Alice Cooper -Classicks

If you read my review for Alice Cooper Super Hits, you might recognize some of what you read in this article. Some of the tracks are the same.

The Classicks album is half Epic era greatest hits and half live album, taken from the Trashes The World concert. I picked this one up as one of my freebies through either Columbia House or BMG, and it was mainly for the live tracks. I had no need for the studio tracks.

The album opens with Poison. This is the biggest song on this album, and needs to be included for that reason, but I would personally have left it out. I've never been a big fan of the song.

Next is Hey Stoopid, which I love. It's a great song that's just a really a fun listen, right down to Ozzy Osborne's cheap cameo background vocals. This song is dated with it's sound, but I don't care. I think this entire album is underrated, and was messed up through mismanagement. It could have been much bigger.

After that comes Feed My Frankenstein, which is a bit of a joke song to me. It's great during various live performances I've seen, but as it's own studio track I'm not overly impressed. I blame most of it on the lyrical content. "Well, I ain't evil, I'm just good lookin' / Start a little fire, and baby start cookin' / I'm a hungry man / But I don't want pizza / I'll blow down your house / And then I'm gonna eat ya / Bring you to a simmer / Right on time / Run my greasy fingers / Up your greasy spine / Feed my Frankenstein / Meet my libido / He's a psycho / Feed my Frankenstein / Hungry for love / And it's feeding time / You don't want to talk / So baby shut up / And let me drink the wine from your fur tea cup / Velcro candy, sticky sweet / Make my tattoos melt in the heat / Well, I ain't no veggie / Like my flesh on the bone / Alive and lickin' on your ice cream cone / Feed my Frankenstein / Meet my libido / He's a psycho / Feed my Frankenstein / Hungry for love / And it's feeding time".

I feel that Love's A Loaded Gun is just a basic, boring, filler track. This may be the worst song on the Hey Stoopid album. It's a ballad, that shouldn't be a ballad, and if they had included Hell's Living Without You, which is a much better ballad, they could have switched this track out for Wind-Up Toy or Hurricane Years, even Dirty Dreams. All of which would have been better options than this track.

Stolen Prayer is supposed to be like the softer side of Alice. I don't like it. This is yet another song I never would have included. Like seriously why would this one be included but Bad Place Alone is left out? It just doesn't seem right.

I can't say I'm a fan of House Of Fire, but if there had to be one song from the Trash album that would have to be a guilty pleasure it would be this one. I remember hearing it while roller skating at Wheels roller rink when this album first came out. I have to admit that it even has a decent solo.

After that is Lost In America, which is another song that I feel as good about as I do with the opening track. Both are great representations of what Alice was doing at the time, and I understand why some people like them, but they aren't for me.

It a real shame that It's Me and Lost In America are the two tracks that represent The Last Temptation. Of the two I think It's Me is the better. There's more skill and finesse in the playing. While it comes off sounding over produced, it's still a decent track. Probably would have been better if it was done by Aerosmith or Bon Jovi.

When it comes to the live tracks they opted to include all the greatest hits that you want to hear, at least ones that I don't. I'll be honest these tracks are good, but they don't do the songs justice or how Alice really sounds live.

Under My Wheels opens up the live tracks. I can say from personal experience that this is a great opening live track, but the production on this recording doesn't do the song justice. It sounds a bit muddied and Alice is too far ahead in the mix. It's also interesting that it's presented as an opener here, when it's actually a closer for the concert.

After that comes Billion Dollar Babies, which has got to be one of the hardest songs to perform live. Firstly, the vocal timing is rather intense in presentation. Then there's the drumming, which isn't bad, but it's not Neil Smith's original classic. I can live without a live version of I'm Eighteen, or I should say, yet another live version. The first two live tracks, aren't always played live, so it's nice to get live versions, but I'm Eighteen is alway played live. Sometimes the different solos or mid sections can make the song worth while, but in this case I'm not impressed. Also the Coop's vocals aren't the best I've heard from him.

No More Mr. Nice Guy is always fun live, and this is a decent enough version. The band does a really good job playing it.

That then flows seemlessly into Only Women Bleed. Skip it. If you feel a need to listen to the song, then pick it up in the mid section. It's pretty damn good.

Then the live tracks finish up with School's Out. Have you heard this song before? Okay well then enough said.

Now because this album was a free album it wasn't a complete lost cause, and if I had to buy it, I wouldn't want to pay much, but it would be worth picking up for Fire. This is a cover to the Jimi Hendrix classic, which Alice delivers beautifully. I have to say that I would love to see Alice do this one live, but I'll settle for this studio track.

If the studio tracks that made up the first half of the album had been different this would have been a better collection. If you are looking for a best of package with a different vibe to it this one isn't bad. I don't think Id pay more than five bucks for it used, but still a decent listen.

6/10 - content

7/10 - production

6/10 - personal bias