Alice Cooper started out as a group which consisted of Vincent Furnier, guitarist Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar and drummer Neal Smith. The band’s debut album was the psychedelic Pretties for You released in 1969 by Straight Records under the renowned producer Frank Zappa. It was the beginning of the era of Shock Rock where rock musicians, resort to outlandish stage theatrics, makeup and costumes but still captivate their audience with surprisingly good music. A lot of that is featured in the bizarre artwork in the Alice Cooper 2011 “Old School” 1964 – 1974 Limited Edition, Numbered Box Set For Collectors.
Elvis Presley may have been the King of Rock, but Alice Cooper is the King of Shock Rock! More specifically, its godfather! The enduring Godfather of Shock Rock has been around since the late 60s as Vincent Furnier, shocking audiences with gaudy makeup, costumes, and offensive music. All that and more of his exploits are celebrated in the Alice Cooper 2011 “Old School” 1964 – 1974 Limited Edition, Numbered Box Set For Collectors.
Alice Cooper started out as a group which consisted of Vincent Furnier, guitarist Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar and drummer Neal Smith. The band’s debut album was the psychedelic Pretties for You released in 1969 by Straight Records under the renowned producer Frank Zappa. It was the beginning of the era of Shock Rock where rock musicians, resort to outlandish stage theatrics, makeup and costumes but still captivate their audience with surprisingly good music. A lot of that is featured in the bizarre artwork in the Alice Cooper 2011 “Old School” 1964 – 1974 Limited Edition, Numbered Box Set For Collectors.
“We were into fun, sex, death and money when everybody was into peace and love. We wanted to see what was next. It turned out we were next, and we drove a stake through the heart of the Love Generation”
–Alice Cooper, The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy of Goth, Grunge and Heroin (2008) by Furek, Maxim
Alice Cooper didn’t fare well in California but were better appreciated in Michigan to an audience unaccustomed to their theatrics and it was uphill from there. The band produced their breakout album Love it to Death in 1970, reaching number 35 in the US Billboard top 200 and was followed by the album Killer (1971) and the very popular School’s Out in 1972. During this time, the band was rising in popularity thanks to their macabre stage theatrics in volving snakes, electric chairs, gallows, and bloodied baby dolls perhaps starting the association of hard rock to satanism and the occult.
The band continued on their tours of the US and other countries went their separate ways in 1974. Alice Cooper returned as a solo artist with Furnier legally changing his name to Alice Cooper and releasing the successful album Welcome to My Nightmare. Cooper continued to belt out a string of successful hits and tours throughout the 70s up to the present mixing various music styles but retaining his unique style of showmanship.
Fans of Alice Cooper will get to reminisce the good old days through the Alice Cooper 2011 “Old School” 1964 – 1974 Limited Edition, Numbered Box Set For Collectors, which features a unique-looking 12” box that resembles a typical mutilated wooden school desk with scratches, engravings and graffiti complete with rusty hinges.
The box contains the following items:
- Four CD albums which include exclusive demos, rehearsals, rarities, live performances, interviews, and more.
- One 12″ 180g vinyl LP: Bootleg vinyl of the legendary 1971 “Killer” show live in St. Louis,
- One DVD with over 2 hours of footage including new and candid conversations with the band plus never-before-seen archival clips.
- One 7″ vinyl single: Replica of the super-rare original vinyl by The Nazz (The band that became Alice Cooper) featuring “Wonder Who’s Loving Her Now? / Lay Down And Die, Goodbye”
- One Hardcover Yearbook: A unique look back at Alice Cooper from Arizona teenagers to world-dominating rock stars, written by Lonn Friend, in a deluxe 60-page book with a host of previously unreleased photos.
- One Press Kit folder which contains 5 rare original poster designs and illustrations, a 20-page full colour tour programme and set list and full reproductions of original ticket stubs.
The Alice Cooper 2011 “Old School” 1964 – 1974 Limited Edition, Numbered Box Set For Collectors guarantees an awesome classic Alice Cooper experience and is currently available at Ozzy Collectibles.
