'School's Out' Has Been Out For 50 Years- How Do You Rank It Among The Alice Cooper Group Albums?

My older cousin turned me on to 'Love It To Death' by the Alice Cooper Group.
Thought it was great and getting 'Killer' some months later was even more exciting for teen me.
Still love both those albums and 'Killer' remains a favourite.

So...I was looking forward to getting 'School's Out' in the early summer of '72.
I thought in my teenage head that it would be incredible and maybe even better than the recently released and purchased ' Exile On Main Street' by the Stones.

T'was not to be though. Big disappointment.

I was leery of it from the get go with its somewhat cutesy-wutesy 'Look! It turns into a desk!' album cover and the accompanying panties.
Speaking of the latter, I gave them to this girl at school hoping she'd model them for me. She didn't.

Anyway, as for the music therein...
It just didn't cut it. The title track was catchy but trite. The other songs weren't much to speak of and overall I found the album weak. Big on theme perhaps but short on punch, it just went nowhere in a hurry.

Thankfully, the group bounced back to form somewhat with the following album 'Billion Dollar Babies' but the glory days were gone.

I rank 'School's Out' the worst out of the run from 'Love It To Death' through to 'Muscle Of Love'

 

The second worst of the good run (worst being Muscle), but still a decent album.

I've come to the conclusion that Alice Cooper was the best American hard rock band of the 70's.

The English had us beat in the 70's pretty much in all rock genres.

 

Wait, Aerosmith was pretty good, too (in the 70's).

 

Love It To Death and Killer are untouchable in the AC catalog. Billion Dollar Babies is a cut below, though still excellent. I rate School's Out and Muscle Of Love about the same, they both have moments, but are inconsistent. Easy Action is a sleeper and worth checking out. Pretties For You is pretty bad.

 

I liked Alice Cooper, fun if not kitschy. But like High School, I graduated from them.

 

I m o Love It To Death, Killer and Billion Dollar Babies we’re all better in that early Warner Brothers run.

 

Above the first 2, lower than the rest. It is fine, but I can't say it has as many catchy songs as the other 4 1971-1973 albums. Muscle of Love is underrated IMO, stripped of a concept and Ezrin attempts at atmospheric shocks it is their most traditional rock album.

 

I'd agree, although Blue Oyster Cult is also a good contender but only had 6 albums to Alice's 10. Both bands had pop hooks and fascinating songwriting to go with the riffs. Aerosmith had sex and drugs, and that was mostly it song-wise. Here is my ranking of the 70's for both bands:

Welcome to my Nightmare
Tyranny & Mutation
Killer
Secret Treaties
Billion Dollar Babies
Love it to Death
Mirrors
Agents of Fortune
Muscle of Love
Spectre
From the Inside
Blue Oyster Cult
School's Out
Go to Hell
Lace and Whiskey
Easy Action

 

I like BOC's early albums, but after the first 3 albums they were too pop for a hard rock band.

That being said, "Don't Fear the Reaper" is a classic single. Black Sabbath meets The Byrds.

 

Thanks, that saved me typing it out!!

 

I only own the original band’s album plus Nighmare

Love It To Death
Killer
Easy Action
Billion Dollar Babies
School’s Out. And Muscle Of Love (tied$
Pretties For You
Welcome To My Nightmare

 

Next to last before the abysmal Muscle. My Stars is its only saving grace.

 

I will give it a few extra points for the Mad Magazine Lovely Libarace cartoon in the desk.

 

Like all the original band albums, it is great but it remains next to last for me (out of the seven).

My personal favorite is still Easy Action.

 

Oh man, I love School's Out, it's my favorite AC album. The I must have played the 8-track in my car 100 times driving around during the summer it came out. I had a VW Bug with a plywood deck over the back cubby behind the rear seat with 2 12" speakers mounted in it, and it was LOUD. Love It To Death and Killer are both great albums, but School's Out really resonated with me. It was released right after I graduated high school and it just fit perfectly at the time, the feeling of being free from teachers and books and cruising over the hill with my girlfriend to Santa Cruz without a care in the world.

 

It's a classic. It took me years to get into it, because aside from the title track, there are no other hits on it. The albums that bookend it are represented on Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits by at least three tracks (Billion Dollar Babies has four on there).

School's Out is very rewarding if you give it the chance. "Blue Turk", "My Stars", "Gutter Cat", "Luney Tune", "Public Animal #9", "Alma Mater"...the whole thing is EXCELLENT. I'm not sure if it's quite as strong as Love It To Death, Killer, or Billion Dollar Babies -- but I think it's stronger than either of the first two albums and stronger than Muscle Of Love...all albums I love, by the way.

 

It's an outstanding album. I lost however interest in Alice Cooper's albums after "Muscle Of Love".

"Trash" (1989) however rekindled my curiosity in him as a solo artist.

 

"My Stars", "Public Animal #9" and "Alma Mater" is a great run of songs. Most of the rest is great production too - very well done nod to Broadway/Hollywood - just not something I tend to go back to.

So I prefer the album coming before and the one after.

 

I think it's great, but it was the first Alice album I heard in its entirety so maybe it's nostalgia talking. "My Stars" is still one of my favorite songs from the band, and the rest is pretty damn good as well.

 

I love it....I graduated HS when it came out and was the soundtrack (along with Exile) to the Summer of 72.

 

It's my second favourite of all the Cooper back catalogue albums; band and solo. Only Killer betters it, for me.

I think School's Out has always been vastly underrated as an album. The title track is obviously regarded as an undeniable classic, yet the rest of the material gets tagged as insubstantial. It's not. The LP is the band's Punk Side Story, casting a witty and cohesive eye over their teenage schooldays. Producer Bob Ezrin extends the musical palette - sultry jazz & a Spaghetti Western-like finale - whilst Alice delivers a topnotch set of snarls and sneers, and the band pummel the bloody hell out of their instruments. It's bratty & breezy, built on a rock solid foundation of fabulous pop sensibilities.

So despite what many claim, School's Out is no one trick pony. Instead it offers up a cornucopia of little gems.

Blue Turk (Uncredited trombone solo by Wayne Andre):

 

Top three

 

I love it. In part because it retains an element of mystery. It's not overplayed. The songs sound new and surprising to me when I listen to it. I love that they went with a concept and seemed to put aside the need to make singles, other than the title song. The broadway/West Side Story campiness works for me. Maybe if I had been old enough to have eagerly anticipated this album as a new release it would be different, but I love how it fits into the classic Alice Cooper group records. And it's light years ahead of Muscle of Love. No comparison as far as I'm concerned.

Billion Dollar Babies
Killer
School's Out
Love It To Death



Easy Action
Muscle of Love
Pretties For You

 

This.

There were so many great albums released that year - Tull, Who’s Next, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Mott The Hoople, Bowie, Roxy Music, Manassas, Moody Blues, Big Star, Badfinger, and so many more.

But, School’s Out held its own in my car! It was the best of times.

 

Recently I have been filling in the Alice Cooper releases in my collection. Down to 2.