Product Details

Alice Cooper was unstoppable during the 1970s when the band released four consecutive platinum albums and five Top 40 hits like Im Eighteen, Schools Out, No More Mr. Nice Guy, and Elected. Rhino will reissue two of those platinum albums KILLER (1971) and SCHOOLS OUT (1972) with newly remastered sound, rare recordings, and previously unreleased live performances.Both Deluxe Editions will be released on June 9 as 2-CD sets and 3-LP versions on 180-gram vinyl.SCHOOLS OUT (DELUXE EDITION) begins with a newly remastered version of the 1972 original, which peaked at #2 on the albums chart. Essential tracks like Luney Tune and Alma Mater are joined by Gutter Cat vs. The Jets. The latter is an homage to West Side Story, a significant influence on the band. The song incorporates lyrics from Jet Song from the 1957 musical, which led to an unlikely songwriting credit for Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim on an Alice Cooper track.The Deluxe Edition contains rarities like the single versions of Schools Out and Gutter Cat vs. The Jets. Two previously unreleased tracks are also included, an alternate version of Alma Mater and an early demo for Elected, a song that would appear in 1973 on the bands first #1 album, BILLION DOLLAR BABIES.Alice Coopers concert in Miami on May 27, 1972, adds even more unreleased music to the collection. The show was recorded a few weeks before the band entered the studio to record Schools Out. The live performance features standout versions of Halo Of Flies, Schools Out, and Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, a song that gives Cooper a chance to show off his impressive harmonica skills.

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 SCHOOLS 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 sets come with booklets that include track-by-track commentary by band members and former Creem Magazine editor Jaan Uhelszki, plus liner notes by Bill Holdship, also a former Creem Magazine editor. In KILLER (DELUXE EDITION), Holdship writes: Listening to Killer again after all these years to write these notes was rewarding because, like The Beatles and Elvis, its gratifying to realize I ended up wasting my life on something that, even in retrospect, really was that great. Fifty years later, Killer remains a perfect perfect! rock n roll record.