In an era when every band was releasing huge career defining double live albums it has always seemed odd that Alice would only be represented by this short release. Certainly the shows the recordings are taken from had plenty more that could have been included, including more material from the recently released 'Lace And Whiskey' album. The performances that are included are all pretty good, although sometimes dreadfully cut own especially the finale of 'School's Out'. Hardly essential, but as the only official record of Alice Cooper live until 1997 it's worth a listen.


December 1977

Track listing

  1. Under My Wheels (Bruce, Dunaway, Ezrin) - from 'Killer'(2:35)
  2. I'm Eighteen (Bruce, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith, Buxton) - from 'Love It To Death'(5:00)
  3. Only Women Bleed (Cooper, Wagner) - from 'Welcome To My Nightmare'(5:58)
  4. Sick Things (Ezrin, Cooper, Bruce) - from 'Billion Dollar Babies'(1:00)
  5. Is It My Body (Bruce, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith, Buxton) - from 'Love It To Death'(2:37)
  6. I Never Cry (Cooper, Wagner) - from 'Goes To Hell'(2.47)
  7. Billion Dollar Babies (Cooper, Bruce, Reggie) - 'from Billion Dollar Babies'(3:18)
  8. Devil's Food - The Black Widow (Cooper, Wagner, Ezrin) - from 'Welcome To My Nightmare'(5:53)
  9. You And Me (Cooper, Wagner) - from 'Lace And Whiskey'(2:26)
  10. I Love The Dead - Go To Hell - Wish You Were Here (Cooper, Wagner, Ezrin) - from 'Billion Dollar Babies'/'Goes To Hell'(6:39)
  11. School's Out (Cooper, Bruce, Buxton, Dunaway, Smith) - from 'School's Out'(2:39)

Musicians (a.k.a. The Hollywood Vampires)

  • Alice Cooper - Vocals
  • Dick Wagner - Guitars and Backing Vocals
  • Steve Hunter - Guitars and Backing Vocals
  • Prakash John - Bass and Backing Vocals
  • Fred Mandel - Keyboards and Backing Vocals
  • Penti (Whitey) Glan - Drums

Sleeve Notes

Produced By Brian Christian and Bob Ezrin
Executive Producer: Shep Gordon
Engineer: Pete Carlson
Musical Director: Dick Wagner
Recorded live at the Aladdin Hotel, Las Vegas, 19th and 20th August 1977

Album Notes - (Detailed release information)

'The Alice Cooper Show' is Alice's first live album. In an era was full of mega-selling double live albums, that often defined the bands involved, all Alice got was cheaply packaged 40 minute that seemed almost an afterthought. 'School's Out' is even cut from it's original live extended form to just two and a half minutes! Unsurprisingly the album was a flop, only reaching #131 on the Billboard chart.

Alice has described this as the one album he wishes he had never made. In Toronto, March 1997, He said he was contractually obligated to do a "live" album, but they [the record company] asked him to do it just after he had completed a very long tour and was about to check into rehab. He was very sick, emotionally and physically, and didn't want to do another two shows just to make a live album (the only time he remembers not wanting to go on stage). However, he wasn't given much choice so he did the the shows, and Warner Brothers got their album, but he believes it's not reflective of the energy of an Alice Cooper show and, in his opinion, it should have been 10 times better. In 1997 he released 'A Fistful Of Alice', his second live album, and during promotional interviews made of point of saying the new album was partly an attempt to erase the memory the first.

In fact a better example of the 'King Of The Silver Screen' show is a radio broadcast from Saginaw, MI the following year, now available on various unofficial releases, but even that isn't the complete show. Only a few audience recordings contain complete shows from 1977/78 and the sound quality on all of those is terrible.

We can only hope that the original tapes are still in the vault somewhere and eventually someone digs them out and does a proper job.