Customer Reviews

Zipper Catches Skin

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Around the time this album came out, most people were probably thinking, "What has happened to Alice Cooper?" or "What is Alice Cooper thinking?" After he tried to reinvent himself for the 80s with Flush The Fashion, I think many people abandoned him for the cruddy new bands that started popping up. The punk sound that he hinted at with Flush The Fashion and carried on with on Special Forces is still in play here. This could actually be part 2 to Special Forces minus the ... attitude. Alice uses this album to totally let loose his humor side with mixed results. It's really not as funny as Alice thinks it is. That's not to say I don't enjoy it, I do. I actually like this album quite a bit. I think it's great that he tried something different regardless of what people think. The only flaw in my eyes is that it seems as though Alice Cooper-the man was taking a vacation from Alice Cooper-the character. All of us fans fell in love with the creepy character of Alice Cooper, and this album comes across as an album by the man and not the character. Look at his picture on the cover. Yes, it is funny, but "Alice Cooper" wouldn't do something like that, or make an album of songs like that either. Same can be said for Special Forces(though I can see the outfit working, but not the lyrics), or Flush The Fashion(where I can see the songs working but not the image). This may sound like I'm putting these three albums down, but I really like and listen to them quite a bit. This little known "weird" period of Alice's(Flush, Forces, Zipper, Dada) is very underrated if you ask me, and should be given alot more credit and attention than it does. It's sad that the "Trash" period is more well known and favored. I know this review won't be read by many because of that, and it's only hardcore Alice Cooper fans that will take any interest in this album at all. And since that's the case, you already own it or you're eventually gonna get it and were curious about it....It'll be one step closer to having the whole collection, and you just may be surprised that it's actually a good album. Different(it's no Love It To Death), but good nonetheless. ...

While banal pop was taking over the radio...those of us lucky to discover this poor selling album (I got it for the sublime "I am the Future" from "Class of 1984) were treated to our favorite madman battling aliens, girlfriends, summoning dead pets to save his life and even taking on the persona of Zorro! Alice always manages to dig beneath the surface of America's fears and neuroses and still manages to be entertaining. It's silly at times, but a must for fans!

'Coop's songs 'Adaptable','I Like Girls', and ''Remarkably Insincere' can be viewed as a kind of weard response to Meatloaf's 'Paradise By the Dashboard Light'. 'I am the Future' could be the anthem for the youth in the year 2000 (even though it was written for the movie 'Class of '84'). My favorite song is 'I'm Alive' (That Was The Day My Dead Pet Returned To Save My Life) because everytime I hear it, I think of those stupid supermarket tabloid newspapers with their goofy stories and the little old grey-haired ladies who read that stuff. It's really a shame that the don't carry all of 'Coop's albums like this one at the local CD store. If it was available at my local store today, I would have bought it. Instead, they have these 'new' Coop music CD's that contain the same old music. They think if it's packaged and arranged differently, we're gonna buy it anyway just to add to our collections. From my point of view, this album is as creative as 'From the Inside', 'Lace and Whiskey', and 'Go to Hell' were. It's a 'fun' album without all of that heavy subject matter in some of his other albums.

The early eighties was probably the strangest era for Alice, with albums like "Flush The Fashion", "Special Forces", "DaDa" and this album, but I kind of like what he was trying to do during this era. I have to admit, I didn't buy any of these albums when they first came out. I think I was too scared by the pictures of Alice on the front and back covers. If you think Alice looked frightening in the seventies with this monster make-up, you should see him on these records, with short hair and fake eyelashes and lipstick and women's makeup! YIKES!

If you can get past the photos, like I eventually did, you may be as surprised as I was at how good some of the music is, especially on "Flush The Fashion" and this one. The songs on "Zipper" are still very short and punk rock like, though the emphasis was more on hard rock this time. The guitars sound great, the drums still sounded like drums...there are even a few catchy guitar riffs from time to time. The emphasis this time, however, is more on singing and/or half singing, half talking than on the music itself. I like Alice's sense of humor on this album as well, especially on the opening track "Zorro's Ascent" and on "Adaptable" and "I Like Girls". Alice sings with a snarl and a sneer on his face...his smooth crooning voice only shows up on "I Am The Future" and just briefly, for a second or two, on "Zorro's Ascent". I like the music for "Zorro" and I love Alice's vocal on it...I wouldn't find him this funny again until "I Love America" from DADA. "Scrooge's Song" also has some terrific music on it. I particularly like the instrumental section at the end, which is the most exciting thing on the whole album.

"I Am The Future" sounds like something Alice might have written with Bob Ezrin. If Ezrin produced this song, he probably would have made the drums louder and added an orchestra during the refrain. Still, this is a great song. I was glad to see it included on the boxed set.

The second half of the album isn't quite as strong as the first half, though there are still some interesting songs. The first three tracks on the second half are so close together and go by so fast, it all sounds like one song. I like "Tag, You're It", on which Alice sounds like a director for a horror flick. This and the last song, whose title almost takes up an entire paragraph, showed that Alice hadn't completely abandoned his twisted monster movie dark side. The last song, while having the most interesting title, is unfortunately the weakest track on the album...at least in my opinion.

No, the whole album isn't great and he has certainly made better albums than this, but I like what he was trying to do during this era, even though I'm sure his record company was very confused by all of it! I do like this better than most, if not all, of the hair metal albums he did from the mid eighties to early nineties. This is an interesting album, to say the least and definitely worth buying!

"ZIPPER CATCHES SKIN"

REVIEW:

After the entertaining (though flawed) release of 1981's "Special Forces," Alice would return a year later with guitarist/co-songwriter Dick Wagner in tow for 1982's "Zipper Catches Skin". Wildily uneven, 'Zipper' does deliver ... sometimes. It certainly has more of a rock sound than a couple of his previous releases and the lyrics are at times extremely clever and/or witty. However, some songs do hamper this from being an improvement over "Special Forces". Standout tracks: "I Am The Future," "Adaptable (Anything For You)," "I Like Girls," "Remarkably Insincere" and the homage to 80's slasher films "Tag, You're It".

MUSICIANS:

John Nitzinger, Dick Wagner, Mike Pinera and Billy Steele ... Guitar
Duane Hitchings and Alice Cooper ... Synthesizer
Craig Kampf ... Percussion
Frannie Golde, Joanne Harris, and Flo and Eddie ... Backing Vocals
Patty Donahue (of 'The Waitresses') ... Vocals on "I Like Girls"

Produced & Arranged By Alice Cooper and Erik Scott

INTERESTING FACTS:

1. Released in August of 1982, "Zipper Catches Skin" failed to chart on the Billboard Top 200. Thus there was no tour in support of this album.

2. A remixed version of "I Am The Future"was featured in the film "Class of '84".

3. The song "Make That Money" was taken from a planned concept album that Alice was preparing in the late 1970s, which was based on the famous Charles Dickens' character 'Scrooge'.

PACKAGING:

Interesting album cover with an Alice photo on the back cover. CD booklet does contain the album's lyrics.

APPROX. RUNNING TIME:

30 min. and 24 sec.

FINAL ANALYSIS:

Not to be confused with "Billion Dollar Babies," 'Zipper' is still an entertaining - though completely inconsistent - listening experience. *** out of 5.

"Zipper Catches Skin" may be the most unbalanced Cooper disk recorded. It has some fantastic songs like "Tag, You're It", a tribute to 80's slasher films in which Alice sings as if directing a B-Movie. "Adaptable" is a really fun song that will stay in your head after just one listen to the album. And you have "I Like Girls" and "Remarkably Insincere" which are fun songs about a womanizing loser. "I Am the Future" is actually a pretty dark song lyrically and I think is the standout song on the album. But, on the flip side you have what may be Cooper's worst song ever with "No Baloney Homosapiens". I am sure at the time, Cooper thought this was pretty clever, but musically it just does not flow, the lyrics are choppy, and forced into a rhyming scheme that just doesn't work. "Make That Money" is another forgettable ditty, with lyrics again not befitting Alice Cooper. But outside of those two songs Alice I think "Zipper Catches Skin" is a really good album, but still the weakest of the early 80's New Age Alice. I prefer "Flush the Fashion", "Special Forces" and the best of this era "DaDa". Still, it's Alice Cooper and worth the price for the import, if for nothing else than to own the entire Cooper Collection.

I own nearly all of Alice Cooper's 30 or so albums, and I don't regret a single purchase. That said, I don't see where this album is more inconsistent than "Goes To Hell", "Lace and Whiskey", "Dada", "Raise Your Fist and Yell" or the variety-show type albums that "Eyes" and "Dirty Diamonds" are. Furthermore, I don't see where consistency is necessary in an album. We're talking about art, which in its truest form is something that comes from inside the artist - not the excrement of "J. Evans Pritchard PhD." teachings talked about in "Dead Poet's Society", a movie I highly recommend. It should be understood that this album is not only a rock and roll album, which makes it part of a realm that innately ignores rules and convention anyway, but it is also definitely NOT a mainstream album even in the rock realm - especially considering how unconventional the artist is and always has been to begin with. Therefore, freaks of following the mainstream need not buy. However, those of you that are more adventurous, value artistic unconventionality (in other words - true creativity), enjoy humorous story-telling music, and/or appreciate Alice Cooper's unique singing style or lyrics regardless of whether they're about horror or not, should give this a listen.

