Alice Cooper - Schools Out (1972) (Gold CD Remaster Edit 2009)

Alice Cooper - Schools Out (1972) (Gold CD Remaster Edit 2009)

Thanks to Thor for this share!

Our 24K + series will bring you classic music in delux packaging with the see through slip cases (ala DCC), using original graphics, all beautifully reproduced. We only use the original master tape which is played back on a specially constructed vintage tube playback deck. Here's where the "plus (+)" comes in: The analog masters are put through our new "Kensei Audio Transformer," which adds true "breath of life" to the music, making our new 24K + Gold CD series the best sounding music you can buy, period!

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."...G. Prato

320 @
85 MB

Tracklist:

01 School's Out 3:28
02 Luney Tune 3:39
03 Gutter Cat vs. The Jets 4:39
04 Street Fight 0:53
05 Blue Turk 5:35
06 My Stars 5:49
07 Public Animal #9 3:54
08 Alma Mater 4:17
09 Grande Finale 4:35

Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies (1973) (2CD Deluxe Edit 2001)

Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies (1973) (2CD Deluxe Edit 2001)

Rock star opulence came to an explosive head in 1973 when the Alice Cooper Group hit #1 on the U.S. and worldwide charts with Billion Dollar Babies, their sixth and most successful album. Produced by Bob Ezrin, it is also one of the best rock ’n’ roll records of all time, and the subsequent tour became the biggest rock production to date. Capitalizing on the album’s themes of good-old decadence and horror, the show climaxed with a guillotine execution of Alice. The album and the tour made the band into the world’s preeminent pied pipers of teenage trash culture.

Now, a few decades later, we have given Billion Dollar Babies the deluxe Rhino treatment—the complete remastered album in its entirety remixed by Ezrin himself, plus an entire second disc of 14 rare and previously tracks. The latter includes 11 live cuts from the infamous Billion Dollar Babies tour, two outtakes from the album sessions, and “Slick Black Limousine,” a rare U.K. single. Housed in a digi-pak that duplicates all original album art, it also features an expanded booklet of lyrics, new liner notes, and tons of rare photos!...Rhino Records

For me Alice Cooper's career divided neatly into two parts: Alice Cooper the band and Alice Cooper the solo artist. I never was captivated by his solo career, but the Alice Cooper band was one of the best rock bands of the early Seventies. From 1971's Love It To Death through 1973's Billion Dollar Babies, the band produced a series of rock solid albums--and I even saw them in concert twice, including their Billion Dollar Babies Tour.
That's what makes this reissue such a treat. The second disc provides killer live versions of eight of the ten album tracks--only "Generation Landslide" and "Mary Ann" are not included. One track each is also included from their three earlier albums: Love It To Death ("I'm Eighteen"), Killer ("Dead Babies") and School's Out ("My Stars"). In addition you get the Elvis-inspired outtake "Coal Black Model T," which eventually evolved into "Slick Black Limousine" (also included here). The other outtake is "Son of Billion Dollar Babies," which is essentially an alternate take of "Generation Landslide" minus the lyrics from the second half of verse two.
The expanded 24-page booklet is also a treat. [Check out the photo on page 11 of Donovan recording the title track with Alice!]
Sure, Alice Cooper is probably most remembered for the mascara, boa constrictors and guillotines. However, if you listen to the music, you'll discover one of the tightest rock bands of the era...S.Vrana

320 @
226 MB

Track List:

CD 1

01 Hello Hooray 4:14
02 Raped and Freezin' 3:15
03 Elected 4:05
04 Billion Dollar Babies 3:39
05 Unfinished Sweet 6:17
06 No More Mr. Nice Guy 3:05
07 Generation Landslide 4:31
08 Sick Things 4:18
09 Mary Ann 2:19
10 I Love the Dead 5:08

