Flush The Fashion - Alice Cooper

Flush The Fashion which came out in 1980 can be classed as an album that you probably never even knew existed, from an artist that you knew did. Something of a forgotten gem buried in the Coop back catalogue? A dirty diamond even? Not quite, but at a time when what is now called classic rock was dying on its feet, the ever-sussed Mr Furnier managed to touch gloves with hip producer Roy Thomas Baker to update his sound for the New Wavers that were ...
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For Alice it had been a long way down from the theatrical heights of 1975's mulit-platinum Welcome To My Nightmare (and subsequent $5 million grossing tour) as drink problems and a string of relatively poor studio albums caused most to assume his day was over. The man who played golf with Gerald Ford and appeared on cheesy US quiz shows seemed to be becoming a parody of himself. The only chart action coming his way was from the odd ballad ... more

Flush The Fashion which came out in 1980 can be classed as an album that you probably never even knew existed, from an artist that you knew did. Something of a forgotten gem buried in the Coop back catalogue? A dirty diamond even? Not quite, but at a time when what is now called classic rock was dying on its feet, the ever-sussed Mr Furnier managed to touch gloves with hip producer Roy Thomas Baker to update his sound for the New Wavers that were dominating the airwaves at the turn of the decade.

For Alice it had been a long way down from the theatrical heights of 1975's mulit-platinum Welcome To My Nightmare (and subsequent $5 million grossing tour) as drink problems and a string of relatively poor studio albums caused most to assume his day was over. The man who played golf with Gerald Ford and appeared on cheesy US quiz shows seemed to be becoming a parody of himself. The only chart action coming his way was from the odd ballad hit here and there, and the days of blood and gore seemed long done with. Here however he took a left turn and together with Baker's polished production skills delivered the first in a trio of albums that, though whilst not selling very well, served as a platform for his late-80's comeback. The make up and shock rock were out; synths and stabs of guitar were in. This is after all Alice Cooper 80, as it says on the cover.

A word of warning: this album is only 29 minutes long! Don't even consider getting it on its own. There is a remaster of it together with "Nightmare" that gives over 76 minutes in total, this is worth buying but purchasing "Fashion" on its own would not be money well spent IMO. Almost unbelivably I've seen it on Amazon USA for $19.99, surely not worth it. Two cover versions open the album, Talk Talk formerly by US garage outfit Music Machine and Clones (We're All), the latter which has a synth riff similar to Gary Numan's "Cars". All nice and tight, with the computer programming doing the work, as if Alice was letting the skinny tie brigade know he's still relevant. Clones gave Cooper a surprise US smash hit. One thing you can always rely on is the Coop's wry sideways take on life that reflects in his lyrics, and Pain with its perhaps a little overtheatrical lines "I was the filthiest word on the vandalised grave, I'm your pain, sweet pain" also points backwards to his mid 70's work to reassure the fans that it's still the same old Alice.

Sadly the cod-country of Leather Boots is a real turkey, with Alice singing in a falsetto over a high jangly guitar. Plus the fact that the song itself ain't very good. Thankfully only 1:36 in length, leading to Aspirin Damage which is much better. "Cures the pain, destroys the brain, no one told me about aspirin damage" sings Alice over a high synth line which goes straight into Nuclear Infected, one of the best selections here with more jokey lyrics "when I'm happy I glow yellow, when I'm sad I glow blue yeah" and about going to Three Mile Island (the nuclear power plant where there was an infamous leak in 1979) over a driving rock backing track which reflects the general upbeat theme of the song.

Grim Facts was supposedly written with lyrics taken from headlines in the National Enquirer. "The boy's got a .38 hidden in his desk", "cop cars, gay bars on your precious streets", "these are grim facts, that every parent must know". A tight hard rock number with the only guitar solo on the whole album, this should be remembered as an Alice classic. "ooh, grim facts", he hams. Watch out for the bit in Model Citizen where he sings "be a Goodwood disco dancer,..........oooh what a pair" and he ain't singing about coconuts. This is another hugely ironic song where he tells everyone he's a model citizen, an ultra sweety guy, "I think i've got them fooled again" and is more of the earlier New Wave sounds.

Another big turkey is Dance Themselves To Death, half rock and half new wave where the Coop wishes that his parents would do just that, strange song and as with Leather Boots not very good. Headlines closes out the album and is a more straightforward rock number with a less polished production than some of the other tunes.

Well there you are; if you like The Coop and didn't know this CD was out there, you'd probably like it, if only for its curio attraction. Me, I think it's kind of sweet, short and punchy enough to be interesting but nowhere near the classic level of "Killer" or "Schools Out". It does show Alice was more than a one-trick pony and doesn't sound as dated as some 80's recordings. If downloading's your game, do Grim Facts, Nuclear Infected, Pain, Talk Talk and Clones.

A note: I put down the rating Value For Money as poor, cos it's so short in length, not for the songs themselves 'cept Leather Boots and Dance Themselves to Death. 

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