Customer Reviews

Hey Stoopid [Vinyl]

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Alice combines what was great about 'Constrictor' & 'Raise Your Fist and Yell' with some of the elements from 'Trash'. Like 'Trash', 'Hey Stoopid' features some guest stars, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Ozzy, Slash and Joe Satriani. But unlike 'Trash' the guest performers have not taken control of the album, they are there simply to back Alice up. Alice's anti-drug message title track is fun and kicks the album off to a great start. But Alice really shines on the ballad's 'Love's a Loaded Gun' and 'Might As Well Be on Mars'. It's amazing listening to Alice's voice. It really hasn't changed much since the 'Love It To Death' days. Most of the songs on this disk are straight ahead heavy metal that Alice is known for. 'Feed My Frankenstein' was made famous by the 'Wayne's World' movie, and is one of the most clever songs Alice has written. The sexual innuendo is a riot. 'Snakebite' and 'Hurricane Years' are fun songs with chorus' that will keep running through your head. But the highlight of the album for me is the final song, 'Wind-up Toy'. 'Wind-up Toy' is about a Cooper character who resides in a mental institution and the last 30 seconds of the song are genuinely creepy. But what makes this a 5 star song is that once the music fades you hear the haunting little boy voice call out 'Steeeveen'. I love that Alice updated his fans on his creepy little boy/great big man character from 'Welcome to my Nightmare'. If you like 80's metal you should enjoy this disk, if you like Cooper but disliked 'Trash' and were afraid to commit to 'Hey Stoopid' don't worry, this is the Alice Cooper we have come to know and love.

Just when I thought TRASH was the epitome of lustful indulgence, along comes Alice with a follow-up that absolutely explodes in your face -- and eardrums! The Master has outdone himself again (no big surprise there, really); although this time around he's out for bloodthirsty revenge; love has gone completely out of control. In "Love's a Loaded Gun" he declares, "You push me to the limit, I can't take it"; while in "Burning Our Bed" he admits that even "Sometimes a man can bleed." "Might As Well Be On Mars," the ultimate ballad of unrequited love, shows a sensitive side of Alice that usually stays well-hidden... "You've turned my world into a dark and lonely place, like a planet lost in space." Then once again, he jumps back into his usual scowling, ferocious act with "Feed My Frankenstein." (Velcro candy? Ice cream cones? Yum, yum! Lead me to the banquet!) The most surprising track on this sexy CD features Steven-remember him?-as a hyperactive, drugged-up child locked away in the "quiet room" with his delusions. Definitely a must-have!

This is a great, great album. I can't think of any song on it that I even came close to not being absolutly in love with. If you wanted to list out all of Alice Cooper's great hits, I can guarantee that a half dozen of them would be comming right off this album. Each song is individual, powerful, and awesome. It seems more like a "Greatest Hits" album, rather than just a regular one. It should say enough that in "Hey Stoopid", Slash is on guitar, and Ozzy in the chorus. The best of the best of the best, ne?
"Hey Stoopid" also spawned an amazing video, which I now know was the video I saw when I was a kid, and scared me to death. Which makes me laugh now, thinking back on it.
"Love's A Loaded Gun" was also a hit video, and I've played it over, and over, and over.
Buy it, if only for "Might As Well Be on Mars". This song is simply too amazing to be described in words.
Hey Stoopid = GOOD ALBUM.
Oh, and the lyric booklette unfolds into a mini-poster of the image of him from the back cover. Currently, I need another book, because right now it's on my wall, worshiped daily. (All a girl could ever want!)

Of course, this album isn't for everybody. All the media-controlled hArdcORe sLipKNot gOThIc nINjA WARioRs of HaRdCoRE (teenybopers in black clothing) probably won't apreciate it. Afterall, everybody knows that music didn't exist before KORN. (I say this VERY sarcastically.)

Hey Stoopid never lets up. You won't hear any grungy or sludgy electric guitar static here. The clear and robust six-string sound helps deliver an '80's metal sound--AT ITS VERY FINEST!
"Snakebite" has a deliciously eery melodic feel which might remind you of sounds from Another Perfect Day (Motorhead--also a highly recommended album). "Dangerous Tonight" starts out sinister and then goes on to "cause you pain and make it last"! And you will NEVER forget that strutting bass line of "Frankenstein" that moves your body as it teases you up to the explosion that launches the chorus. I just chose three songs to give some feel for the real variety and creativity you will experience with this intense CD. Buckle your seatbelt when you spin this one--definitely not background music!
Ozzy's cameo appearance, ironically, seems to just underscore Coop's talent in creating moods with his lyrics and vocals. Anyway, if it's things dark and heavy, especially where the heavy makes the dark, darker, and the dark makes the heavy even heavier, then feed your Frankenstein right here.
"It's...LUNCH TIME!"

