889. Alice Cooper / School's Out. 1972. 2.5/5

It's a given fact that you cannot judge an Alice Cooper album by the singles that are released from it. Oh, you'll know those songs, and you will love those songs. But you cannot judge the album they come off by those singles, because in most instances they will be of a completely different style from the rest of the album. One of the best instances of this is the album School's Out, an album that is mostly ignored in the discography of Alice Cooper because the only song anyone knows or has probably heard from it, is the single of the same name. And this couldn't be further away from the style of the rest of the album if it tried.

Everyone knows "School's Out". I may have started school a few years after this album was released, but one of my endearing memories of primary school was the consistent scene on the last day of school term, when the school bus was decorated with toilet paper flowing out the windows and the chorus of voices all singing "No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers, dirty looks" all the way to my drop off stop. Everyone who has been to school knows this song. It is a classic, it is a schoolkids anthem. Its popularity is what possibly detract from the remainder of the album.
Both "Luney Tune" and "Gutter Cat vs the Jets" are the kind of up tempo acid rock songs that fans of Alice Cooper can get into. Sure, the second half of "Gutter Cat vs the Jets" is a little too much West Side Story for anyone's liking, but overall both songs are catchy and likeable. "Street Fight" is an extension of the West Side Story theme following on from that song.
For most of the rest of the album however, there is a definite slide into stage musical theme (albeit a messed up Alice Cooper version of such a theme) about the songs. "Blue Turk", "My Stars" and "Public Animal #9" as songs are all tolerable the more you are familiar with them, but I know that it took more than a few listens for me to appreciate their uniqueness. "Alma Mater" and the unusual "Grande Finale" continue the path which we have found ourselves on, and as with the other songs on the album it feels as though they have been composed in an altered state, such is the mix in musical style and emphasis within the recording of the album.
It was pretty much twenty years after its release before I actually heard the entire album, mostly due to my age on its release and the plethora of other albums of other bands I was delving into before finally catching up with this. I fell into the same trap that I have tried to help others avoid here, by thinking that the entire album was going to be short, sharp repartee songs much like the title track, rather than a lengthy, drawn out drama played out over the course of the album. So while I have come to appreciate these songs in time, and accept their place within the album and the discography of the band, that still doesn't make any easier to love on a scale that I do other Cooper albums.

In the long run, School's Out follows a familiar path with other Alice Cooper albums that have a running theme throughout, or are concept albums in their entirety. You can take the story aspect and enjoy it for what it is and be satisfied with the direction the music takes you. In most circumstances with Alice's music, I find this to be a hindrance, and I certainly find that to be the case here. As clever as it may be to have this album with the storyline attached and the musical pieces written to suit, the fact that it appears unable to stand up to the famed title track means it will forever be trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Rating: "Just a little insane a couple of shots I can't feel no pain". 2.5/5