Reviews (page 6 of 8)
I think I have only ever heard schools out from this album and I wish I had listened to it sooner because I like other songs on the album as well. There were a few where Alice changed his voice and it kind of threw me off, but I also appreciated Slightly different styles across the songs. I also liked his humor at the end at the end of Alma Mater. Overall a great album!
For something called shock rock, this album is actually pretty tame…it dabbles in jazz and country, but is mostly a punk-leaning rock album. I appreciate the cohesion of the bands sound while playing with elements from other genres.
★★½
Schools out is a pretty decent album, with the titular track being a great one. 3.6
3.5 solid aside from Schools out and Blue Turk the rest of the album is kinda just ok
So so
A couple good songs, but mostly meh
Schools out is a classic but that’s it
Some decent stuff on here
I knew Alice Cooper was from the 70s but 1972 is earlier than I expected given his style. Gutter Cat vs. the Jets is an odd one. Like West Side Story with random Sci-Fi mixed in.
6/6/24. School's Out! I've known the title track for so long but never listened to the full album. I'm glad the day came because this was an enjoyable listen, more diverse songwriting than I anticipated. It ranged from heavier to slower songs, and even in style a bit. Will check this out again.
Dang, I really wish the scale of the theme matched the variety of sound. Really liked how everything sounded. I'm all for theatrics but the school theme just felt so surfacy and dinky.
Eh, my mate Ian would kill me for having this opinion, but this concept album doesn't really grab. Opening track bangs, of course. 2 and a bit
So as a kid I used to have a little radio in my room and I liked to listen to the classic rock station 93.7FM THE BUS. At 9:00pm every night except for weekends it was nights with Alice Cooper, and I didn’t like it then I don’t like it now. I’m doomed to be haunted by Alice Cooper to the end of my days.
Again, just wish the vocals weren’t there. Cool riffs
Very bluesy, awesome album with a different sound every song and high school themes. I love it.
Besser als befürchtet
This was a really enjoyable record. Favourite tracks: School's Out, Gutter Cat vs. The Jets (love the bass guitar intro), Street Fight, Blue Turk, Alma Mater.
first note.
Some bright spots but mostly mediocre.
I know 1,000 is a big number, but did we really need TWO Alice Cooper albums?
Hard MEH
Blue Turk is nice, met de jazzy notes. 'School's out' zelf is een classic track, de rest voelt vrij skippable op zich. Het album voelt wel als een experimenteel geheel. Ik zou 3,5 geven, maar 4 is op zich ook verdiend voor dit classic rockalbum.
Despite living hard rock, I have never cared for any A. Cooper songs. This album did nothing to change that
Nah.
much more interesting than i expected. still not my thing
Not a fan of Alice Cooper
She's a lot more harmonious than you think
Classic dad rock era <3
Kinda fun I guess
A bit too rock opera for me
This is what happens when a theatre kid spends their summer vacation writing a dorky rock opera about summer vacation. It's not bad, but it does make me roll my eyes a lot. At least it kicks off with one of the best hard rock songs ever, and that makes it a bit more tolerable.
First song is a classic. Doesn't stick the landing the same way for the rest of the album
not my favourite album from Alice but solid
ah, the incomparable alice cooper. while not necessarily his best effort, this is still a good album to show that ol’ black eyes is so much more than his hits. this album not only contains good old fashioned rock and roll, but also references to west side story, and even flirtations with jazz. the album focuses on teen rebellion and alienation, but also nostalgia… all wrapped up in alice’s songwriting. highlights: “school’s out”, “luney tune”, “my stars”, “public animal number 9”…
One good song
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.
Eh
One of the glam rock albums that actually rocks from that period. Also a concept album that is not recognized as frequently as its contemporaries. While the single "School's Out", gets all the attention, I actually also loved the cheeky humor of the glam rock rewrite of "Jet Song" from the musical West Side Story as the renamed "Gutter Cat vs. The Jets" along with "Street Fight". My other favorites were the jazz loungie snark of "Blue Turk", the blues of "My Stars", the rocking rebellious "Public Animal #9", but perhaps my favorite track on the album is the instrumental "Grand Finale" that works in bits of the "Jet Song" melodies as closer. While I enjoy bits of David Bowie's THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST, I actually enjoy SCHOOL'S OUT, which was also released in 1972, more. SCHOOL'S OUT, in my opinion, is a better mixed record and shorter, and tighter collection of songs at just 36 minutes.
Surprised by this one. A bit campy in the vein of the Meatloaf record on the list. Riffs from West Side Story. Title track is still fun.
sounds like urine. im having a bad day and this album sucks
Classic, but a bit to classic for me... Still good
luney tune blue turk my stars grande finale
I love Alice Cooper and haven’t listened to this album inmany years. I first heard this album as a young teenager. And it had the best line of all time (we can’t even think of a word that rhymes).
A very good album that surprised me at first by the sound of Alice Cooper beyond just the title track
4st
Quite enjoyed the jazzier blusier tracks. Solid 3.5 stars.
mixed
This was weird but interesting
Great rock and roll but not my favorite Alice album
I feel like it would be better as a live show.
Classic title track, but a little light on much of anything else for me.
Too emo
Never was a fan of Alice Cooper. I mean, it's not bad, but just... corny? Maybe if I was 14 in 1971 I would love it. Just hasn't aged well in retrospect. Too theatric and gets a bit showtuney in spots.