This is my favorite Cooper album. It has the greatest strongest material of any Metal album in my opinion. It was made after he had had his 3 comeback albums of the 80's, this one was released in 1991 and starts off the new decade with a Golden Sound. It's musically amazing with some of the greatest musicians as guests on it, and its Lyrically his best album.

Lets look at the cd itself.

Jewel Case, with a remastered pure cd. 5/5

The Cover of the album is a really sweet photo for this cd, and the inside has a foldout of Alice in a sinister look, with Black Leather, and lyrics in it. The Photo of Alice is also on the back of the cd. 5/5

Songs.

Hey Stoopid - This is a Great Song with some amazing anti drug anti suicide lyrics and good music, and a great opener for this album 5/5

Love's a Loaded Gun - This is a very Dramatic track with beautiful and sinister lyrics, and a mix of acoustic and electric guitar, It's like a dramatic balled. 5/5

Snakebite - Another good song with a catchy guitar solo and riff, and decent lyrics. 5/5

Burning Our Bed - A great balled to start off the 3 song story line, some amazing lyrics and music to back it up. 5/5

Dangerous Tonight - The Dramatic part of the 3 song story, with great guitar and dramatic lyrics. 5/5

Might As Well Be On Mars - The wrap up of the 3 song story, its a sad sad balled with beautiful music and lyrics, a gem without a doubt. 5/5

Feed My Frankenstein - The only big "hit" from the album, its a tad overplayed but it still has good lyrics and an amazing guitar solo, Nikki Sixx basses on this album and that always makes it cool. 5/5

Hurricane Years - Another good lyric song with catchy guitar sounds. 4/5

Little By Little - A drastic song tribute to Alice's little sick things (fans) 5/5

Die for You - Coopers best balled, BEAUTIFUL lyrics, and great music to back it up. 5/5

Dirty Dreams - A song about Teenage "dirty dreams" Alice returns to rebellion. 5/5

Wind Up Toy - A good end to the album about some guy in a mental hospital. 5/5

All in All this is Coopers musically Greatest album to date, its got very personal music, and the songs flow very well from one to another.

Price 10 bucks. Great Price for what you get. 5/5

I dont care what the old school die hard fans of Alice say about this metal era of songs. This album is a great album. I strongly recomend you buy this album with "TRASH" as they really should be a 2 disc album! They both contain some of the greastest hard rockin metal songs i've ever heard. With an all star selection of guest musicions, how could these albums fail? I dont understand why these albums are so cheap to buy? on both those albums you hear a completly amazing onsomble of great musicions "Stef burns - huewy Lewis & The News" "Bon Jovi" "Ozzy Osbourne" "Joe Satriani" "Steve Vai" "Nikki Sixx" and many more.... these albums are absolute metal masterpeices, and if you dont like them, get your head exsamined, if your a rock n roll fan then these albums are a must have! every track, even if you dont like them at first, give them a few listens and they will grow on you till you love them!

Alice Cooper has another solid album with "Hey Stoopid". This album is similar to "Trash" in that it would definitely appeal to fans of melodic hard rock. He DOES deviate a bit from the sex, love, and failed relationships theme long enough to bring us the title track "Hey Stoopid" and "Wind Up Toy". "Hey Stoopid" is an anti drug song, plain and simple. "Wind Up Toy" is about somebody in an asylum...a very Cooperesque theme. "Love's a Loaded Gun" explores the dark side of a jilted lover, while "Burning Our Bed" suggests and extreme way to deal with the pain..."Baby I'm burning our bed." "Might as Well Be On Mars" is a song pretty much everybody can relate to. It's about unrequited love "I'm right in your back yard, and I might as well be on Mars...You don't see me." Pretty much the rest of the album is about down and dirty sex. "Dirty Dreams, how ya gonna do me." and "Try to lose control. I'll stain your soul to red from white." are a few examples of the lyrics. You get the picture. Alice Cooper proves once again that you can never go too far when exploring a subject. I think the variation of theme and adding things like "Wind Up Toy" may make this album more palatable to Alice fans that weren't as enthusiastic about "Trash", and I think if you DID like "Trash" you'll like "Hey Stoopid". If you're a fan of other bands within this end of the hard rock genre, you may be in for a pleasant surprise. Many of them have 1999-2000 releases. After you pick up your copy of "Hey Stoopid" you should definitely go check out some of your favorites. Need a memory jog? Click on over to my home page on Amazon. I have most of the bands reviewed or at least mentioned. Are you ready to rock? :o)

