Special Forces

Special Forces

This 1981 album continued Alice Cooper’s commercial fall for a few reasons: 1.) rock ’n’ roll had begun a slide into a morass of synths and drum machines, and 2.) Alice was drinking with even greater gusto. Despite new wavey undercurrents, early ’80s–sounding radio grabs like “Skeletons in the Closet” and “Don’t Talk Old to Me” upheld the Coop’s black humor, and “Prettiest Cop on the Block” would’ve fit snugly into any Alice era. Better, Cooper’s “Seven and Seven Is” rivals Love’s original (no mean feat!), and “Who Do You Think We Are” is an all-time Cooper best. You’ve got to love a guy who flippantly nods, mocks, and preens along with his own inner narcissist (as on “You Look Good in Rags”) with a wit that had little in common with the year’s hit pop music. Such tunes proved the Coop too smart for his own good. The album stiffed, but the hardcore fans understood—any Alice effort bettered most albums by anyone else.

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