Killer was the fourth studio album, and second seriously heavy rock album, from Alice Cooper. It was released in November 1971, causing a real stir at the time with its subject matter and shock stage show, reaching #21 on the US charts and #27 in the UK. One of my all-time favourites ... Read review
A review by pinkmatchstick on Killer - Alice Cooper September 22nd, 2005
Author's product rating:
Originality
Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics
Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks
Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Outstanding
Value for Money
Satisfactory
Advantages:
another brilliant album from the Coop and buddies
Disadvantages:
are you serious?
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Killer was the fourth studio album, and second seriously heavy rock album, from Alice Cooper. It was released in November 1971, causing a real stir at the time with its subject matter and shock stage show, reaching #21 on the US charts and #27 in the UK. One of my all-time favourites this one, we have blistering yet subtle rock, some real creepy lyrics, cleverly interposed pieces that change the mood of songs in the blink of an eye........in all, a classic Alice Cooper record!
A small nut important point; this is an album by Alice Cooper the band with a singer of the same name, not the individual born as Vincent Furnier, because that change of name didn't come until the mid-70's when "Welcome To My Nightmare" came out and he effectively brought the name. The band: Alice Cooper AKA Vincent Furnier (vocals), Glen Buxton (guitar), Michael Bruce (rythym guitar), Dennis Dunaway (bass), Neal Smith (drums). A real classy band whose excellent musicianship is often overlooked. Alice himself did later say that musically this was one of his own favourite records.
Things are off to a great start with the old Detroit garage classic Under My Wheels. All urgent guitars, that great Furnier snarl, "telephone is ringing, you got me on the run....I'm driving in my car now, anticipating fun..." then there's a surprise horn intro at the bridge. One to get you jumping all over the room and no mistake. It was released as a single and made #59 on the US charts.
The slower, sleazier Be My Lover, another single from the album (#49 on the US charts) tells the story of a meeting in a bar with a mystery lady. Listen out for a great snatched "oohh" as the Coop tells his lady why the band have a male singer called Alice. "It's a long long way to paradise, and I'm still on my own". So that's the singles out of the way and it's onto the main course of this fantastic set.
The eight minute Halo Of Flies is next. Utterly brilliant. One of those "song-suites". Fans of Rush will recognise the beginning to this as the Canadian band copied it note for note on their own "2112 Suite"! Musically quite simple, built around a descending scale. Lyrically rather difficult to understand, probably because the band were whacked out of their skulls when they wrote it. A galloping intro leads into a pyschadelicish first verse before speeding up. "I crossed the ocean, for the whole world to see, and I put a time bomb in your submarine". The obligatory drum solo leads into a furious guitar-drumming duel that jumps up a key for a great finish.
The slow burning menace that is Desperado sees Alice as a Wild West hired gun. "You're a target just by living, twenty dollars will see you die". Propelled along by military-style drumming, it builds to an epic finish. "Can you hear that ghost that's calling, as my Colt begins to rust, in the dust".
The big ballsy groove of You Drive Me Nervous might be a little bit of a disappointment after the numbers that came before it, but it's deliberately produced as a power rocker that doesn't try to be anything else. The charming Yeah Yeah Yeah, seemingly a 60's throwback with its simple guitar and basslines, lets the band limber up for the final two epic tracks on the album.
At first glance Dead Babies must seem to be just another piece of Coop shock-rock. The serious message here though is about parents neglecting their children. "Little Betty ate a pound of aspirin, she got them from the shelf upon the wall, Betty's mommy wasn't there to save her, she didn't hear her little baby call...." ugh. Enough to send a shiver down your spine. With a suitably menacing backing track, sliding up and down A major and B flat, ending with the chilling "well we didn't love you anyway...." straight into the title track, the seven minute Killer.
Strangely enough, musically the weakest track on the album, but for sheer melodramatics it is untouchable. Sang as if by a convicted murderer sat in Death Row awaiting the call. Done live, this had the memorable Alice Cooper head-in-a-noose scene. In the studio, we sadly have to make do with just wailing and screaming. The eerie ending, with marching drums and church organ, with a "priest" reciting a funeral cadence, is just totally perfect. The swirling vortex at the end brings this to a shuddering halt. Aah, fantastic stuff.
If I have one criticism of this album it's that live it must have been great to see, but the goings-on in the stage show cannot be envisaged just by listening to this. Unless you were fortunate enough to have seen this album toured. Ach, I'm nitpicking.
Any of Alice's early 70's recordings are great. Billion Dollar Babies, Love It To Death, School's Out, Muscle Of Love, this one....take your pick. If your only knowledge of Al comes from "Trash" onwards, hear these and discover why he really is deservedly such a rock legend. And a sound geezer too.
Oh, nearly forgot! The price. I got this for £3.55 from Amazon. Cheaper than a replacement E string for my bass. Well, you just gotta keep pumping out them eighths ain't ya. Later peeps......
Alice Cooper's Killer album was the band's 4th album released in 1971, quickly after Love It to Death. Johnny Rotten said that it is "the best rock n roll album of all time" and whilst that is a big title, I'd be inclined to agree with him to some extent.
There is a bit of everything in this album - short catchy hits turned into classics like "Under My Wheels", "Be My Lover", more moving pieces like "Desperado" a track supposedly about close friend ... ...story "Halo of Flies" and my personal favourite the dark ballad "Dead Babies", a song which despite being about and against child negelect managed to stir up controversy anyway.
It is a pure classic though with good lyrics and excellent baby cries! You Drive Me Nervous and Yeah Yeah Yeah are simple yet effective rock n roll tracks and ensure that this album does not have any fillers, at 38 minutes the album is only short but it is quality that counts ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Dark & Brooding The Shape Of Things To Come Disadvantages:
Killer was launched after the popular album Love It To Death and became even more popular. It is a darker album and contains some of Alices Greatest Hits. On stage this album heralded Alices famous execution scene where Alice was hung. The original album came with a calendar which is reproduced in the CD gatefold. Also appearing on the front cover was a snake which Alice had just started to use in his stage act.
1. Under My Wheels (A speed metal ... ...5. You Drive Me Nervous (Fun rock song)
6. YeahYeah Yeah (Good rock song)
7. Dead Babies (Actually this song is a anti child abuse song but many parents took it the wrong way, this song caused an outcry)
8. Killer (Order in the court, Alice is sentenced to death) ...
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Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency...
How does it compare to ...
Value for Money
helpful
18.07.2000
Coopa Killa Review ofKiller - Alice Cooperby
mikeydred
Advantages: One of the Best Albums of the Seventies Disadvantages: The Calendar is out of date now
...Babies and Killer and you have a classic album.
Even the straight rock and roll of Under My Wheels still sounds fresh after , God, it is, thirty years.
Its on mid price, its one of the best albums of the seventies, it should be in your collection. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Great pure rock Disadvantages: None really
...Details
----------------
1. Been There Lately - A blues-based corker to open
2. Just Like Anything - Great rocking sound, wonderful vocals
3. Shine - Piercing, stabbing, an interesting and innovative track
4. Mean Bone - Chunky guitar, plain, simple, pure rock - an ode to guys who have gals who take their money
5. Back to the Moment - A well constructed ballad
6. Life's Sweet Drug - A feel good track, fast paces, action packed.
7. Serial Killer - A choral, acoustic-opened track - A tribute to artists such as AliceCooper
8. The Truth - Another slower song, well composed
9. Landslide - Another consistant rock track, great to listen to
10. Ain't Life Grand - Wow. This is really bluesy, fantastic to listen to - Sets a great atmosphere.
11. Speed Parade - Heavy, fast.
12. The Alien - A great finish, heavy, great chorus...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: 11 great new songs! A variety of styles. Fun and fresh. Haunting and heavy. Disadvantages: 1 is a cover - no major problem.
...polish on it", that and he wanted the overall impression of an early stones album, not something that was completely polished. Bob Ezrin, who worked such Cooper classic albums such as "Killer" and "School's Out" returns for this album, and jested with Alice that if he hears any fillers on the album, he will personally beat Alice to death with a hammer.
The album opens with the heavy rocking, excellent drumming intro of "Woman Of Mass Distraction", which sadly doesn't continue exactly as what may be expected, but nonetheless, the very 70s styled rocking riff is pleasing, and Alice's vocal delivering is interesting, trying to mimic Mick Jagger from 'The Rolling Stones' on the first line, but that drops to a degree. It is claimed by many that the song could have been written by a high-school band, as the lyrics before the chorus are not...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Two demi-gods of the pop avant-garde flirt outrageously with accessibility Disadvantages: There's still probably too much excellence on display for the mass market. Dammit!
...-and-wife-god-given-rhythm-section Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth) later added Harvard-educated former Modern Lover Jerry Harrison, and had gained a huge reputation from their debut album 'Talking Heads: 77' with its Randy-Newman-Sung-By-Alice-Cooper centrepiece 'Psycho Killer', and from their galvanic live performances.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjLYtMSQ9Q
Byrne himself was a magnetic presence, borderline autistic by his own admission and seemingly much too cracked and fragile to be fronting a rock band, and with a phenomenally acute but slightly skewed perspective on the everyday when he wrote. Many thought the ensemble would never be any more than a temporary critical rave (their debut managing to emphasise their weirdness over their obvious (with hindsight) accessibility), and when their socialising with Eno led to a request to their label (Sire) than he...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today - David Byrne & Brian Eno
Product details
Title: Killer
Performer: Alice Cooper
Genre: Rock & Pop
Sub Genre: Hard Rock
Release Date: 09/1989
Recomended Retail Price: 10.99 GBP
Original Release Year: 1971
Label / Distributor: WEA / Cinram Logistics
Engineer: Brian Christian
Producer: Bob Ezrin
Pieces in Set: 1
Studio / Live: Studio
Stereo: Stereo
Format: Performer
EAN: 75992725521
Catalogue Number: 7599272552
Additional notes
Album Notes: Alice Cooper: Alice Cooper (vocals); Michael Bruce (guitar, keyboards); Glen Buxton (guitar); Dennis Dunaway (bass); Neil Smith (drums). Recorded at RCA Studios, Chicago, Illinois. Alice Cooper's second release of 1971, KILLER, helped solidify the band's position as rock's most notorious, shocking, violent, sleazy and theatrical band of the day, serving as an obvious influence on such future rockers as Kiss, White Zombie, and Marilyn Manson. Cut from the same musical cloth as its predecessor LOVE IT TO DEATH, KILLER replaces the space-rock of their earlier releases with blaring hard rock. Also, the band successfully broadened its sound on KILLER by adding orchestrated sounds and synthesizers to the mix. Several tracks would become Alice Cooper staples, such as the vicious "Desperado" (which uses acoustic guitar and a string section to great effect), and the anthemic leadoff track "Under My Wheels," which Alice would later re-record with Guns N' Roses. Criticized and misconstrued at the time of the album's release, the eerie "Dead Babies" deals with child abuse--still disturbing stuff all these years later. One of Cooper's more progressive tunes, "Halo of Flies" is an eight-minute-plus highlight, consisting of several different sections, ditto the nearly-as-long closing title track. KILLER is classic Alice Cooper.
Album Reviews: Rolling Stone (1/6/72, p.68) - "...KILLER is without a doubt the best Alice Cooper album yet and one of the finest rock & roll recordings released in 1971..." -Lester Bangs
Titles on disc 1
1.: Under My Wheels
2.: Be My Lover
3.: Halo Of Flies
4.: Desperado
5.: You Drive Me Nervous
6.: Yeah Yeah Yeah
7.: Dead Babies
8.: Killer
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Listed on Ciao since : 18/07/2000
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