior in high school when this came out, and the people I hung out with thought that the Alice Cooper name/makeup/violence shtick was kinda lame (Back then, “Alice Cooper” referred to the band, not frontman Vince Fournier). We didn’t take the music seriously, but the riff of the title track was appealing, and it was in everyone’s head. That summer, after school was out, I ran away from home, headed for L.A., but that’s another story. Now at the age of 66 I listen to this seriously for the first time. Lyrics basically declaim, “I’m bad, I’m violent, ergo, I’m cool.”—a basic Rolling Stones posture, but shallower and more explicit. Some of the subtle paronomasia is silly. This not good poetry, nor does it prompt much thought. But the hard driving rock, with plenty of great rhythm grooves and power, evokes the mood of lower middle class suburban youth searching really, really hard for something to complain about. Lead singer Furnier has an excellent raspy rock tone, and both lead and rhythm guitars are well done. Solid rhythm section and excellent guest musicians (e.g., “Blue Turk”). This album displays plenty of variety in composition, arrangements, and production. With very colorful musical forays into jazz (“Blue Turk”), time signature shifts (“My Stars”), and big band (the exquisitely orchestral “Grande Finale”) give (shocking?) evidence of influence of Leonard Bernstein. They even rip off “West Side Story” in several places (“Gutter Cat vs. The Jets” and elsewhere). These guys have a very eclectic musical sense, and the ability to put it on tape with class. This album is better than I thought it would be. 3/5
Best divers wat die Alice hier neerzet! Had ik niet verwacht. Veel meer dan alleen 70's shock-rock. Ik hoorde een nummer wat niet had misstaan op een plaat van The Doors.
More bluesy than expected and liked the brass...definitely not quite what I was expecting, but a bit corny haha probably won't listen to it again Blue Turk is the stand out
*thought it was going to be similar jams like school's out *all over the place *jazzy song that i loved - Blue Turk *weird cat additions
SCHOOOOOOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER so TRUE so EXACTLY! also this guitar is banging. i like the man's voice. i'd defo use this as a soundtrack to my life if i was a character in stand by me
That's more like it. Not played this for more than 40 years.The vinyl version had a fold-out cover that made a desk. Intro guitar on My Stars was played by Dick Wagner, who was also lead guitar on Rock and roll animal/Lou Reed Live - brilliant. Not Alice Cooper's best, but a decent warm-up for Billion Dollar Babies.
A bit too dark for me in some places. The albums starts off on a high note with 'School's Out', which is a jam, but begins to kind of fall flat as it goes along, with nothing really standing out.
Actually really liked it, 1st track is classic, but a few others are quite catchy as well. Bass playing is gold.
I knew the title track, but the rest of the album was new to me. I enjoy his theatrical style, but the rest of the album isn't all that memorable.
More instrumentals than I would have thought. Probably provocative for it's time but I've heard more provocative music in my life.
This album was not really my thing, but it breezed by pretty quickly. I can see why people would have thought that this was a big deal in 1972 3/5
of course everyone knows the first song and i absolutely love it, but i’d never heard the rest of this album and i honestly do not know how to feel. every song is different, and i was never expecting such a variety. i enjoyed all the different genres but at times some of the songs became a tad boring, but i did enjoy the surprises.
Some of this fun but some is so ridiculous like "Gutter cat vs the Jets" that I can't take it seriously as an album.
This rock n roll sound he has going really appeals to me - the dirty guitar driven hooky sound. The subject matter is adolescent and overtly strange, which is a bit eye rolly but also fun.
A couple good songs on this one, but it seemd like they just gave up and added songs on here like they didnt try!!!!
Been listening to this album since I was like 3 years old. While I think ive partly outgrown it (not a huge fan of the lyrics in general), theres still some really interesting moments here. Closer to a 3.5 (partly for Nostalgias sake). Looney Tunes has an amazing guitar riff (also, is blue turk a reference to Dave Brubeck?).