Not what I expected as someone who only knew the title track before today. Pretty cool stuff.
Of course I knew the first song. Test of the album felt quite different, I liked it!
Probably the most unexpected album of the list so far. It was an eclectic work of art really.
Very fun, very theatrical, very interesting that I’d never heard anything beyond the title track before.
The title track is a classic. The bass player does a lot of heavy lifting on this album. The pseudo showtunes are a little weird, did not expect to hear West Side Story tracks here. I never got the hype on Alice Cooper but the album is fine.
I think I get this one. Some tracks are experimental, as if each band member got to take an idea and run with it. What resluts from that approach is an album with a little something for everyone. You may not like all of the tracks, but there might be one that hits the nail on the head and is exactly what you're looking for. It's also very clear how old this album is. It sounds like early rock and roll. I find it much more endearing than million dollar babies.
I’m surprised by how good this album was, given how little I liked the other Alice Cooper album. Billion Dollar Babies? Not gonna look it up, but I think that was it. This one was dynamic, creative. I enjoyed and didn’t expect the bluesy, jazzy, soulful elements.
A superb hit single to lead off followed by an album of its time. Never really gets back into full gear but a decent listen.
That was shite. I've seen Alice before but was too pissed to remember. Looking forward to being made to listen to this when it popped up but what an absolute mess. Seemed to stumble from genre to genre, tweaking each slightly to try and sound cool to rebellious 14 year olds in the early 70s. Really, really not my thing. 1.5*
Reminds me of rock operas like "The Wall" but instead of hard rock-ish sounds it's dominated by glam rock which I personally find bland most of the time. It's surprisingly boring overall. But I gotta give it credit for being surprisingly interesting tho. I like the proggy jazz vibe in some places.
strong 3. Cant make 4 but is quite good
Fun album, a few songs I had forgotten. Still not as good as Love It To Death, but pretty decent.
I think I'm gonna hate dad rock as much as the other music snobs by the end of this list. I didn't mind the last two tracks.
I had never listened to the whole album before, but I do like the title track. Overall, a decent album.
first listen definitely a confusing album, kinda all over?
This is a fun album that has managed to not age all that much over the years
I love Alice Cooper, and I think this album was going for a theme of what happens in the absence of school. A critic on the Wikipedia article confirmed that. I get it. I don’t know if I’d come back to it unless I just wanted to hear more Cooper. I liked the West Side Story connection.
Not for me
A powerful rock album with an especially powerful title track. It's something that bangs. As a prog rock fan mostly, it's not what tickles my fancy that much though.
It’s actually better than I expected. The title song is a little cheesy to me, so I expected the entirety of the album to follow suit. Alices’s stage show is super over the top. The album, on the other hand, is not. I rather enjoyed several songs. I’ve liked Alice Cooper since his role in Wayne’s World but I’ve also always heard that’s he’s actually down to earth and a really kind person. It makes me like the album even more.
Shoutout Guitar Hero. Was surprised to hear a West Side Story song on this record.
While I hadn't played this album before, I was familiar with the title track. After listening to the album several times, I reckon that School's Out (the track) is fantastic, but that the rest of the album doesn't quite match it.
All due respect to Alice Cooper, this album was incredible for its time
Good for what it is
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!
Always enjoy a bit of Alice Cooper. Really wide range of styles and influences that you don't get to fully appreciate when only listening to the singles. (3.3)
i wish school was out. it's got the standard rock sound for the time. it's fine.
swag
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.
dnf. this may have been edgy back in the day but it sounds like clown music now
Proto Manson is not as scary. This was a surprise in the server that it wasn't all dude rock.
Once the glammed up Strum und Drang of School's Out approaches its conclusion, Alice Cooper (man and band) take great strides to refine and surprise listeners with their blown-up and blown-out definition of rock and roll. Delinquency has never sounded as delightfully and dangerously cool as this and you can thank all the tables you've drawn on, scratched up, drooled or put gum under for that. avorites: School's Out, Luney Tune, Gutter Cat vs. The Jets, Blue Turk, Alma Mater, Grande Finale.
School's Out is a great song, but the rest is just meh.
The Waynes World movie in the 90s introduced me to Alice Cooper. What a fascinating person! This album has the song most people know, which is also the title of the album. What I wasn’t expecting was hearing a show tune from West Side Story and the horns and blues influences. Eclectic and eccentric.
...
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?
Much more textured than I thought it would be. Could be a musical theatre soundtrack, if that musical was a freaky, sleazy blues-rock musical set in a haunted high school. The musicality is impressive too. Rather unfairly I was expecting a 12 bar blues bar room kind of feel, but they throw in Blue Turk - a jazzy, saxy bordello vibe, then go into My Stars which is an operatic opus with more changes than a Jim Steinbeck song. Alma Mater sounds like McCartney. And it's a tight 9 songs in 37 minutes. A lesser band would have had made a couple of these songs 8 minute numbers to pad it out. Track 3 (Gutter Rat vs The Jets) was a bit dull and I nearly gave up on this, thinking I had got the gist of the album after Schools Out and a good fun rock number Luney Tune. Glad I stuck with it.
