Muscle of Love - Alice Cooper

This is the seventh studio album by Alice Cooper. This was his seventh album in five years. This was also the last, or second to last Welcome to My Nightmare, prior to Vincent changing his legal name to Alice Cooper. For some reason I love the crap out of this album cover. I actually think it's kind of hilarious. This album features the song Teenage Lament '74, and Man With The Golden Gun. This also has the was produced by Jack Richardson and Jack Douglas. This is a notible album because it doesn't have Bob Ezrin producing the album, and he has produced all the Cooper albums from Easy Action up to this point. I guess.

1. Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo): This is the first track on the album. The beginning feeling of it is pretty solid. I feel like there is a "prog" type of feel. There is a blues rock vibe that I also get from this song. I didn't really expect for theses guys to have a song that had this type of synths. I think that this is more of a "solid" version of Billion Dollar Babies, the song. I'm hopefully going to have a review of that album up tomorrow. I like how this has this long fade out. I think it was a decent intro. And as the song ends there is a sole violin that comes in that sounds really cool. Again, I'm suprised.
2. Never Been Sold Before: The riff in this song reminds me of a shit ton of the title track off Nazareth's 1975 album Hair of the Dog. This has song has that type of drive to it that that song has also. I feel like this could have been a demo version of that song. If that makes any sense. I do like this though, and this also has horns.
3. Hard Hearted Alice: This song has this type of intro that reminds me of Black Diamond of the 1974 self titled debut album by KISS. This has this type of soft feeling to it. It also reminds me of like Genesis with Peter Gabriel, or Rainbow with Dio as the singer. This is just a building eerie song. I really like this song. It even has a keyboard part in there that sounds like something  a 70's Prog Rock band would do. The solo in this song switches back and forth from left channel and right channel. It's really cool. I'm not SHOCKED! by this, but I do like it. {8/10}
4. Crazy Little Child: This has a type of cabaret feeling to it. This is also a different feeling. I read that Alice said they made this more of a straight forward rock album, "More Balls". But I don't think that's true. This still has a theatrical feeling to it. I like it more that this is like this. I think that it helps get through the album. And makes it not super "boring"
5. Working Up A Sweat: This is a bluesy type of song. The bass is kind of what keeps my attention. I could see this being in a movie or something, if it was a more famous song. If it wasn't for his voice, I could see this being an Allman Brothers song.
6. Muscle Of Love: This is also a cool song. I think that it's cool that this song is about masturbation. It's really straight forward. If you half pay attention to the lyrics you can tell it's about masturbation. I do think that this, out side of that fact, which is hilarious, is a sick song. The ending has this, the very ending, a Allman Brother's feeling to it.
7. Man With The Golden Gun: This song was supposed to be on the theme to the James Bond movie of the same name, according to Alice, Vinnie. I am glad they went with Lulu's one. I think that the vocals sound better on the version they used. I could see this fitting in the movie though. There is a little ditty where it has this type of Bond feeling it. I think that this outer space thing though it kind of "scary". I do think that this is a solid song though.
8. Teenage Lament '74: This song has this type of teenage innocence to it. This song isn't that amazing, it's ok, but I do think that it gets it's point across. I think that it is a good song and the music fits the topic of trying to fit in as a teen. I think that it's neat that someone would write a song about that. Especially when it's was written by adults.
9. Woman Machine: I guess the bassist said that this is the reason they split with Bob Ezrin. That he they wouldn't change the arrangement of the song and that Bob wanted them to. I think that the arrangement of this song gives it this darker feeling to it. I'm getting also this, it's almost over, feeling to this song. I think that it's also going congratulations, come back again for another listen. I do like this song. The ending is pretty cool like effects going on with it. I wish that it was a little more chaotic at the ending though.

Overall this gets a 7.2/10. I don't think that this is so much a Hard Rock album. I think it's Hard Rock with some of that theatrics in there. The variety helps me digest this faster. I think that the production on this to is more "Open". Obviously that is wrong, but to me it's not so "cramped". There is more "Breathing Room" for everything. I wasn't obsessed with it, but I still enjoyed it. I do want it on vinyl