Two Alice Cooper Classics Get Killer Reissues in June
School’s in on June 9 when Rhino revisits two early classics from Alice Cooper in 2-CD or 180-gram 3-LP expanded editions. Both 1971’s Killer and 1972’s School’s Out will be reissued with bonus studio and live material.
Killer, released in November 1971, was the fourth album from the original Alice Cooper band line-up of singer Alice Cooper, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith. But it was the group’s second album to crystallize the hard rock sound for which Cooper would become known. Killer built on the foundation laid by Love It to Death, which had been released earlier in 1971 and yielded the hit singles “I’m Eighteen” and “Caught in a Dream.” Co-producer Bob Ezrin returned for Killer, further honing both Alice Cooper’s rock edge and bold theatricality. The songs have all become favorites; Killer remains only one of two Alice albums in which every song has been performed in concert. (The other is Welcome to My Nightmare.)
The newly remastered album, which included the chart entries “Under My Wheels” (No. 59 on the Hot 100) and “Be My Lover” (No. 49), is expanded with alternate takes of “You Drive Me Nervous,” “Under My Wheels,” and “Dead Babies.” The second CD has the previously unreleased live set at Puerto Rico’s Mar y Sol Pop Festival recorded on April 2, 1972. Captured before the band re-entered the studio to record School’s Out, the show features that album’s “Public Animal # 9” as well as most of Killer and selections from Love It to Death including “I’m Eighteen.”
The band’s next album, School’s Out, was well-timed for release in June 1972. It was previewed by the instantly memorable title track on 45 RPM; by the time the album (and school) was out, the song had already hit the U.S. top ten and No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart. As a result, the LP shot to No. 2 on the Billboard 200; today, the title track is still the most-performed song in Alice’s live shows. Ezrin added more textures to the production including strings and horns while focusing the band’s razor-sharp playing and heavy riffage. Its influences were broad, and School’s Out twice incorporated the Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim score to West Side Story – both on “Gutter Cat vs. The Jets” and “Grande Finale.”
The remastered and expanded edition adds the single versions of “School’s Out” and “Gutter Cat vs. The Jets” as well as two previously unreleased tracks are also included: an alternate version of “Alma Mater” and an early demo for “Elected.” The latter would turn up in 1973 on the chart-topping Billion Dollar Babies. A previously unissued Miami show from May 27, 1972 – just weeks after the Mar y Sol gig – completes the release.
The press release states that the “vinyl versions for both Deluxe Editions recreate the original album sleeves down to the smallest detail. For Killer, that means a gatefold sleeve that opens to reveal a detachable 1972 calendar with a photo of Cooper in the gallows. The cover of School’s Out looks like a wooden school desk and opens to reveal the LP wrapped in a pair of panties. The band stopped including the underwear following a controversy as to whether or not they were flammable. Thankfully, the lacy unmentionables in the new Deluxe Edition are not a fire hazard.”
Both the CD and LP iterations include new liner notes including track-by-track commentary by band members and former Creem editor Jaan Uhelszki, plus an essay by Bill Holdship, also ex-Creem. Alice Cooper will take songs from School’s Out and Killer out on the road this summer; visit his website for details! You’ll find the track listings and pre-order links for both releases below.
Killer (Deluxe Edition) (Warner/Rhino, 2023)
* previously unreleased
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP/CD 1: Remastered album (released as Warner Bros. BS 2567, 1971)
- Under My Wheels
- Be My Lover
- Halo of Flies
- Desperado
- You Drive Me Nervous
- Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
- Dead Babies
- Killer
LP 2 + LP 3 (side 1 + side 2, track 1)/CD 2 (part 1): Live at Mar y Sol Pop Festival, Puerto Rico – 4/2/1972 *
- Be My Lover
- You Drive Me Nervous
- Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
- I’m Eighteen
- Halo of Flies
- Is It My Body?
- Dead Babies
- Killer
- Long Way to Go
- Under My Wheels
LP 3 (rest of side 2)/CD 2 (part 2): Studio Extras
- You Drive Me Nervous (Alternate)
- Under My Wheels (Alternate)
- Dead Babies (Alternate)
School’s Out (Deluxe Edition) (Warner/Rhino, 2023)
* previously unreleased
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP/CD 1: Remastered album
- School’s Out
- Luney Tune
- Gutter Cat vs. The Jets
- Street Fight
- Blue Turk
- My Stars
- Public Animal #9
- Alma Mater
- Grande Finale
LP 2/LP 3 (side 1)/CD 2 (part 1): Live in Miami, FL – 5/27/1972 *
- Be My Lover
- You Drive Me Nervous
- Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
- I’m Eighteen
- Halo of Flies
- Dead Babies
- Killer
- Long Way to Go
- School’s Out
- Is It My Body?
LP 3 (side 2)/CD 2 (part 2): Studio Extras
- School’s Out (Single Version)
- Gutter Cat (Single Version)
- Alma Mater (Alternate) *
- Elected (Early Take) *
Tracks 1-2 released as Warner Bros. single WB 7596, 1973
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9 thoughts on “Two Alice Cooper Classics Get Killer Reissues in June”
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looks good .. just wondering if this will lead to more of Alice’s albums being remastered??
it’d be great if “Love it to death” and “Billion dollar babies” were given the same treatment .. here’s hoping ..
… and “Muscle of Love”…
“Billion Dollar Babies” got the remastered/deluxe edition treatment back in 2001. Hopefully, a few more classic titles will get a similar treatment too.
That’s all fine and dandy,
but if you decide to go the 3lp route on either of these two titles,it’s going to set you back $60-70
which equates to around three times the dbl cd price.Somewhere along the line,it was decided
within the industry to continually drive the cost of vinyl upwards as if it was poured gold.
So,like everything else,the wrong people are in charge,and command not what would bring the music itself to the most people,but to squeeze the limit of to which what more people would pay.
Including realistically anyone thinking of
becoming a collector of new vinyl releases.
The fun and adventure of coin,stamp,and
baseball cards,and others met the same fate.
Greed trumped the potential possibility of fun
for anyone considering entering into the world of Interest collecting.It’s a dead end,and you can see that after your first purchase for those new to it.
It sure doesn’t benefit the artists,that’s for sure.
So,keep it up.It’s become a business,for a few.
Eventually,the act of making a collector’s item
on purpose,instead of letting it happen on its own
will have its effect on the regular buyers as well,
and that’s already happening,and they won’t buy the new releases either because of the pricing.
May not believe that now, for the low copy count limited edition aspect,but it seems to me that a new generation of listeners would be more welcome,endearing and profitable in the long run.
I myself have passed on purchases,just because.
Schools out was re-released about 2 years ago with the “Panties”
It had the fold up desk cover.
Sound quality was not very good. CD quality or worse.
I kept it just because.
From the trivia department:
See also the comment from GoodNF on the ‘Halo of Flies’ single released only in the Netherlands:
https://www.discogs.com/release/586088-Alice-Cooper-Halo-Of-Flies
The Mar Y Sol concert is not unreleased, it came out in 2017 in a wonderfully packaged 2LP, also on CD.
https://www.discogs.com/master/1187375-Alice-Cooper-Mar-Y-Sol
That’s an unofficial and unauthorized release; this release marks its first official release sanctioned by Alice and Warner Records.
There are plenty of other Killer outtakes that could have been included, Michael Bruce let some tapes sneak out of the archives about 10 years ago, maybe they’re not good enough quality as they are rehearsals. But this is a studio remake of Nobody Likes Me from the Killer sessions that was released on a flexi given away with the Killer tour program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJYtojVJ7Zw