Experiencing Alice Cooper

A Listener's Companion

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Theory & Criticism, Appreciation, Pop & Rock, Rock, Music Styles
Cover of the book Experiencing Alice Cooper by Ian Chapman, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ian Chapman ISBN: 9781442257719
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Publication: March 12, 2018
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Language: English
Author: Ian Chapman
ISBN: 9781442257719
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Publication: March 12, 2018
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Language: English

Experiencing Alice Cooper: A Listener’s Companion takes a long overdue look at the music and stage act of rock music’s self-styled arch-villain. A provocateur from the very start of his career in the mid-1960s, Alice Cooper, aka Vince Furnier, son of a lay preacher in the Church of Jesus Christ, carved a unique path through five decades of rock’n’roll.

Despite a longevity that only a handful of other artists and acts can match, Alice Cooper remains a difficult act and artist to pin down and categorize. During the last years of the 1960s and the heydays of commercial success in the 1970s, Cooper's groundbreaking theatricality, calculated offensiveness, and evident disregard for the conventions of rock protocols sowed confusion among his critics and evoked outrage from the public. Society’s watchdogs demanded his head, and Cooper willingly obliged at the end of each performance with his on-stage self-guillotining. But as youth anthem after youth anthem - “I’m Eighteen,” “School’s Out,” “Elected,” “Department of Youth”—rang out in his arena concerts the world over and across airwaves, fans flocked to experience Cooper’s unique brand of rock. Critics searched for proper descriptions: “pantomime,” “vaudeville,” “retch-rock,” “Grand Guignol.” In 1973 Cooper headlined in Time magazine as “Schlock Rock’s Godzilla.”

In Experiencing Alice Cooper: A Listener’s Companion, Ian Chapman surveys Cooper’s career through his twenty-seven studio albums (1969-2017). While those who have written about Cooper have traditionally kept their focus on the stage spectacle, too little attention has been paid to Cooper’s recordings. Throughout, Chapman argues that while Cooper may have been rock’s most accomplished showman, he is first and foremost a musician, with his share of gold and platinum albums to vouch for his qualifications as a musical artist.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Experiencing Alice Cooper: A Listener’s Companion takes a long overdue look at the music and stage act of rock music’s self-styled arch-villain. A provocateur from the very start of his career in the mid-1960s, Alice Cooper, aka Vince Furnier, son of a lay preacher in the Church of Jesus Christ, carved a unique path through five decades of rock’n’roll.

Despite a longevity that only a handful of other artists and acts can match, Alice Cooper remains a difficult act and artist to pin down and categorize. During the last years of the 1960s and the heydays of commercial success in the 1970s, Cooper's groundbreaking theatricality, calculated offensiveness, and evident disregard for the conventions of rock protocols sowed confusion among his critics and evoked outrage from the public. Society’s watchdogs demanded his head, and Cooper willingly obliged at the end of each performance with his on-stage self-guillotining. But as youth anthem after youth anthem - “I’m Eighteen,” “School’s Out,” “Elected,” “Department of Youth”—rang out in his arena concerts the world over and across airwaves, fans flocked to experience Cooper’s unique brand of rock. Critics searched for proper descriptions: “pantomime,” “vaudeville,” “retch-rock,” “Grand Guignol.” In 1973 Cooper headlined in Time magazine as “Schlock Rock’s Godzilla.”

In Experiencing Alice Cooper: A Listener’s Companion, Ian Chapman surveys Cooper’s career through his twenty-seven studio albums (1969-2017). While those who have written about Cooper have traditionally kept their focus on the stage spectacle, too little attention has been paid to Cooper’s recordings. Throughout, Chapman argues that while Cooper may have been rock’s most accomplished showman, he is first and foremost a musician, with his share of gold and platinum albums to vouch for his qualifications as a musical artist.

More books from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Cover of the book Interpreting the Environment at Museums and Historic Sites by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book So You Want to Sing Folk Music by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Aglaia by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Reconstructing Church by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Exhibit Makeovers by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Insurgency and Counterinsurgency by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Beyond Diversity Day by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Infinite Learning Diversity by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Narrative Leadership by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Historical Dictionary of Chan Buddhism by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book The World Almanac of Islamism by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Climate Church, Climate World by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Introduction to Reference and Information Services in Today's School Library by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Partners in Literacy by Ian Chapman
Cover of the book Atlas of the 2008 Elections by Ian Chapman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy