Alice Cooper - Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits

This is a funny record. It exists in my record collection for a number of reasons; the first and foremost is that it cost a mere £2.70 in a second hand shop in Cardiff. Beyond that I suppose I have it because some of these songs are actually pretty fun and I have a soft spot for Alice Cooper since seeing him live was one of my first concerts back when I was 15. Needless to say, I'd never seen a show like it before, and rarely seen anything like it since (Gwar being a notable exception).

When I was 15, I bought a copy of Alice's 1991 album Hey Stoopid. I think even at the time I knew I wasn't really a fan of this type of music, but I could enjoy it and that was fine. The concert we saw that year was ridiculous, but in a very fun way. I've not seen him since - I strongly suspect the live show hasn't changed that much - but I imagine I'd still get a kick out of the spectacle.

Seven years later, I figured I'd get £2.70 worth of enjoyment out of the Greatest Hits, and I think I did. This compilation is from 1974, which marks the end of Alice Cooper the band and the beginning of Alice Cooper the solo artist. It's fascinating how many of his biggest songs were made in the first 6 years vs. the 42 that have followed (good god, that's a long time to be making music). I remember browsing the track-listing and seeing I'm Eighteen, Under My Wheels, School's Out, Elected and No More Mr Nice Guy. That's a huge section of the set-list he's still playing. Add in Poison and Feed My Frankenstein and you have all the Alice Cooper songs most people ever need to hear.

School's Out is a song I've known my entire life - I remember my dad singing it at the end of every term, not to mention how incredible it is when it appears in Dazed and Confused. Under My Wheels was a song I knew from a cover by the Manic Street Preachers as a b-side to Motorcycle Emptiness. That connection alone was enough to make me think that maybe the earlier material was different to the shock-rock Alice Cooper I'd been used to. I'm Eighteen provided a pleasant surprise in the outro of "Like it / Love it / Like it / Love it" which I'd only known up to that point as being a key part of Turbonegro's classic Get It On (I hadn't appreciated up to that point quite how many of their songs contain references to other songs).

Have I listened to this record many times in the last 9 years? No. Is it great fun when I do play it? Yes. Not a record I'd ever plan to have in my collection but one that it pretty enjoyable on the rare occasion I dig it out.

Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 12
Cost: £2.70 second-hand
Bought: D'Vinyl Cardiff
When: 06/10/07
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

The Replacements - Let It Be

It worries me sometimes how easy it would have been to reach this point in my life without ever hearing The Replacements. I guess I would have read about them in Our Band Could Be Your Life, but that still wouldn't have necessarily lead to me checking them out. I would have seen their name here and there, but without actively seeking out their influence on the punk scene I might never have known about it. What's more worrying is that there are probably other bands across loads of genres I like that are highly regarded and loved by many that I might have not heard yet. It doesn't keep me awake at night, but it is concerning.

As it was, I heard The Replacements because my friend Hugh said I should buy this record. I don't always follow his recommendations, and they've been hit-and-miss in the past, but I'm glad I took him up on this one. When we lived in Cardiff there was a second-hand record shop in Cathays called D'Vinyl (which may or may not still be there). A lot of the stock was in terrible condition (boxes or LPs on top of other boxes) and it would take days to look through everything they had. A lot of it was shit, but under a table near the counter were two boxes of punk-rock records. Hugh had told me there was a copy of The Replacements' classic Let It Be in there and that it was worth a listen. I'm not sure why he hadn't bought it himself, but I found it the next time I went in and bought it.

When I put the needle on the record I didn't really know what to expect but I enjoyed what I heard. I Will Dare opens the record brilliantly, We're Coming Out, Black Diamond and Unsatisfied are all great songs (especially the finger-clicks on We're Coming Out) as was the slightly more chaotic Seen Your Video. The initial highlight for me was the closer, Answering Machine, which is still one of my favourites now. My housemate Nicky once commented that he used to wait for the drums to kick in on that song, but loved that they never did. It always struck me as a nice thing to enjoy in song - the idea that it doesn't do what you expect it to. The strangest thing was then going back and getting their first album Sorry Ma, I Forgot To Take the Trash Out and hearing how they'd matured between the two. Sorry Ma is a fairly simple punk-rock album, but Let It Be has a lot more going for it. (That said, the reissue bonus track on Sorry Ma If Only You Were Lonely gives an indication of the more thoughtful band they were going to be).

Let It Be is in hundreds of list of the best albums of the 80's, of all-time, etc and I still think it could easily have passed me by. I know there are other albums in such lists that I should listen to, but I haven't found the time yet. And that's the alarming thing; what if I don't? What if I go the rest of my life without hearing these cornerstones of the genres I love? It does worry me.

Format: 12"
Tracks: 11
Cost: £5 second hand
Bought: D'Vinyl, Cardiff
When: 12/07/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Faith No More - We Care A Lot

There was a second-hand record shop in Cardiff near where I used to live called D'Vinyl. I have no idea if it's still there, but it was the sort of second-hand record you can't imagine is still open any more. I was mildly surprised it had made it to 2008 to be honest. Go back 20 years and I bet there were shops like that in every city, but the majority have long gone. The reason why I suspect it may have closed is that D'Vinyl wasn't very good. At all. If you wanted to spend four hours digging through piles of records on top of boxes of records in the hope of finding a half-decent record that wasn't completely knackered from years of neglect and bad care, then D'Vinyl was the place to go. Unfortunately the staff were dicks too; the last time I went in the guy behind the counter was cracking racist jokes, hence the reason I never went back. They may have had a handful of reasonable records (I'm talking easily <0.1% here) but I rather see my money going to decent people.

Anyway, this shop was very near where I lived, so we'd pop in occasionally in the hope of finding something good. I bought a grand total of five cds and records from there (and this place was piled high with records). On one trip I found this copy of We Care A Lot for £5.40 (and a copy of Gorilla Biscuit's Start Today on cd) and thought it would be worth a listen. I'd not heard any Faith No More pre-Mike Patton but was keen to see what it was like. The whole thing sounds pretty dated these days, but there are still some good songs in there (the title track and As the Worm Turns). Chuck Mosley has an interesting voice (differently interesting to Mike's) but I definitely prefer their later work. I never understood people's FNM and Red Hot Chili Peppers comparisons/comments until I heard this album, but I can see the similarities now.

The highlight of the album is We Care A Lot without a doubt, and it's no wonder FNM still play it now with Mike singing. It's a great song. A few years ago I ran the Brighton Marathon and made a huge playlist on my mp3 player of 4GB's worth of great songs to put on shuffle for the run. It was quite playlist. I remember at various parts of the run getting really excited because certain songs came up (at exactly 1 mile in I had Young Hearts by Gunrack? and around 8 miles Avail's cover of Santeria). The end of the marathon was a very exciting bit (after nearly four hours of running I couldn't wait to lie down) and, as the crowds were getting thicker, We Care A Lot came on and I sprinted to the finish line with it playing. Needless to say, my fond memories of this song are strongly tied in with giving my legs a much-needed rest. I was also pretty pleased with my achievement, which added to the positive feeling.

Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £5.40 second-hand
Bought: D'Vinyl, Cardiff
When: 02/02/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no