That time Alice Cooper told me that his band’s first two albums weren’t really Alice Cooper albums

By Steve Newton

During my biggest record-buying frenzy, when I was a teenager in the ’70s, I’d often buy LPs just because I thought the album-cover looked cool, or gave off a “rocking” vibe.

Other times I’d purchase an album I hadn’t yet heard by an artist who’d already won me over, always expecting that after I excitedly tore the shrink wrap off and slapped the platter on my trusty Yamaha turntable the music would be such that I’d be proud to slide the LP into my growing vinyl collection.

That wasn’t the case when I brought home Alice Cooper’s Pretties For You, though.

Having already been blown away by Cooper’s 1971 albums Love it to the Death and Killer, I was shocked that Cooper’s debut release from just two years earlier sounded so damn different. Where were all the catchy melodies? The wicked guitar riffs? The menacing lyrics and dangerous spirit?

This was not the Alice Cooper I was crazy about. It was weird, psychedelic art-rock or some shit. I couldn’t get into it.

Twenty-five years or so later, when I was interviewing Cooper about his 1999 box set, The Live and Crimes of Alice Cooper, he told me that he didn’t view Pretties For You–or its 1970 followup Easy Action–as true Alice Cooper albums.

That made total sense to me.

Have a listen:

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