Killer

After the success of their Love It to Death album and its hit single "Im Eighteen," Alice Cooper seemed poised to make a giant leap to the head of the hard rock class. Killer delivers on the promise and then some, as it offers moments of sweaty rock & roll brilliance, oddball horror ballads, and garage rock freakouts, all wrapped up in a glammy, sleazy package. Working again with producer Bob Ezrin, the band craft a sound thats powerful and lithe with guitars that slash and snake around each other, drums and bass that provide a solid foundation but arent short on melody and hooks, and of course Alice Coopers one-of-a-kind vocals. Whether hes strutting, crooning, or slowly going insane, his voice is like the character in a movie you cant take your eyes off for a second because you might miss a small gesture or look that will shock and surprise. The one-two punch of "Under My Wheels" and "Be My Lover" is one of the great album openers of all time, both songs taking classic rock & roll tropes and giving them an evil twist with romping horns, doo wop background vocals, and the kind of libertine lyrics that are guaranteed to drive parents crazy. After this, the album takes off in a variety of directions including the horror prog ballad "Dead Babies," the raucous rockers "You Drive Me Nervous" and "Yeah Yeah Yeah" that come across like Steppenwolf tracks made by real bikers, the Western gunfighter ballad "Desperado" -- which juxtaposes some lovely orchestrated strings against Coopers croaking vocals -- and the oddly rollicking title track where Cooper does a convincing carnival barker imitation while guitarists Mike Bruce and Glen Buxton get a chance to unwind and kick up some dust. Each and every track is handled with the same kind of unbridled glee that lets the listener know the band is having a blast; its hard not to be swept along for the ride. The albums centerpiece "Halo of Flies" is a stunning work of rock & roll that encompasses the gutter freak psych of the bands earliest work, the expansive scope of prog rock, bits of The Sound of Music, martial drum solos, very stoned blues riffing, and Coopers alternately pleading and withering vocals. Its the work of a band who can barely control all the ideas flowing out of them, yet somehow manage to corral their energy and creativity into something epic and unique. Indeed, there was no other group quite like Alice Cooper operating in 1971 and Killer is the moment where they put all the pieces together and began to soar. ~ Tim Sendra

Alice Cooper wasted little time following up the breakthrough success of Love It to Death with another album released the same year, Killer. Again, producer Bob Ezrin was on board and helps the group solidify their heavy rock (yet wide-ranging) style even further. The bands stage show dealt with the macabre, and such disturbing tracks as "Dead Babies" and the title track fit in perfectly. Other songs were even more exceptional, such as the perennial barnstorming concert standard "Under My Wheels," the melodic yet gritty "Be My Lover," and the tribute to their fallen friend Jim Morrison, "Desperado." The long and winding "Halo of Flies" correctly hinted that the band would be tackling more complex song structures on future albums, while "You Drive Me Nervous" and "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" showed that Alice Cooper hadnt completely abandoned their early garage rock direction. With Killer, they became one of the worlds top rock bands and concert attractions; it rewarded them as being among the most notorious and misunderstood entertainers, thoroughly despised by grownups. ~ Greg Prato