"HEY STOOPID"

REVIEW:

After the tremendously successful (but disappointing) album "Trash," Alice gets back on track with the Peter Collins produced "Hey Stoopid". Comparitively to his previous effort, this album is certainly heavier and features more of the dark, sarcastic and witty lyrics that everyone has come to expect from Alice. Nearly all the songs on this album are well-written and catchy hard rock tunes. The standout tracks are "Hey Stoopid," "Love's A Loaded Gun," the epic "Might As Well Be On Mars," "Hurricane Years," "Die For You" and "Wind-Up Toy".

MUSICIANS:

Slash - Guitars (1)
Joe Satriani - Guitars (1,4,7,9,12), Backing Vocals (1)
Stef Burns - Guitars (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12)
Steve Vai - Guitars (7)
Vinnie Moore - Guitar (8,11)
Mick Mars - Guitar (10)
Hugh McDonald - Bass (1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12)
Nikki Sixx - Bass (7)
Mickey Curry - Drums (all tracks)
John Webster - Keyboards (1,2,3,4,7,9,10,12), B3 Organ (5)
Steve Croes - Synclavier (1,10)
Robert Bailey - Keyboards (2,5,6,7,8,10,12)
Jai Winding - Keyboards (6)
Chris Boardman - String Arrangements (6)
Backing Vocals - Ozzy Osbourne (1), Zachary Nevel (1)

INTERESTING FACTS:

1. Released in July of 1991, "Hey Stoopid" would peak at #47 on the Billboard Top 200. Meanwhile, the title track would peak at US #78.

2. A cover of the classic Jimi Hendrix song, "Fire" was recorded during the making of this album as a possible inclusion but would eventually turn up on the "Love's A Loaded Gun" single, as well as "The Life And Crimes of Alice Cooper" box set and the compilation album, "Classicks".

3. Alice was featured in a concert scene, performing "Feed My Frankenstein," in the hit 1991 film, "Wayne's World". Later on in the film, while backstage meeting Alice, Wayne and Garth would bow in his presence saying "We're not worthy, we're not worthy!"

4. Horror Queen (aka Mistress of the Dark) Elvira says the line "He's such a psycho" on the recording of the "Feed My Frankenstein" track.

5. Alice played a series of free concerts (actually mini-concerts) that were performed in various, unexpected places --- from Times Square to atop of record store buildings to public parks. This was dubbed the "Nightmare On Your Street" Tour.

PACKAGING:

"Hey Stoopid" is certainly one of the weakest album covers by Alice but the booklet opens up as a poster with all the album's lyrics.

APPROX. RUNNING TIME:

54 min. and 11 sec.

FINAL ANALYSIS:

This is no "Billion Dollar Babies" but it is an infectiously entertaining album that marked his best effort since 1983's "Dada". ****1/2 out of 5.

This was a great album. It was the best non-concept album Alice Cooper had done in years. His voice sounds mature and clear in these songs. Ozzy, Slash, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, and others make guest appearances on the record. Alice should have put together his own band, instead of just using guest stars.

I got hooked into Alice Cooper with Trash. It came out my freshman year of high school and was a lightning rod for me.

Then, along came "Hey Stoopid." Stoopid was different, not a simple progression in sound.

Wind-up Toy is my favorite track, creepy and crazy all at once. One can almost visualize some kid dealing with being locked away in a psych ward.

"Hey Stoopid" is a fun song. It makes some points that the recovering alcoholic Cooper wanted to make, but made 'em well. It grooves and sounds like a good live song, not overly mixed in the studio.

There's a string of depressing songs that fit my teenage moods all those years ago and ended up on my slow song mix tapes back in the day.

Cooper showed his stuff on this album. And he covered lots of territory.