Unknown Soldier

Overview
Throughout the history of rock, the name Alice Cooper has always conjured up images of shock-rock, heavy theatricals with stage props, all enveloped around horror themes. Indeed few artists can boast the level of musical consistency, that Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier) has put out for over four decades now. It should also be noted and contrary to popular belief, Alice Cooper was initially the name of both the band and Vincent Furnier and not just of the man now known as Alice Cooper! Before the actual Alice Cooper band came into effect, Vincent Furnier the son of a preacher…. how appropriate! Had been part of several bands in and around the Phoenix area, along with fellow miscreants Glen Buxton-Guitar, Michael Bruce-Rhythm/Keyboards, Dennis Dunaway-Bass and Neal Smith-Drums who would later go onto form Alice Cooper with him. The Coopers played under different guises in and around Phoenix, Los Angeles and eventually Vincent Furnier’s hometown Detroit and were eventually signed up to Frank Zappa’s Straight Records before going onto Warner Bros. Pretties For You and Easy Action the Alice Cooper band’s first two albums were effectively psychedelic/acid rock affairs and a far cry from the hard rock direction that they would take by the time of their third album Love it to Death. Pretties For You was an interesting album but it failed to convince, Easy Action was a far better album and had some excellent material, none more so than its closing track “Lay Down and Die, Goodbye” but you still felt that the band lacked focus with their sound and stage show. Enter legendary producer Bob Ezrin, who took on production duties for the band’s third album and even played keyboards on it! Bob Ezrin reshaped the Cooper’s sound and cleaned it up, by shaping it into a grittier hard rock sound infused with a heavy dosage of rock ‘n’ roll, that was all based around raw and simple riffs, catchy songs and most importantly, the music now matched the band’s stage show! The band to keep things interesting, would also venture back to their original psychedelic roots especially on their longer material. Love it to Death would be the album that started the band’s classic phase, so listen to it and enjoy!

Vincent Furnier- Vocals
Glen Buxton- Guitar
Michael Bruce- Rhythm/Keyboards
Dennis Dunaway- Bass
Neal Smith- Drums
Bob Ezrin- Keyboards

Production- Bob Ezrin

Album
Caught in a Dream- Just after a few beats, this is the perfect example of Alice Cooper’s revved up rock ‘n’ roll combined with their garage rock roots. I’m Eighteen- The big hit from the album and an early Alice Cooper classic. In fact this is such a classic song with great lyrics and great vocals by Vincent Furnier, that he lays down his singing blueprint for the rest of the decade. Long Way to Go- An early power display by the band and a great album track and is the perfect third song on any album. Black Juju- Another classic composition which really demonstrates the musical ability of the band over an impressive 9 minutes. Just hearing Alice Cooper sing ‘bodieeees’ combined with his hypnotic spoken section later on, reminds us of the band’s psychedelic roots and Vincent Furnier’s cryptic singing. The song also has a great outro section along with some great playing by the rest of the band, finally culminating in “BLACK JUJU” Is it My Body- More revved up rock ‘n’ roll here and similar in style to “I’m Eighteen” quite simiply another early Alice Cooper gem. Hallowed Be My Name- A great 2 minute plus ditty by Alice Cooper, superbly sung, with a song style that Alice Cooper had no trouble mustering. Second Coming- A great intro to the following song with its ballad type opening section, quickly followed by a Beatles sounding section, before the instrumentals kick in with their piano outro and the song leads into the following “Ballad of Dwight Fry” Ballad of Dwight Fry- The showpiece track on the album, with its child spoken intro, with the child asking where his ‘daddy has gone’ and the song has an eerie feel throughout. The whole thing sounds like some kind of macabre fairground soundtrack, as the band base the track around the superb supporting horror actor of the 1930s Dwight Fyre, the song has been covered by the Melvins. Sun Arise- A cover song of the Rolf Harris original, that seems like a very strange choice but surprisingly it fits in well here. Personally I would have put “Black Juju” as the album closer here though.

Verdict
Love it to Death was the breakthrough album of the band and it was an interesting mix of musical styles, that could conveniently fall under the hard rock banner. The album is blessed with some very catchy songs, that are superbly blended in with the longer material and that is what makes this album great. The shorter classics like the anthemic “I’m Eighteen” and the humorous “Is it My Body” contrast so well with the much longer Doors-esque psychedelic classics such as ”“Black Juju” and the “Ballad of Dwight Fry”. Tracks like “Long Way to Go” add some real gusto to proceedings as well, but what is most noticeable albeit in a very subtle way, was Vincent Furnier’s ability to sound quite sensitive regardless of the subject matter, the perfect example of this is at the beginning of “Second Coming” where he demonstrates this ability. The album was also a real band effort, as most of the material is either co-written by the band or individually written by a band member. I often sing this album’s praises but I still wouldn’t call it a classic, the ideas and songs in general are there, but you still feel that the final execution could’ve been even better had the band paid more attention to what was going on concerning song structure and song order, but putting all that aside this is still an essential release and a must listen to album for any aficionado. Not only did the album usher in a new important musical act, but it also put Detroit at the forefront, as one of the ‘musical centres’ of the US rock music scene, already highlighted by the Stooges and MC5. The album cover at the time also caused something of a stir, as those with good eyes can notice Vincent Furnier’s hand down his trousers, with his finger poking out in an effort to duplicate a penis.

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