┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Alice Cooper - Constrictor + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Feb-06-2006 Encoder......LAME 3.90 Modified ║ │ │║ Genre........Hard Rock Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........1986 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......rainbow Songs........10 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.alicecooper.com ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Alice Cooper Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : Constrictor Label : MCA ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ REVIEW: ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ After a three year hiatus, Alice returned with ║ │ │║ the Beau Hill / Michael Wagener produced album ║ │ │║ "Constrictor". Like most 80' pop rock albums, ║ │ │║ this certainly sounds dated. And while the ║ │ │║ collection of songs aren't the best Alice has ║ │ │║ written, there is still some worthwhile tunes ║ │ │║ here. Most notably; "Teenage Frankenstein," ║ │ │║ "Life And Death Of The Party," "The Great ║ │ │║ American Success Story" and "He's Back (The Man ║ │ │║ Behind The Mask)". However, songs like "Thrill ║ │ │║ My Gorilla," "Trick Bag," and "Crawlin" were ║ │ │║ uninspired songs that could've been written by ║ │ │║ any 80's rock band at the time. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ MUSICIANS: ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Kane Roberts ... Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, ║ │ │║ Background Vocals, Drums ║ │ │║ David Rosenberg ... Drums ║ │ │║ Donnie Kisselbach ... Bass guitar ║ │ │║ Kip Winger ... Bass guitar ║ │ │║ Paul Delph ... Keyboards, Background Vocals on ║ │ │║ 'He's Back' ║ │ │║ Tom Kelly ... Background Vocals on 'He's Back' ║ │ │║ Beau Hill ... Background Vocals ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ INTERESTING FACTS: ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ 1. Released in October of 1986, "Constrictor" ║ │ │║ would peak at #59 on the Billboard Top 200. It ║ │ │║ was his highest chart placing in six years! ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ 2. An original title for "Constrictor" was ║ │ │║ "Awake For The Snake". ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ 3. The song "He's Back (The Man Behind the ║ │ │║ Mask)" was featured in the entertaining horror ║ │ │║ film "Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives". ║ │ │║ The song would eventually peak at #56 on the ║ │ │║ Billboard charts. "Teenage Frankenstein" and ║ │ │║ "Hard Rock Summer" (featured on the Cooper box ║ │ │║ set) were also featured in the film. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ 4. Originally, 'He's Back' was recorded to the ║ │ │║ music that would become the music for "Trick ║ │ │║ Bag". The music was changed due to the fact that ║ │ │║ the producers of 'Jason Lives' deemed the ║ │ │║ original music to be too heavy. The original ║ │ │║ version is available on the Alice Cooper box ║ │ │║ set. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ 5. At the request of MCA, the song "Great ║ │ │║ American Success Story" was originally intended ║ │ │║ to be included in the Rodney Dangerfield movie ║ │ │║ "Back to School" but unfortunately, that would ║ │ │║ not come to fruition. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ PACKAGING: ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Album cover is nothing more than a cut and paste ║ │ │║ job that looks horrendous but the booklet does ║ │ │║ feature the album's lyrics. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ CONSTRICTOR is the kind of album that you pull ║ │ │║ out of your collection every once in a while ║ │ │║ when you're in the mood for something different ║ │ │║ (or, in my case, if you've listened to KILLER ║ │ │║ and BILLION DOLLAR BABIES one too many times). ║ │ │║ Either that, or you're a long-suffering Alice ║ │ │║ Cooper fan who loved his work in the early 70s ║ │ │║ but stuck with him all the way throughout his ║ │ │║ David-Bowie phase into the late 80s.... or, ║ │ │║ you're a masochist. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ While I'm not a huge fan of 80s pop metal, there ║ │ │║ were occasionally bands that transcended their ║ │ │║ trappings and managed to craft some pretty ║ │ │║ decent music... Def Leppard is a great example. ║ │ │║ On this album, Alice Cooper shows that he's also ║ │ │║ capable of rising above the superficial ║ │ │║ production and write some pretty worthwhile ║ │ │║ tunes. Unfortunately, the songwriting here is ║ │ │║ fairly hit-or-miss. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Songs like "Give it Up" or "Great American ║ │ │║ Success Story" are certainly upbeat numbers, but ║ │ │║ they're hopelessly dated and particularly ║ │ │║ uninspired. Cooper used to be a daring artist ║ │ │║ who wasn't afraid to take chances, and these ║ │ │║ songs are pretty safe by anyone's standards. The ║ │ │║ album's creative nadir, both musically and ║ │ │║ lyrically, is the hopelessly inept "Thrill My ║ │ │║ Gorilla," which is about as bad as it sounds. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ That being said, there are some successes to be ║ │ │║ had here. "Teenage Frankenstein" may not match ║ │ │║ up to Cooper's earlier odes to teen angst, but ║ │ │║ it's fairly catchy and certainly listenable. The ║ │ │║ charming "Life and Death of the Party" has a ║ │ │║ very good chorus, and "World Needs Guts" is ║ │ │║ aggressive enough to merit attention. Compared ║ │ │║ to some of the other lifeless dirges on this ║ │ │║ album, these shine. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ That being said, there's one complete winner ║ │ │║ here makes this album worth owning, and that's ║ │ │║ "He's Back," the song written for FRIDAY THE ║ │ │║ 13TH PART 6. Here, Cooper stops trying to pander ║ │ │║ to the cliches at the time and really runs wild ║ │ │║ with them... the song's got an menacingly dark ║ │ │║ synth-beat, the vocals lines are about as catchy ║ │ │║ as you can imagine and delivered with an ║ │ │║ understated madness that's easy to miss. This is ║ │ │║ the only song on the album that really captures ║ │ │║ Alice Cooper's deranged sense of humor and it ║ │ │║ proves that even up to the late 80s, he was a ║ │ │║ vital (and underrated) musician. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Perhaps I've been a bit too hard on the album... ║ │ │║ it's just when compared to earlier Cooper ║ │ │║ albums, and even his other solo works, this one ║ │ │║ doesn't really compare. That being said, I still ║ │ │║ own the thing on CD so that says something. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ This was the first Alice Cooper album I bought. ║ │ │║ I first heard some of the songs from the horror ║ │ │║ move Friday The 13th Part 6 and decided to give ║ │ │║ the album a listen. I really wanted to hear the ║ │ │║ song "Hard Rock Summer" but it wasn't until a ║ │ │║ decade later that it was released on the box set ║ │ │║ "The Life And crimes Of Alice Cooper" as it was ║ │ │║ not on this album. The song "He's Back(The Man ║ │ │║ Behind The Mask)" was another I wanted to have ║ │ │║ on cd but the version on here is not the same as ║ │ │║ the movie mix which I think is a far better ║ │ │║ version(and can be found on the box set). ║ │ │║ "Teenage Frankenstein" is on this album as well ║ │ │║ and one that will get you hooked after a few ║ │ │║ listens. The rest of the album features some ║ │ │║ good 80's rock/metal. You have "Trick Bag" and ║ │ │║ "Give It Up" with a catchy chorus. There are ║ │ │║ hard rock songs like "The World Needs Guts" as ║ │ │║ well as a nice rock ballad with "Life And Death ║ │ │║ Of The Party." ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ This album is supposed to be the comeback for ║ │ │║ Alice Cooper. That makes sense as the popularity ║ │ │║ of Horror/Slasher films as well as hard rock was ║ │ │║ at an all time high when this came out. I think ║ │ │║ his true comeback was with the album 'Trash' but ║ │ │║ this one got me into Alice Cooper to begin with. ║ │ │║ It led me to buying a VHS copy of "The Nightmare ║ │ │║ Returns" that featured some classic Cooper songs ║ │ │║ and that led me to buying the original "Greatest ║ │ │║ Hit's" album. Then "Welcome To My Nightmare" and ║ │ │║ then.....you get the picture. But for me it all ║ │ │║ started here. This album is one I listen to near ║ │ │║ Halloween as well as his next release and his ║ │ │║ heaviest with "Raise Your Fist And Yell." ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Stand Out songs "Life And Death Of The Party" ║ │ │║ "Crawlin'" "The Great American Success Story" ║ │ │║ and "Give It Up" ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ The 80's was a really bad time for Alice Cooper. ║ │ │║ He hads ║ │ │║ become a joke of his old self. He tried to do ║ │ │║ what Aerosmith ║ │ │║ did with P Vacation and comeback with a hair ║ │ │║ metal commerical ║ │ │║ album, but he flatout fails. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ The guitar playing isn't that bad at all, but ║ │ │║ the lyrics are ║ │ │║ cheesy making even the decent songs like Teenage ║ │ │║ Frankenstein, ║ │ │║ He's Back and Crawlin pretty much guilty ║ │ │║ pleasures. The rest ║ │ │║ of the album is pure 80's mediocrity. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ I always listenied to Alice Cooper - from his ║ │ │║ late 60's material to as far as The Last ║ │ │║ Tempation (which, oddly enough, led me to listen ║ │ │║ to more inspirational rock and rap, due to ║ │ │║ Alice's spiritual/Christian leaning from a ║ │ │║ lyrical perspective). Constrictor was Alice's ║ │ │║ monster-comeback after a brief hiatus, and he ║ │ │║ roared back with a vengence. Most of the tracks ║ │ │║ on this album, when I first listened to them, ║ │ │║ blew me away! My favorites were "Life and Death ║ │ │║ of the Party", "Simple Disobedience" and "The ║ │ │║ World Needs Guts", but 'right up there'. The ║ │ │║ techno-drums never bothered me, in fact, I found ║ │ │║ that they accentuated the spectacular ║ │ │║ 'axework'/'artwork'. A very cleverly-written and ║ │ │║ well-crafted hard rock collection. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Alice Cooper's "Contrictor" album is definetly ║ │ │║ not his best, but is still good, but it is very ║ │ │║ 80s heavy metal which just isn't my bag. Good ║ │ │║ songs worth having though, especially "Teenage ║ │ │║ Frankenstein." What really saves this album are ║ │ │║ the guitar solos. AWESOME and INCREDIBLE GUITAR ║ │ │║ SOLOS in every song. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Teenage Frankenstein [03:36] │ │ 02 - Give It Up [04:13] │ │ 03 - Thrill My Gorilla [02:55] │ │ 04 - Life And Death Of The Party [03:41] │ │ 05 - Simple Disobedience [03:30] │ │ 06 - The World Needs Guts [03:58] │ │ 07 - Trick Bag [04:13] │ │ 08 - Crawlin [03:19] │ │ 09 - The Great American Success Story [03:30] │ │ 10 - He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask) [03:45] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [36:40 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