Why was this top 35 in 2023 weekly hungarian chart? For one (egy) week? And more importantly, why mention it on it's wikipedia page? This anomaly was the only thing about this album that I cared about. Not bad, just uninteresting
it started off weird to the point where I /almost/ liked some of it but then it turned into boomer shit again. I feel a great fatigue
Solid album. Can see why Alice Cooper was influential for several bands.
Some good and some bad. Blue Tuck and Luney Tune are top 2 songs.
good length
Schools out is good.
Listened Before? N A real rocker! Alice Cooper at his peak in the 70s was the complete package. A showman and a good musician - with unique things to say. I enjoyed this album. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: School's Out
Ganska tråkig rock. Tycker inte ens schools out är särskilt bra. Lite "lattjo". Mer en gimmick.
Blev positivt överraskad av denna. Trodde hela skivan skulle vara tonårsbandig och glamrockig i samma stil som School’s out, men det var verkligen en blandad kompott. Lite svårt att betygsätta då det spretar åt så många håll, men landar i en fyra åt det lite svagare hållet.
Bastante guay. No le pongo 5 porque no tiene la canción Poison.
Yllätyin todella positiivisesti! Schools out kyl kuraa, mut muuten ihan jees
Dislike: My stars Meh: Gutter cat vs the jet Street fight Blue turk Public animal #9 Grand finale Like: School's out Luney tune Alma mater Added to playlist:
Pretty cool but couldn’t get into it past a few songs … did love the grand finale
Fuck this shit
actually pretty interesting, a cool blend of rock and sometimes jazzy, psychedelic. not bad
Not a fan, but this one is a collection of ultra-hits, which makes it solid to me
School's Out is an iconic track. I don't know a single person who didn't blast that song the day school let out. The rest of this album is solid too, although generally speaking 70s/80s hard rock isn't really my thing.
This might be my most pleasant surprise so far. Absolutely fantastic.
The musical theatre flair should thrill me more than it does. (I mean he samples West Side Story for goodness sake!!) But outside the title track I don’t find much to be enthusiastic about. Mostly it’s a fine rock record if not a little bland. 3/5
3.653 One of the greatest album sleeves ever. Drank beer at my neighbor's when I was 17 to this one. Diverse sounding album for 1972. Mom played it while I rocked in my cradle.
Much more enjoyable than I expected! Sometimes it crosses over into being a little campy or theatrical, but that’s who Alice Cooper is. The jazz blues influence caught me off guard and some of those bass lines are pure funk.
Not my thing not my thing not my thing
It wasn't anything special to me.
Very iconic, very fun.
Has some good recognizable tunes
Pleasantly surprised. Really want sure what was in here besides the title track. Found a few deep tracks I enjoyed. Overall a good background listen.
Schooooooooooools. Out. For. Summer.
petty gewd!!!
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.
bin angenehm überrascht
A lot more going on here than I’d have expected. It’s theatrical, glam, intricate and fun. My head wants to give it a 5 but for some reason my heart can only go up to a 4. I should listen to more Alice Cooper though.
Strong and absolutely classic opening track but didn’t really vibe with the rest of it.
This is very good. I only knew the title track but I really enjoyed the rest of the songs as well.
Don't really get it
Some of these songs, like “My Stars” really impressed me and caught me by surprise. Overall though this album doesn’t have a ton of replay value for me personally.
I thought I'd enjoy that. Did not expect it to be a 5-star though
Rough and unadorned music
The title track reminds me so much of my dad so there is definitely some nostalgia there. The lyrics are so incredibly cheesy though haha. I actually don't think I've ever listened to anything else on this album. Was not expecting Westside Story on this album!!!! Blue Turk actually isn't too bad. I like the more jazzy feel to it and the saxophone. My Stars was actually pretty good too. Okay the first part of the album was what I was expecting but I really did not expect this album to go where it went. I was mostly expecting the glam rock stuff like School's Out. But I didn't expect it to get jazzy/bluesy. I also didn't expect the broadway Westside Story bit.
Super fun and again, not what I expected! I like how theatrical it is. Especially, the full blown West Side Story revival right in the middle of it. I also love how it closes out with the Grand Finale, tying it all together. For a pretty surface level album, it somehow feels deep like The Wall by Pink Floyd. However, instead of being deep, it's just kind of about nothing. Which is maybe the brilliance of it. I had a great time listening to this record.
Cool album! Very eclectic.
Much groovier and poppier than I was expecting!
Only good song is the title
School’s out is great but rest of album underwhelmed.
Best song was “school’s out” and not much else on the album
fun with lots of different sounds
Competent and even here and there interesting, yes, but also silly and sloppy and a touch boring, which one is pretty sure not what this band was going for. The finger snaps on "Gutter Cat vs. The Jets" are a brief highlight, as is the piano vamping on "My Stars" and the horns-synth combo play in "Grand Finale." "Blue Turk" might be the best cut overall, but much else is just overdramatic attention-seeking of no more than mediocre merit. The parts are more than the sum, basically, and as a whole this one's not worth one's (or anyone's) time.
You know, I really like classic rock. I like the tone, I like the musical instrumentation, I like the general vibes. I also like that the albums tend towards 36 minutes long so during say, a project to listen to 1001 albums, I'm not stuck on the same one for an hour and a half. About this album in particular, it rocks. What else is there to say. It's Alice Cooper.
