Greatest Hits (Alice Cooper album)
Encyclopedia
Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits is a greatest hits
album by Alice Cooper
, released in 1974. It features the hit singles of songs from their third album (Love It to Death
) to the last album with the band's original lineup (Muscle of Love
).
The album's gatefold
cover art was designed by Ernie Cefalu
and features a sepia
-toned Drew Struzan
illustration of the band members in front of a 1930s garage, accompanied by such period movie stars as Humphrey Bogart
, Clark Gable
, Edward G. Robinson
, Jean Harlow
, Peter Lorre
, and Groucho Marx
. The inner sleeve features a similar illustration of the band surrounded by these and other stars of the 1920s, '30s and '40s, including the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
in upper middle.
This compilation's song versions were remix
ed by Jack Richardson
at the time, with the remix of "I'm Eighteen
" being released as a single in the US. The reason behind remixing the songs was perhaps to boost its appeal as "new" versions because no new tracks were available for inclusion by the group as they were on hiatus at the time.
This compilation was expanded upon when, in 2001, Rhino released Mascara & Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper
, which includes the original single versions of the songs in addition to a number of Cooper's post-1974 hits as a solo artist, filling up the entire CD.
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album by Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, released in 1974. It features the hit singles of songs from their third album (Love It to Death
Love It to Death
Rolling Stones John Mendelsohn found it favorable. He explained that it "represents at least a modest oasis in the desert of dreary blue-jeaned aloofness served up in concert by most American rock-and-rollers." However, referring to "Black Juju" he also stated that "the one bummer on this album is...
) to the last album with the band's original lineup (Muscle of Love
Muscle of Love
Muscle of Love is the seventh studio album by Alice Cooper, released in 1973. It is the final studio album recorded by the original Alice Cooper band, and is a concept album about teenage angst, life on the streets of New York City, and implied male prostitution.In place of the usual jacket, the...
).
The album's gatefold
Gatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
cover art was designed by Ernie Cefalu
Ernie Cefalu
Ernie Cefalu is a contemporary Senior Creative Director, currently working out of Los Angeles, CA. Cefalu attended the California College of Arts and Crafts and graduated in 1969 with honors...
and features a sepia
Sepia (color)
Sepia is a dark brown-grey color, named after the rich brown pigment derived from the ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia.The word sepia is the Latinized form of the Greek σηπία, sēpía, cuttlefish.-Sepia in human culture:...
-toned Drew Struzan
Drew Struzan
Drew Struzan is an American artist known for his more than 150 movie posters, which include all the films in the Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Star Wars film series. He has also painted album covers, collectibles, and book covers.- Early life and education :Drew Struzan was born in Oregon...
illustration of the band members in front of a 1930s garage, accompanied by such period movie stars as Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
, Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
, and Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
. The inner sleeve features a similar illustration of the band surrounded by these and other stars of the 1920s, '30s and '40s, including the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
St. Valentine's Day massacre
The Saint Valentine's Day massacre is the name given to the 1929 murder of 7 mob associates as part of a prohibition era conflict between two powerful criminal gangs in Chicago: the South Side Italian gang led by Al Capone and the North Side Irish gang led by Bugs Moran. Former members of the...
in upper middle.
This compilation's song versions were remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed by Jack Richardson
Jack Richardson (record producer)
Jack Richardson, CM was a Juno Award-nominated Canadian record producer and Order of Canada recipient. He is perhaps best known for producing the biggest hit records from The Guess Who from 1969 to 1975...
at the time, with the remix of "I'm Eighteen
I'm Eighteen
"I'm Eighteen" is a 1970 song by rock band Alice Cooper, featured on their first major label release album Love It to Death. It was released in November 1970, 3 months prior to the album, and became the band's breakthrough hit.-Achievements:...
" being released as a single in the US. The reason behind remixing the songs was perhaps to boost its appeal as "new" versions because no new tracks were available for inclusion by the group as they were on hiatus at the time.
This compilation was expanded upon when, in 2001, Rhino released Mascara & Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper
The Best of Alice Cooper
Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper is a compilation album by rock singer, Alice Cooper, released by Warner Archives/Rhino in 2001 in the US only...
, which includes the original single versions of the songs in addition to a number of Cooper's post-1974 hits as a solo artist, filling up the entire CD.
Track listing
- "I'm EighteenI'm Eighteen"I'm Eighteen" is a 1970 song by rock band Alice Cooper, featured on their first major label release album Love It to Death. It was released in November 1970, 3 months prior to the album, and became the band's breakthrough hit.-Achievements:...
" (Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Glen BuxtonGlen BuxtonGlen Edward Buxton was an American musician, and guitarist for the original Alice Cooper band. He was born in Akron, Ohio....
