EARLY LIVE SHOW FROM ALICE COOPER S THIRD PHASE With his eccentric stage antics, extensive use of props and trademark theatrical approach to the hard rock genre, it is in no doubt that Alice Cooper s title as The Godfather of Shock Rock is justly deserved. Since his initial breakthrough as a solo artist in 1975 which of course had followed the Alice Cooper glory years when AC was an entire band, not just the singer - with Welcome To My Nightmare, Alice Cooper has continued to both thrill and horrify audiences the world over, and has often been credited as being the first performer to combine horror imagery with rock music, a feat that has been replicated by countless others, but never bettered. Perhaps fittingly, Alice Cooper s activities during the late 1970s and early 1980s were as dramatic and shocking as any which had come before, whether on or off the stage. In 1978 Cooper had been famously institutionalised in an attempt to conquer his alcoholism, which at its height was rumoured to exceed two cases of Budweiser and a bottle of whiskey a day. Although relatively sober upon his release, he soon developed a cocaine addiction, leading to a series of blackout albums - a collection of LPs which he had little to no recollection of recording. The first and most celebrated of these was 1980 s Flush The Fashion. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, who had worked on Queen s Sheer Heart Attack and A Night At The Opera, the album signalled a major stylistic shift for Alice Cooper; from the trashy hard rock of his earlier years to an edgier, new wave sound. Although this alienated many fans at first, it soon came to be considered one of Cooper s most overlooked gems, and became his best performing album in three years. The lead single Clones (We re All) peaked on the Billboard chart at No. 40, and has remained a part of Cooper s live shows ever since. The recording featured here was taken from the first date of the Flush The Fashion tour on 4th June 1980 at El Paso s County Coliseum. Broadcast live over FM radio, many songs including Clones , Guilty , Pain and Dance Yourself To Death were performed here for the first time in front of a live audience. Despite his troubles during this period, Alice Cooper is in as good a shape as ever he was, and when breaking out such classics as I m Eighteen , Billion Dollar Babies , Elected and School s Out , it s not difficult to see why this dynamic performer has forged such a celebrated and enduring legacy.