Only familiar with School's Out from this album, but it showed a surprising amount of variety for such a small album. Not bad.
School's out is a killer single. It's the first track on the album. From there, tracks slowly become more instrumental, culminating in the final song, which sounds like something a fan composed for the Avengers sound track.
# Playlist track - Grand Finale # Notes - I've first seen this album playing Guitar Hero! It is still amazing. - The "Grand Finale" absolutely blew my mind. I don't know what the hell was that and what is it doing on an Alice Cooper album, but it is GREAT.
'70s at its best.
Not my favorite from him. I vastly preferred his 80's album, Trash, that he did with Desmond Child. Super 80s hair/pop rock, but I was into that at the time.
School's Out, and so am I.
Interestingly poppy
Surprised to say the least. Sure, we all know "School's out". But who knew they "sampled" West Side Story? And there were moments that were very jazzy on this record. Really surprising and entertaining.
While the first half of this album definitely brings memories of a better time that I was never alive for (or maybe I've just seen Dazed and Confused too many times), it sort of runs out of steam by the end to the point where the Grande Finale feels unearned. It's a classic classic rock record, and I really love Alice, but I wanted more juice here.
Chock-full of performative, angst-fueled shock rock anthems, School's Out proves that even though Alice Cooper looks like a goth or a metalhead, he was always a theatre kid at heart.
This was a surprise. I definitely wasn't expecting West Side Story or jazz. Very unexpected. I have adjusted my clearly woefully incorrect impression of Alice Cooper. Really like Blue Turk.
Krass. Das Album ist so anders wie die Single und generell die bekannten Songs. Starke 3
Alice Cooper ist echt nicht mein Ding. Theoretisch nicht schlecht (ist halt n Klassiker), aber die Vocals und der Kitsch. Meh. Best: Blue Turk (fast schon jazzig) Worst: Gutter Cats vs. The Jets MEEEOW
N: 1, J: 3'5
The beginning of the architect of Shock Rock. Good, but the best is yet to come.
Great record sleeve!
It was pretty good, a bunch of songs I was unfamiliar with. I have outgrown the style, but it was good to hear a blast from the past.
LP
J'avais l'impression d'écouter un show musical, mais plus rock. enjoyable 6.5/10
Very good. I liked most of the other songs more than the title track.
One should really be in the moode for Alice Cooper. But if you're ever in that mood, he does not disapoint.
Shock rock! Actually a fan of the genre.
Love Alice. Always good R&R
You get a couple of classic tracks that the world can sing the words to, but it’s impossible for me to listen to the entire album. Very disjointed.
Okay turns out I had no clue what kind of music Alice Cooper made. Luney Tune and Grande Finale go hard, and I hate to be a basic bitch but School's Out bangs. The childish "badass" lyrics did elicit a couple giggles from me but I don't think they're a detriment to the album bc they were probably written that way on purpose. Light 3 stars bc most of the album was just fine.
Kind of weird hearing a 24 year old sing so much about school. Move on brother, it's just creepy at this point! This album sounds like it's tailor made for playing faintly over the shitty speakers at a dive bar. The thing is, if you dropped me in the 70s, put 5 beers in me, gave me a couple cigs, and sent me to that dive bar, I'd rock right along with the music. 2/5
Started out w a pretty classic jukebox hit. Then i was surprised to see this album go in so many different directions. And it kind of worked.
Very disappointed School's out is a great anthem but I'm afraid the rest of the album is dull and uninspiring. There's nothing really bad, just nothing good A real shame
What a diverse sounding album. I love School's Out. Appropriately enough it was in the charts when we were leaving our penultimate year at Secondary School and it was an exciting time so the song always resonates, even now. I thought some of the other tracks were very different & interesting. 4*
Enjoyed it on the whole.
He looks so much like Steve Carrell its crazy. Cooper never really gets there for me but it's definitely not bad.
Not sure what to make of this exactly. Seems like he had an idea for one song and decided to try to make an album of it. Kind of all over the place but nothing terrible. Light 3.
Fine classic rock but nothing special in my opinion
Only knew the title track before listening, but I think this is a really good album. Not just hard rock. I love the way they incorporated the music from West Side Story!
Pretty good and theatrical classic rock. Not quite as corny as Meatloaf but for some reason that makes it worse to me. Like if you are gonna go there then GO THERE. First track is of course absolutely killer. Would do a 3.5 if possible.
Classic album.
Solid album, quite random lyrics and your typical album. The trombone, keys and guitar work extremely well in Blue Turk, and the Instrumental track to end is quite grandiose.
I don’t like Gwar or Rob Zombie or Alice Cooper. I don’t want any horror in my rock & roll. The only thing scary about those bands is how shitty their music is. Grand Finale was decent because it was an instrumental and they couldn’t make it all stupid with their stupid lyrics. Other than that this is total garbage.
One of those albums I have never got around to listening to, so only knew the title track. Very different to what I expected - more Zappa less AC/DC. Didn't mind it.
Enjoyable rock album mixed in with some jazzy vibes
Chat, is it bad that I just learned that Alice Cooper was the name of his band too?
Surprisingly great singing and you can feel Alice Cooper influencing every heavy rock artist that came after. Noteworthy for the Broadway style theatricality, which is not unexpected for Alice Cooper considering his reputation as a live act (esp. in the early days). I love that Alice Cooper is partially responsible for jettisoning the hippies from the pop charts. In 1972 I think everyone was probably ready for a break. Fun album!
