School's Out
Studio album by
Alice Cooper
ReleasedJune 1972
Recorded1972
StudioRecord Plant, New York City
GenreHard rock,[1] glam rock[2]
Length36:56
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerBob Ezrin
Alice Cooper chronology
Killer
(1971)		 School's Out
(1972)		 Billion Dollar Babies
(1973)
Singles from School's Out
  1. "School's Out"
    Released: April 26, 1972 (US)[3]

School's Out is the fifth studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper, released in June 1972.[4] Following on from the success of Killer, School's Out reached No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM 100 Top Albums chart, holding the top position for four weeks.[5] The single "School's Out" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 3 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles Chart[6] and went to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart.

Packaging

The original album cover (designed by Craig Braun) had the sleeve opening in the manner of a wooden school desk, similar to Thinks: School Stinks, by Hotlegs, released two years earlier. The vinyl record inside was wrapped in a pair of panties, though this was later discontinued as the paper panties were found to be flammable.[7] The desk photographed for the album cover is on display in the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
Christgau's Record GuideB− [8]
Rolling Stone(mixed) [9]

Ian Chapman has put forward a theory that it was a concept album about youth lost when leaving school.[10]

Live performances

Although the title track remains the most-performed song in Alice Cooper's live shows, in accordance with the conceptual nature of School's Out, the album has overall a smaller representation in his live setlist than Love It to Death, Killer, Billion Dollar Babies, or Welcome to My Nightmare, accounting for only 6.8 percent of the songs Cooper has played live. "Gutter Cat Vs. The Jets" and "Public Animal #9" were the only other School's Out songs played on the supporting School's Out For Summer '72 tour, but neither became a permanent part of setlist and "Gutter Cat" was last performed in 2004 on the Eyes of Alice Cooper tour. Short instrumental "Street Fight" was never performed until the 1980 Flush the Fashion tour, and was last played on the School's Out for Summer '97 tour, whilst "My Stars" was a regular part of setlists on the 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies Tour but never played again until 2019 when it became a regular on the Ol' Black Eyes Is Back Tour. "Blue Turk", "Alma Mater" and "Grand Finale" have never been performed live, and "Luney Tune" only once, during the Psychodrama Tour at Grand Canyon University on May 9, 2009 with Cooper tribute band Halo of Flies.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."School's Out"Alice Cooper, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith3:30
2."Luney Tune"Cooper, Dunaway3:44
3."Gutter Cat vs. the Jets"Buxton, Dunaway, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim4:40
4."Street Fight" (Instrumental)Cooper, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway, Smith0:55
5."Blue Turk"Cooper, Bruce5:34
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Stars"Cooper, Bob Ezrin5:49
2."Public Animal #9"Cooper, Bruce3:55
3."Alma Mater"Smith4:27
4."Grande Finale" (Instrumental)Cooper, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway, Bob Ezrin, Smith, Mack David, Elmer Bernstein4:26

Personnel

Alice Cooper band

Additional musicians

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 Prato, Greg. "School's Out - Alice Cooper | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  2. ↑ "Rolling Stone's Best Glam Rock Albums of All Time".
  3. ↑ "Alice cooper singles".
  4. ↑ "Great Rock Discography". p. 170.
  5. ↑ "Canadian RPM Top Albums: Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. August 12, 1972. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Canadian RPM Top Singles Chart - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. August 26, 1972. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  7. ↑ Alice Cooper and Kent Zimmerman, Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock 'n' Roller's Life and 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict, Random House, 2008, p. 97
  8. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  9. ↑ "Alice Cooper - School's Out (1972) album review by Ben Gerson (28.9.1972)". Rolling Stone. September 28, 1972.
  10. ↑ Ian Chapman (March 12, 2018). Experiencing Alice Cooper: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 30. ISBN 978-1442257719.
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 92. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Alice Cooper – School's Out" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7652". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  14. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Alice Cooper". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 52.
  15. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Alice Cooper – School's Out" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Alice Cooper – School's Out". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Alice Cooper Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2023. 24. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Alice Cooper – School's Out". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  21. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1972. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1973. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  23. ↑ "American album certifications – Alice Cooper – School's Out". Recording Industry Association of America.
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