CD 2

01 Hello Hooray (Live Version) 3:04
02 Billion Dollar Babies (Live Version) 3:47
03 Elected (Live Version) 2:28
04 Eighteen (Live in 1973 Version) 4:50
05 Raped And Freezin' (Live Version) 3:14
06 No More Mr. Nice Guy (Live Version) 3:07
07 My Stars (Live Version) 7:32
08 Unfinished Sweet (Live Version) 6:01
09 Sick Things (Live Version) 3:16
10 Dead Babies (Live Version) 2:59
11 I Love The Dead (Live Version) 4:48
12 Coal Black Model T (Outtake) 4:28
13 Son Of Billion Dollar Babies (Generation Landslide) (Outtake) 3:45
14 Slick Black Limousine (Remastered UK Release) 4:26

Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare (1975) (Remaster Edit 2002)

Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare (1975) (Remaster Edit 2002)

Rhino’s 2002 release of Welcome To My Nightmare has been remastered and includes three previously unreleased bonus tracks: alternate versions of “Devil’s Food,“ ”Cold Ethyl,” and “The Awakening.”

With the 1975 disintegration of the original Alice Cooper group, Alice was free to launch a solo career. He wisely decided to re-enlist the services of Bob Ezrin for his solo debut, Welcome to My Nightmare, which was a concept album tied into the story line of the highly theatrical concert tour he launched soon after the album's release. While the music lost most of the gritty edge of the original AC lineup, Welcome to My Nightmare remains Alice's best solo effort -- while some tracks stray from his expected hard rock direction, there's plenty of fist-pumping rock to go around. The disco-flavored, album-opening title track would be reworked on the stage as more of a hard rock tune, while "Some Folks" dips into cabaret territory, and "Only Women Bleed" is a sensitive ballad that became a Top Ten hit. But the rockers serve as the album's foundation -- "Devil's Food," "The Black Widow," "Department of Youth," and "Cold Ethyl" are all standouts, as is the more tranquil yet eerie epic "Steven." Despite this promising start to Cooper's solo career, the majority of his subsequent releases were often not as focused and were of varying quality...G. Prato

Originally released on LP in 1975 and reissued on CD in 2002, Welcome to My Nightmare is, quite simply, a shock rock masterpiece. It is also a conceptual effort that, like other Alice Cooper releases of the '70s, generated some controversy. Often described as the arena rock equivalent of a horror movie, this album didn't offend those who understood where Cooper was coming from. His fans realized that gems like "Cold Ethyl" and the spooky title song weren't really promoting evil; Alice Cooper is merely a character, and Welcome to My Nightmare gives listeners a guided tour of the character's dark, twisted mind. Arguably, this reissue is arena rock's version of a Bela Lugosi or Vincent Price film; in fact, Price himself makes a guest appearance on "The Black Widow," a creepy number that pays tribute to a very deadly spider. But for all of the album's dark subject matter, Cooper is surprisingly sensitive and tender on the ballad "Only Women Bleed." A major pop hit, the song really struck a chord with female listeners and was covered by everyone from Carmen McRae to Lita Ford to Etta James. Nonetheless, Cooper was still controversial in 1975, and fundamentalist ministers kept insisting that he was taking America straight to hell. Produced by Bob Ezrin, Nightmare marked the first time that Cooper was billed as a solo artist -- and without the Alice Cooper Band he became slicker, more polished, and less gritty. Nonetheless, this album is conceptually brilliant. Thanks to Rhino, Nightmare now has 14 tracks instead of 11; hardcore collectors will be glad to know that Rhino has added alternate takes of "Cold Ethyl," "Devil's Food," and "The Awakening." But even those who aren't hardcore collectors should obtain Welcome to My Nightmare, which remains a textbook example of mid-'70s shock rock...Henderson

320 @
128 MB

Tracklist:

01 Welcome To My Nightmare 5:20
02 Devil's Food 3:35
03 The Black Widow 3:37
04 Some Folks 4:17
05 Only Women Bleed 5:49
06 Department Of Youth 3:20
07 Cold Ethyl 2:56
08 Years Ago 2:51
09 Steven 5:46
10 The Awakening 2:31
11 Escape 3:27
12 Devil's Food prev. unreleased / Bonus / Alt. Version 5:13
13 Cold Ethyl prev. unreleased / Bonus / Alt. Version 2:56
14 The Awakening prev. unreleased / Bonus / Alt. Version 4:20