This record surprised me a lot. I'm not super familiar with Alice Cooper aside from the myth and image and the obvious title track hit on this record. I was not expecting the whole cabaret feel and him doing his own take on a West Side Story. I also loved the squonky sax all over it too. This record is awesome and my impression of Alice Cooper has been raised considerably.
Love the piano on My Stars. The last 2 songs are a bit odd. Pretty fun album
Ein Klassiker
Unexpected! Almost like listening to a musical
I liked this more than I expected. It’s far more melodic than I expected. More like Boston than like metal. Some parts were a bit too theatrical (like Meatloaf), but on the whole it’s great.
I was expecting more straightforward late 70s/early 80s rock/metal... and this was definitely weirder and more interesting than that. Still, just shy of 3 stars in my book.
Does this accompany a movie soundtrack? I have no other explanation for the theatrical instrumental songs (Street Fight, Grand Finale.) Didn't mind Blue Turk but was otherwise not really my thing.
Couple of good tracks but overall not for me
Decent
As others have suggested, this is far more varied than you might expect. Even enjoyed the West Side Story numbers.
Not my cup of tea, but not the worst I've been subject to listen on this venture.
The second Alice Cooper albums I've gotten. I'm still so surprised how different they sound than I expected. His look looks so much edgier. The music is very tame, kinda poppy rock. More glam than metal. Favorite track: My Stars.
Blue turk was great gave this album a 3.
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 💜
heavily dissapointed the lead singer is not a woman. assumed this was a woman artist not a band by the name lol meh music also i got a headache from the super high pitched whine present throughout this album
i feel some songs lean quite heavily into classic rock and are decent (like the first two tracks), and some lean much too heavily into experimenting with orchestral or jazz music (like grand finale) for my tastes. however the songs which are just between two groups are perfect to me such as blue turk (jazzy undertones here are nice) and my stars (made dramatic with theatric-sound rock). these two alone bump the rest of the albums average 3 rating to a 4. also gutter cat vs the jets was an interesting experience.
This was unexpected. Some very cool songs
Like individual songs but not the album. 2/5
Decent enough
Man, I did not expect to like this album, but I did. First time I heard the tracks apart from School's out, and they went from psychedelic to jazzy to hard rock and back again. Blue Turk kicks ass. I was expecting the band known for their onstage antics, but there's interesting innovation and creativity here.
More interesting than I expected
This is better than I remember it being the first time I ever heard it, with the mix of this showtune-ness of it all with American glam felt like it was no one but Alice Cooper's. That doesn't mean every song here is memorable, though, which isn't great when an album is already pretty short. However, you'll never not hear me sing the praises of Alma Mater, which is one of the band's best tracks, and brings this album up from okay to good, which is quite the feat for one track. This album is nothing spectacular, in fact I'd say there are multiple Alice Cooper albums that are better before and after this, but this is still a solid release from a group/performer that I feel can go much lower quality-wise.
Expected more songs about monsters. Got a pretty decent classic rock album. Not bad!
This was fun. More diverse than expected, only knowing the album that followed this one. Holds up well.
I have to admire the diversity on this album. Its goes jazzy and proggy ar times. That said, it doesn't do much for me.
In grade 7 or 8 I got this album on release with the vinyl wrapped in panties. I remember my uncle taking the panties and putting them on our doberman. That's a glam rock moment! I can still recite from memory every line from the West Side Story bit in Gutter Cat vs The Jets. Yup - my culture for musicals (or lack thereof) started with the Coop. This album doesn't sound anywhere near as good as it did when I was 12 but I'm giving it a 4. I don't care if you don't agree with it; I don't agree with it either - but I'm giving it anyway.
I was going to gripe about how 1001 could possibly pick this LP over either of the 2 previous AC LPs that launched the theatrical live shows that made them famous. The Wiki review confirmed this by stating that the only song from “Schools Out” retained in their live shows was the title track. However, after listening, my mood improved. I have to admit that there are some pretty great songs here, my favourite being “Blue Turk” with its jazzy interplay between trombone and saxophone at a sophisticated level unheard of on rock albums at that time (Roxy Music or Pink Floyd, for example; Steely Dan exempted). “Luney Tune” and “My Stars” are also great, the latter featuring proggy piano and drumming. I’m undecided about the mixed concept of Highschool vs West Side Story but it produced some songs that were different (ie not shock rock) for AC and reflective of bands trying to expand their sounds in the early 70s.
Back in 72 I was still in grade school and "School's out" was all the rage at that time, the rebellious lyrics and vocals probably stuck a chord with many kids so I’m not surprised that it made it to No. 3 on the Canadian charts. However, I didn’t think it was such a big deal then and 50 yrs later I still don’t see the appeal. The same goes for the rest of this album.
OK- loved the vibe and brass band in the grand finale :)
Wow, I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
Fun listen, good old rock. Alice cooper just seems like a fun dude
I like this one but "Killer" is better!
Not exactly what I was expecting, but Schools Out is still the best track on the album. Seems kinda soft, mello, & easy going for a shock rock musician. Grande Finale is good too..
I had only heard the title track prior to listening, and this was not what I was expecting. Very similar in style to what the Who were doing at the time. Definitely good.
Nein
This album was definitely not what I thought it was going be. I had only heard schools out before now, and I think very few of the songs had that sound. Particularly Blue Turk caught me by surprise. Otherwise , I really enjoyed it.
I feel like Alice Cooper was most definitely a theater kid.
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!
The song "Blue Turk" is absolutely stunning: organs, trumpets, clear and in-tune singing. Very well produced. Gives me a "Doors" feeling. For the rest, many shouty, badly produced, early punk.
A pretty campy, musical theatre style classic rock album. It's well played and it's fun in a tame sort of way. There's nothing to dislike about the album but nothing I loved either I think I'm just at least 15 years too old for it. A light 4/10
I never paid attention before, but Alice Cooper had a hell of support on the bass. Poor mixing on Schools Out doesn't let them shine, but Gutter Cat Vs. The Jets sees him leading the pack with something reminiscent of Les Claypool (can safely say I was not expecting the Westside Story interpolation). More bass goodness on Blue Turk although this sounds like a blatant The Doors ripoff. My Stars is a cool one with prog influences at work, lead largely by virtuouso guitar work and a piano melody. Found myself jamming along quickly. Alma Mater bites The Beatles real hard. I mean outside of the outro it sounds identical to some of their songs in structure and tone. Not a bad thing, just stands out. Album ends on an instrumental track. Kinda of meh on the grand scheme. This album was way better and more varied than I anticipated coming in. If I could give it a 3.5 I would, but will round down here because I don't think it packed enough punch to push to 4.
What the fuck did I listen to on that Gutter Cat and Street fight song. Love School's Out. Makes me think of the movie Dazed and Confused. The rest of the album was decent, Alice Cooper is certainly a weird guy
This had a lot more electronic and blues to it than I anticipated. I was expected straight up rock n' roll with some hair metal. First song is a classic. At one point in your life you listened to School's Out while leaving school for summer for the last time and never got to leave school for summer ever again :( The rest of the album had tons of variety and fun elements that I was not expecting. Alma Mater and Grand Finale was a great way to end things.
I have known the title track for many years now and it is such a fun song to sing along with. The album took a much different turn after that song and it seemed to change styles completely. It took me a few songs to get into it but I was pretty hooked in once it got really jazzy in Blue Turk. Grande Finale was a cool way to end it with more instrumental big band style. I was not fully paying attention to this album but from what I heard I really liked so I am certainly going to have to give this another play through.
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.
It's okay, a little campy for my tastes
Good instrumentals, bad vocals, including the style and the dumb lyrics.
Net als de vorige keer: wel aardige jaren 70-shockrock, maar niks met eeuwigheidswaarde. En deze keer niet eens James Bond-muziek.
De webpagina liep vast op mijn telefoon. Ik kon wel de Spotify-link zien, maar niet welk album het zou worden. Best geinig eigenlijk zo'n verrassingsconstructie. Ik hoopte op een lekkere rock-plaat. En ja hoor, er komt Alice Cooper uit de roulette rollen. De eerste klanken kent iedereen. 'School's Out'. Ik ben inmiddels niet meer de doelgroep. Maar stiekem ook voor de werkenden een lekker in het gehoor liggend plaatje. De volgende nummers kan ik geen evergreens noemen. Maar het luistert allemaal prima weg en het is lekker afwisselend. Fijn bijvoorbeeld dat er ook wat jazzy klanken voorbijkomen (Blue Turk). Klapstuk van de plaat: 'My Stars'. Piano, gitaar, drum, en zang krijgen allen dwars door elkaar de hoofdrol, maar vormen toch een geheel.
School's out is natuurlijk een episch nummer, maar het heeft wel een enorm top2000 gehalte. Misschien dat ik me dat voorstel, nu het tijdstip van het jaarlijkse boomerfestival van de radio dichter en dichter nadert, maar het voelt wel flink gedateerd aan in ieder geval. En ondanks dat het gedateerd is, klinkt het toch wel lekker. Beetje foute glamrock. Ik kan het prima hebben.
Better live than on record
Actually much better than anticipated. Wasn't expecting the West Side Story quotations.
Surprisingly bad, very different to the single
School’s Out is not what I expected. It’s much more eclectic than the straight rock I assume Cooper played. This isn’t the sound I imagined from the guy with eye liner on. It almost feels like a musical at times. Blue Turk is fantastic and full blown Jazz Rock. Public Animal #9 is more of what I expected. Overall it’s theatrical, energetic, diverse. 7.8/10
Pretty good. Nothing amazed me, but there wasn’t really anything bad. Not my favourite Alice Cooper album (so far that goes to Billion Dollar Babies) but not too much worse. Also, School’s Out (the song) is vastly overrated. I really don’t care for the lyrics at all. 7/10 Top 3: 1. Luney Tune 2. Blue Turk 3. Gutter Cat vs. The Jets
Fine ig,,, kinda noisy but somehow also tedious and boring
Solid
Dramatique, bien arrangé, parfois orchestral. Différent de ce que j’attendais, mais j’ai beaucoup aimé
Alice Cooper’s persona’s such a fun middle ground between guitar hero music and gothy theater kid, hard to not be charmed by that
When I’ve heard of the title track, but can’t name any other songs by that artist, I begin to worry. I am especially skeptical when that title track comes first. This album confirms those fears, the title track doesn’t hold up, and the remainder of the songs are incredibly thin.
i love this album, i listened all day, so creative and fun and spooky
Yeah, classic rock is classic but this one feels a bit thin apart from the title track. I prefer Billion Dollar Babies.
