One thing that stands out about Killer to me is that it's top to bottom fan favourites. From the straight up Detroit Rock style of Under My Wheels to the very "Stage show" title track, Killer doesn't hold back, and doesn't miss a beat. For me the brilliant Halo of Flies and the cult classic, though misunderstood, Dead Babies are the highlights of this album - not to mention the Jim Morrsion tribute Desperado.
SONG BY SONG RUN DOWN
1. Under My Wheels - Fantastic guitar and drum dueling at the start of this fast paced rocker. Really great party song, as long as your guests appreciate good music. For interests sake - check out the hot wire version that Alice recorded in 1988 with Axl, Slash and Izzy of Guns N' Roses (another personal favourite of mine), it makes the face pace even faster, and Alice and Axl going at it together on the vocals in brilliant. That recording is featured on the Life and Crimes Box Set.
2. Be My Lover - Great guitar and lyrics on this Michael Bruce penned classic. Drumming from Neal Smith is also great here. I love the "I told her that came from Detroit city..." line, I can imagine the band got quite tired of explaining why the singers name was Alice.
3. Halo of Flies - Pure brilliance. Starts of with the great Jaws style of lurking shark music, and then proceeds to jump all over the place in a truly musical "feast" so to speak. I can't find a fault with this one; it's up with Dwight Fry and Black JuJu for me. I love the take off of "Some of my favourite Things" from Sound of Music, "Daggers and contacts and bright shiny limos...", but my favourite moment of this song by fair is the scream of "FFFLLLLLLLLLLLLYYYS !!!" to kick off the fast paced section of the song. Even a bit of mission impossible theme in this song if I'm not mistaken - one to really listen to. How was this NOT on the Life and Crimes box set? - I can understand time restraints, but you really got to make room for this one - what with the absence of Black JuJu also, I think the box set fails to show the "crazy epic" side of Alice's work.
4. Desperado - This one is the first Alice song I ever picked up all the lyrics to. Still one of my favourite tracks. Apparently a tribute to Alice's old drinking buddy Doors front man Jim Morrison who died in 1971. A lot of the Cooper's earlier work was Door's influenced, especially songs like Mr. And Misdemeanor and Fields of Regret from Easy Action and Pretties for You respectively, so I think this tracks a great tribute to the fallen rock star. Works with the notion of a rock star as a gun-slinging cowboy. A really top class track. I always tell people to download Desperado (among a small group of others) when they ask what some good Cooper songs are.
5. You Drive Me Nervous - Another cool fast paced cut, I love singing along to this one once I've got a few drinks into me. A real fan favourite with good reason. Great Guitar and good work by the rhythm section on this track.
6. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah - Probably my least favourite song on the album - but then again, that's quite a rough statement, seen as how I love this track, just not as much as tracks like Halo and Desperado. A cool song none the less, great harmonica part by Alice - I really like the "...This is Alice speaking! ....SUFFER!" line.
7. Dead Babies - A very misunderstood track, and I think the live performances of this song as something to do with it - cutting up a baby doll ain't really what I think of. It's an anti child neglect song, apparently loosely based on a true story. It's a sad song when you listen to lyrics, slow paced with a very moody rhythm.
8. Killer - Very theatrical work here. Some parts have a very Doors "Light My Fire" or "Touch Me" feel to it (another display of the Doors influence in the music), others parts are very dark with an evil kind of a feel to them with the screams in the background. A great way to finish of a top class album.
"Killer" Prime Cuts - Once again, this is all essential Cooper, but to narrow it down - I'd say look into Desperado, Under My Wheels and Dead Babies. If you want to go that extra bit further, get Halo of Flies, not for a Cooper beginner, but still one of his very best.
Overall - "Killer" is one of my very favourite Alice Cooper albums - I'd say it stands side by side with "Love it to Death" for me. I think those 2 albums show the Alice Cooper Group at it's best.
Once again, this might not be the place to start for a fan of "Poison" but it's still a sensational album.