Musically, "Zipper Catches Skin" is all rock, not that hard and not that soft, and most of the songs generally carry a fast-paced, high-energy rhythm. Then add to that what I think should be considered to be the most expressive, mischievous voice ever heard in rock and great lyrics that are some of Alice's most novel. (You can, of course, check them out by googling and going to lyrics sites.)

"Zipper Catches Skin" is one of my top favorites of all of Alice's albums, and I've heard them all. This one stands out to me because it not only projects a witty, teasing playfulness in about all of its songs, but some of it gets daringly personal with Alice just good-humoredly recreating the humiliation that we all inevitably face at times when we do things that we know or believe aren't accepted by others. With this album, Alice has brought a bumbling sort of Casanova character to my mind, which I've found very sexy as well as humorous. The one serious song on this early 80's album employs a "power ballad" music format that seemed to be a forerunner of many of its kind. It's the introspective "I Am the Future". Though this song is sobering compared to the rest of the album, I find it very admirable as well. Like he personified pain in a song on his "Flush the Fashion" album, Alice embodies the future in this song. In both cases, he attempts to help us consider and deal with those things that we often fear but must invariably confront. However, with "I Am the Future", as with a number of his other songs on various albums including this album's "Tag, You're It", Alice uses his wonderful talent of creating a dual impression (like the faces or vase image) and gives even this scary song an amusing side. This can be seen when reversing his embodiment of the future with regards to Alice's often impishly arrogant, endearing character, who would sing such things about himself - "I am the future. How do you like what you see? Take a look at my face. . . The world belongs to me. It's all mine!" But what a truthful statement of how we have all at least partly felt, deep inside, at one time or another.

Zipper Catches Skin is my biggest guilty pleasure ever! I can listen to it at anytime, well unless other people are around who just don't understand the album. If you're familiar with 70s Cooper and maybe 90s and onward, you have got to check this out because you will have no idea what Alice Cooper was thinking but you will find yourself loving the tunes! Zorro's Ascent, I Like Girls, That Was the Day My Dead Returned to Save My Life... all hysterically funny and damn catchy!

The album even spawned the greatest swear phrase ever... "Boink Off!" Yes it's actually used on the album and how no one laughed on the recording is beyond me!

This is one heck of a cd! It's Funny and excellent at the same time.
Here is a review for each track.

1. Zorro's Acsent - Great Music & Lyrics 5/5

2. Make That Money - Great Song 5/5

3. I am the future - One of the more synesizer tracks but still great. 5/5

4. NO BALONEY HOMOSAPIENS - Easily the best track on this cd! I don't know why everone sais it's bad. But it's got the best lyrics and music on the whole album!!! 7/5

5. Adaptable - Another great song 5/5

6. I Like Girls - A funny song 4/5

7. Remarkably insincere - Good Lyrics 4/5

8. Tag Your It - Another Brilliant Song. 5/5

9. I Better Be Good - Good Alice Lyris. But I'm not really a fan of the 80s back ground vocals. 3/5

10. I'm Alive - Another very funny song 4/5

Overall Highly Recomended!

Someone once summed up the 80s in one word, "tacky." If you follow that line of thinking then this is the quintessential 80s album. It's delightfully tacky. It's very witty and upbeat. The funny thing about this album is that it is the perfect Alice Cooper albums for people who don't like Alice Cooper. The music is very different from the hard rock of the early 70s, the smooth pop of the late 70s or the heavy metal rumble of the late 80s that he is known for. No ... this is feel good bubblegum music-- which is not something most fans of hard rockers are looking for. But putting lables aside-- I LOVE THIS ALBUM!

Zorro's Ascent has some really polished guitar work.

The dark I Am The Future is the keyboard/synth heavy ballad.

Adaptable is a light rocker that gives a "you are here" commentary on 1982 pop culture. My favorite line: "I would do anything for you/leave a craps table for you/on a winnin' streak."

I Like Girls and Remarkably insincere are toe tapping ditties about the world's worst boyfriend/lover and coins the phrase, "oink off."

Tag You're It is the necessary weird Alice moment. This song is about a tribute to the teen slasher films that permeated the theatres after the success of Halloween and Friday the 13th. It alone makes the album worth it.

Make That Money is a song dedicated to Scrooge, but really tags the 80s pretty hard as does I Better be Good.

No Baloney Homosapiens is his tribute to Steve and E.T. and is just a wacky little song with a spacey riff about visiting aliens who have humans on their menu: "Look just 'cuz you got more ears and more eyes/that just gives you more places to cry."

I'm Alive (That Was The Day My Dead Pet Returned To Save My Life is a fast paced feel good look at the tabloid press that was exploding at grocery counters everywhere.

All in all, this is a feel-good, upbeat, peppy little 80s time capsule. If you missed it the first time around, do yourself a favor and give it a try. I'll bet you'll find yourself rather adaptable to it.