Fantastic
I was gifted this album when I was 14 years old, listened to it once and forgot about it. Much better than in my memory, little bit more bluesy than 80's Alice and I like that.
I dunno how to feel about this. This album squanders a lot of its own potential for me, usually by throwing a wrench in some otherwise solid songs. I was there at the start: the campy stadium rock production, the bombastic raspy vocals, the theatrics and the showiness of it all — I was getting into it until “Gutter Cat.” That really left a sour taste in my mouth that never really left. The first half features some classically sexist catcalling lyrics made leagues creepier by the nasally raspy delivery and then the second half is frankly a huge disrespect to West Side Story and Sondheim. Woof. It didn’t help that the following full-length track, “Blue Turk,” which features the singer at what I’m sure is his regular voice since the rasp appears only occasionally when he forces it out, is a nice and groovy song. It left me wondering what the point of the rasp was in the first place since he sounds nicer when he’s singing like, well, himself. It seemed to me, then, that he was just trying too hard to be idiosyncratic, and that issue follows the album to the very end. It tries to do camp well, but it falls short. Fav tracks: Luney Tune, Blue Turk, Public Animal #9
Je trouve ça drôle que je disais sur l'album de Deep Purple juste avant que je n'étais vraiment pas fan de old school hard rock, pour que l'album du lendemain soit exactement ça, mais que je le trouve vraiment bon. Probablement parce que ça cherche à être plus que lourd et avec beaucoup de notes de guitares flashy. Il y a un soucis de composition qui est un peu plus présent. Les chansons sont mieux structurées, plus de couches présentes. Il y a carrément même un aspect un peu théâtral, surtout la finale. Pas un album parfait, mais un album vraiment fun à écouter. 8/10
Honestly p wack
Legal o som, mas não fica à altura do hit
Stand-out work from the original shock-rocker. Cleverly mashes mainstream rock with actual musicality making for an exciting yet satisfying listening experience. Recommended.
Good
A pretty interesting array of musical styles. Gutter cats vs the jets caught me off guard. 3
3.75
Classic
I think that my previous listening to the title track threw me off for the rest of the album. It’s almost like it didn’t not fit musically with the other 8 songs. Those other 8 however, fit nicely with each other and formed a solid album.
This was very theatrical. I was only familiar with Track 1 but found myself enjoying the rest. I feel like Alice Cooper may have been that weird drummer in marching band who also did theater and was always the center of attention, but in a band nerd/theater nerd kind of way. For the record those are my people so no offense meant.
Having only listened to one Cooper album before (his latest at this time, released in 2023), I wasn't sure what to expect. Nothing particular jumps out at me as really good or bad, so I guess it gets a solid “I enjoyed it” 3, but will likely not get a re-listen. There's no doubt these are skilled musicians, and it seems like they're having a blast playing. This album seems to capture the “classic rock” sound perfectly for a child of the millennial era. As a side note, I made the mistake of listening to the Expanded and Remastered release, a two hour loop of these tracks from different concerts or studio sessions, and now I never want to hear the song, “School's Out,” again. The live renditions of some tracks are pretty good though.
Certainly much more varied than I was expecting; I was only familiar with a few Alice Cooper songs, but there's some range on this album. Largely decent even if it wasn't the hair metal I was expecting. Also my dog was SUPER interested in some of the weird sound effects he produced, so...props for that?
I think I would be better served going back in time, to high school, to listen to this record. I still don't think I would like it, but thematically it would make more sense. I think I would prefer instrumental tracks. It was the lyrics that kept pulling me out of the moment.
Normally, it's this genre of '70s to '80s hard rock (or metal) that doesn't age well. A few decades after it sounds cheesy and dated, only passing as either guilty pleasure music or drunken karaoke staples. Not this album though. It's a lot more varied than I thought it would be - there's obviously plenty of rock, but we also hear a fair bit of jazz, some theatrics and drama, and a fully instrumental closing track. And all the while it stays familiar to the Alice Cooper sound. This is how you write a record that stands the test of time. Besides the title track, standouts are Blue Turk, Public Animal #9 and Grande Finale.
doing the 'camp' that we didn't like from Bat Out Of Hell and Tommy but in a rockin' way that connects all the dots.
Alice Cooper rules. But the album as a whole was just okay.
Pleasantly surprised with a bit of variety here. Last two tracks are cool as well. It has highlights for sure. Good album with good tracks.
Not a fan.
Opening track is a classic. The rest of the album is very same-ish 70's rock.
Pretty good
Heavy hitters on this album. I was surprised how youthful it still sounds.
This album surprised me. I was expecting more basic glam/hard rock like the title track. I wasn’t expecting a concept album that spanned musical theater, jazz, blues, and art rock. Alice Cooper’s use of West Side Story was brilliant, and linking that to a loose story of getting older and uncertain about the future as exemplified by graduating high school was rather inspired.
Dammit. "No more teachers. No more dirty looks." "We got no class. We got no principals (principles)" Love the homonyms.
Much less interesting or exciting than i expected. Grande Finale and Blue Turk are the most straightforward and seem fine... the rest of the album is not the classic rock i was hoping for... it seemed like a lot of misses.
Classic rock
Great classic rock album with good guitar tones and the legendary Alice Cooper wailing at the mic. 4.5 stars if i could.
I'm not terribly familiar with Alice Cooper's work, so what I was expecting was a lot of songs of the title track's ilk. Fortunately, much of the album is a good bit more subtle than that, ranging into glammy and proto-punk territory. Not bad.
Some bangers, but overall nothing too mind blowing
Worse than expected, what’s with the musical theatre bits. Hope to never hear any of his music again.
Some decent tunes, but too much random West Side Story musical theatre shit.
Dogshit
B+ School's Out 4 Luney Tune 4 Gutter Cat vs. The Jets 3 Street Fight* 3 Blue Turk 4 My Stars 5 Public Animal #9 3 Alma Mater 4 Grande Finale 3 Adam texted me about this before I listened: "Brotha this Alice cooper album is actually so surprising" and "It feels like a broadway musical". So, when I listened for the first time and heard direct musical and lyrical references to West Side Story, it made sense. However, this is more like "Inspired by West Side Story" than an indirect spinoff. The music was so friggin' good in this. It totally took me by surprise. I didn't like it much on the first listen, but after multiple more, it felt like one of the best albums of the past 100 or so.
Standouts: School's Out Next best: Public Animal #9, Alma Mater I like Alice Cooper, but I think a greatest hits album is more my speed. The rest of the songs don't grab my attention too much. School's Out is CLASSIC but the rest....eh. The songs I do like are enough to give it a 3/5 and I'll bump it up .5 due to the Alice Cooper name. 3.5 / 5
A fun old-school rock romp, really loved the trebly bass presence throughout. Does feel a bit homogeneous at times, but thankfully its short runtime means the fun doesn’t overstay its welcome too long.
Not my kind of thing. Probably ground-breaking at the time, but just sounds like dated radio-friendly rock these days, which isn't something i'd listen to through choice
I've never heard any Alice Cooper besides the radio hits. School's Out is pretty rad. But this album is all over the place. Stylistically they don't seem to know what they are. I didn't dislike it but I wasn't excited about this. 2.5 rounding up.
I enjoyed this album. I honestly had never spent any time listening to Alice Cooper and really only knew anything about him from popular culture/Wayne's World. The album feels much more theatric and conceptual than the more straightforward metal I expected out of the group considering their image. I don't know if I'll come back to the record as a whole but I didn't really dislike any of the tracks either. I was surprised that there were two instrumental tracks on a 9 track album. Then, there was one song that sounded very Doors-like and another song that incorporates West Side Story themes. It was cool how all over the place it was but still felt like one piece. Standout Tracks: School's Out, My Stars, Public Animal #9, Alma Mater
Theatrical and jazzy classic rock. This album stays just the right side of the novelty caricature line due to the surprising musical variety, maturity and complexity. This combination creates a fun and enjoyable album. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: School's Out Date listened: 05/09/23
Ég hef nú aldrei verið hrifin af þessum kalli, og ekki bætti það úr skák fyrir stuttu þegarr hann fór að tala um trans fólk með rassgatinu á sér. Þessi plata er heldur ekkert spes. Ansi mikið copy paste frá öðru listafólki þess tíma.
I was hoping to like this album more, but I already knew the best songs off of it, in my opinion. It's okay, but nothing special. Alma Mater is definitely a highlight and I was waiting eagerly to listen to it the entire duration of the album. I'd say it leans too much into kinda basic rock for me at points. Glad I listened to it though. My favourite song was Alma Mater.
It's an interesting enough take on "classic" rock that it kept my ears perked. Gutter Cat vs. The Jets caught me off guard at first, but I got into it by the end.
Not much to this album except School's Out, which is surprising
surprisingly jazzy?
Cooper has said he was inspired to write the song when answering the question, "What's the greatest three minutes of your life?". Cooper said: "There's two times during the year. One is Christmas morning, when you're just getting ready to open the presents. The greed factor is right there. The next one is the last three minutes of the last day of school when you're sitting there and it's like a slow fuse burning. I said, 'If we can catch that three minutes in a song, it's going to be so big."
3. The first two songs weren't really my cup of tea, but I enjoyed what came after.
its ok to good rock, doesn't make me feel a great deal. Maybe it's the performance aspect which has been since been done better by others. 2.6
I don’t like the vocals, it’s pretty cheesy at points, still got some solid tracks like the closer and the opener. Got some great instrumentation as well. Overall decent record, 6/10.
You gotta repsect the performance, the voice. The album has its themes, Cooper projects his awesome persona. But on the overall scale it's "just"good.
Very good Alice Cooper album with a big hit (the title track) and a couple of other great songs. But maybe a bit too much cabaret and not enough rock. So very good but not on the same classic level as Killer (best opening song ever ...telephone is ringing), Love It To Death and Billion Dollar Babies, which are all 5-star albums. score: 8/10.
This does not completely appeal to me, except some attractive riffs here and there (e.g., in Luney Tune).
its a hair metal album inspired by West side story
I was not expecting the album to go like that.
The first song ruled, but got less interesting after that