For an artist who worked overtime trying to make himself appear a menace to society, this album is one heck of an interesting mainstream piece of work. Producer Bob Ezrin outdoes himself here, adding his touch to the entire package in a way that makes it feel seamless.

“School’s Out” represents the Alice Cooper band (as opposed to the solo artist he would become in another few years) at their creative peak, with everybody contributing to the songwriting. Even Ezrin gets co-writing credits for two of the songs here, because of his extensive input regarding the song arrangements. There is little of Cooper’s shock value aesthetic here. As a matter of fact, there are spots that are downright sentimental (“Alma Mater”), and how often will you see Alice Cooper and his bandmates sharing a writing credit with Elmer Bernstein, or more tellingly, Leonard Bernstein?!

If you can find it, “School’s Out” is definitely worth owning on vinyl, if only for the packaging. The cover opens just like the school desk portrayed on the cover, and if you’re lucky, the vinyl will come wrapped in a pair of pink panties, possibly the most outrageous aspect of the entire album.

Featured tracks include:

School's Out

Luney Tune

Guttercat vs. The Jets

Street Fight

Blue Turk

My Stars

Public Animal #9

Alma Mater

Grande Finale

June 1972 - Billboard Charted #2