, Michael BruceMichael Owen BruceMichael Bruce is a US rock musician. He was a guitarist, keyboard player and backing vocalist for the original Alice Cooper group .Bruce co-wrote many of the hit songs with some or all of the other members of the band...
, Dennis DunawayDennis DunawayDennis Dunaway was the bass guitarist for The Spiders , The Earwigs , Alice Cooper group from 1969–1974.He co-wrote such hits as "I'm Eighteen" and "School's Out"....
, Neal Smith) – 2:58- Original version on Love It to DeathLove It to DeathRolling Stones John Mendelsohn found it favorable. He explained that it "represents at least a modest oasis in the desert of dreary blue-jeaned aloofness served up in concert by most American rock-and-rollers." However, referring to "Black Juju" he also stated that "the one bummer on this album is...
- Original version on Love It to Death
- "Is It My Body" (Cooper, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway, Smith) – 2:41
- Original version on Love It to Death
- "Desperado" (Cooper, Bruce) – 3:29
- Original version on Killer
- "Under My WheelsUnder My Wheels"Under My Wheels" is a rock song by Alice Cooper. It was originally released on the group's Killer album in 1971, and was also that album's first single release.The song was written by Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Bob Ezrin...
" (Bruce, Dunaway, Bob EzrinBob EzrinRobert Alan "Bob" Ezrin is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, known for his work with artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2004.-Biography:...
) – 2:46- *Original version on Killer
- "Be My Lover" (Bruce) – 3:22
- *Original version on Killer
- "School's OutSchool's Out (song)Female pop duo Daphne & Celeste, released a cover of the song in 2000. The chorus is based on Alice Cooper's hit of the same name, and some other elements of that song have been retained, although much of the song is "original", in a pop-rap style...
" (Cooper, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway, Smith) – 3:30- Original version on School's OutSchool's Out (album)School's Out is the fifth studio album by Alice Cooper, released in 1972. The album's title track has remained a staple song in Alice Cooper's live setlist and receives regular airplay on many "Classic Rock" radio stations....
- Original version on School's Out
- "Hello, Hooray" (Rolf Kempf) – 4:18
- Original version on Billion Dollar BabiesBillion Dollar BabiesBillion Dollar Babies is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1973. The album became the best selling Alice Cooper record at the time of its release, hit number one on the album charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and went on to be...
- Original version on Billion Dollar Babies
- "ElectedElected (song)"Elected" is a 1972 song by rock band Alice Cooper, from their 6th studio album Billion Dollar Babies. As a single it reached #26 on the US charts, #4 on the UK charts and #3 in Austria...
" (Cooper, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway, Smith) – 4:08- Original version on Billion Dollar Babies
- "No More Mr. Nice GuyNo More Mr. Nice Guy (song)"No More Mr. Nice Guy" is a single by the hard rock group Alice Cooper, taken from the 1973 album Billion Dollar Babies. The single reached #25 on the US charts and #10 on the UK charts, and helped Billion Dollar Babies to reach #1 in both the UK and the US...
" (Cooper, Bruce) – 3:07- Original version on Billion Dollar Babies
- "Billion Dollar BabiesBillion Dollar Babies (song)Billion Dollar Babies is a popular 1973 single by rock group Alice Cooper, taken from the album "Billion Dollar Babies". It was released in July 1973, months after the album had been released...
" (Cooper, Bruce, Smith) – 3:43- Original version on Billion Dollar Babies
- "Teenage Lament '74" (Cooper, Smith) – 3:54
- Original version on Muscle of LoveMuscle of LoveMuscle of Love is the seventh studio album by Alice Cooper, released in 1973. It is the final studio album recorded by the original Alice Cooper band, and is a concept album about teenage angst, life on the streets of New York City, and implied male prostitution.In place of the usual jacket, the...
- Original version on Muscle of Love
- "Muscle of Love" (Cooper, Bruce) – 3:45
- Original version on Muscle of Love
Personnel
- Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
- Vocals, Harmonica - Glen BuxtonGlen BuxtonGlen Edward Buxton was an American musician, and guitarist for the original Alice Cooper band. He was born in Akron, Ohio....
- Lead Guitar - Michael BruceMichael Owen BruceMichael Bruce is a US rock musician. He was a guitarist, keyboard player and backing vocalist for the original Alice Cooper group .Bruce co-wrote many of the hit songs with some or all of the other members of the band...
- Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards - Dennis DunawayDennis DunawayDennis Dunaway was the bass guitarist for The Spiders , The Earwigs , Alice Cooper group from 1969–1974.He co-wrote such hits as "I'm Eighteen" and "School's Out"....
- Bass Guitar - Neal Smith - Drums
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
8 |