Alice Cooper

 Today in 1978 Alice Cooper released the album From The Inside

Detroit, Michigan Rock, hard rock, heavy metal, proto-punk, shock rock, experimental rock, glam metal

Status:Active

Years active 1963–present

Alice Cooper is without a doubt one of the most influential showmen in the history of hard rock. Enough cannot be said about the man -- suffice to say that virtually every band who has ever adopted a horror/theatrical approach, from Marilyn Manson to King Diamond to too many others to mention, they all ultimately are influenced by Alice Cooper. The band formed in Arizona in the late sixties, fronted by one Vincent Furnier, who had already started cultivating his controversial stage persona though he hadn't yet changed his name. They went through several names, among them the Earwigs, the Spiders, and the Nazz, before finally settling on Alice Cooper. While the exact origin of the name Alice Cooper is debatable (there seem to be numerous explanations), it's clear that the band adopted the name before Furnier did, instead of the other way around as one might expect. Finally properly christened, the band rose to worldwide stardom in a few short years, thanks to memorable anthems such as "I'm Eighteen", "Under My Wheels", "Billion Dollar Babies", and of course the anthem to end all anthems, "School's Out", combined with a highly controversial and unpredictable stage show. By 1973, though, the rest of the band had had enough, and thus Alice Cooper the band became Alice Cooper the solo artist, and his larger-than-life persona continued to grow.

Though still eminently recognizeable, by the mid-80's Alice's popularity had dwindled somewhat, with his albums being less memorable (does anyone remember anything about releases such as Dada or Zipper Catches Skin?), though his stage show still went down a storm. His recording output waned in the 90's, not unexpectedly, but just when one might have forgotten what he could do, along came 2000's Brutal Planet, a surprisingly heavy effort that showed Alice successfully combining his classic style with a modern approach. Since then he's gone back to his roots, as his last two albums (The Eyes Of Alice Cooper and Dirty Diamonds) are clearly based in 70's rock. Nowadays he's less the outrageous personality though he's still in the public eye (among other things, he's well documented as a more than competant golfer). His legacy in the rock world is quite secure.

Warner Bros.

Alice Cooper - vocals

Dick Wagner - guitar

Davey Johnstone - guitar

Steve Lukather - guitar

Jay Graydon - guitar, synthesizer programming

David Hungate - bass

Dee Murray - bass

Rick Schlosser - drums

Dennis Conway - drums

Michael Ricciardella - drums

Rick Neilsen - guitar

1. From The Inside (3:55)

2. Wish I Were Born In Beverly Hills (3:38)

3. The Quiet Room (3:52)

4. Nurse Rozetta (4:15)

5. Millie And Billie (4:15)

6. Serious (2:44)

7. How You Gonna See Me Now (3:57)

8. For Veronica's Sake (3:37)

9. Jackknife Johnny (3:45)

10. Inmates (We're All Crazy) (5:03)

Total Time 39:06

From the Inside is the eleventh studio album by Alice Cooper, released in 1978. It is a concept album about Cooper’s stay in a New York sanitarium due to his alcoholism. Each of the characters in the songs were based on actual people Cooper met in the sanitarium. With this album, he saw the addition of three former members of the Elton John band: lyricist Bernie Taupin, guitarist Davey Johnstone and bassist Dee Murray.

The lead single from the album was “How You Gonna See Me Now”, an early example of a power ballad, which reached #12 in the US' Hot 100 chart. A music video was also created for it. The ‘Madhouse Rocks Tour’ in support of From the Inside lasted from February to April 1979 and saw all songs from the album as regular parts of the setlist except “Millie and Billie”, “For Veronica’s Sake” and “Jackknife Johnny”. Since 1980, however, songs from From the Inside have rarely been performed live, with the only cases being “Serious” on the 2003 ‘Bare Bones’ tour, “Wish I Were Born in Beverly Hills” on the 2005-2006 Dirty Diamonds Tour, “Nurse Rozetta” on the ‘Descent into Dragontown’ and ‘Theatre of Death’ tours, and “From the Inside” between 1997 and 1999 and on the late 2000s ‘Theatre of Death’ tour.

The album is also notable for having been used to form the characters and storyline when Alice Cooper was featured in a comic book, Marvel Premiere #50.

The album's cover image features the opening manner of doors leading into a hospital waiting room. The doors feature Cooper's face

This was one of three Alice Cooper albums to be reissued in 1990 by Metal Blade Records on CD and cassette. The other two were Muscle of Love and Lace and Whiskey. All three albums are now out of print.