I'm all for a good time, but not when that good time involves being so black out drunk and high that you don't remember three years of your life. Yet, that's exactly where Alice Cooper found himself between 1981 and 1983. By his own admission, he doesn't even recall recording any albums in that period, yet at this point he'd released 1981's Special Forces, 1982's Zipper Catches Skin, and today's Retro Spin, 1983's DaDa.
Upon its release, Dyslexia was intended to be released as the lead single in the USA but ultimately wasn't. Oddly, the track, I Love America, was chosen for release in the UK, but failed to chart. As a whole, the album did pretty terrible, continuing the downward trend of Cooper.
Starting it up, it has an 80's horror flick to it. The instrumental DaDa sets a chilling mood and easily could have fit over the background of A Nightmare On Elm Street.
Here's the thing though. It doesn't stay that way. Out of nowhere, track two hits you with synth pop, and from there, things only get stranger. I'm talking to the point where I thought I was listening to an album by "Weird Al" Yankovic. I present to you for consideration verse six of I Love America:
I watch the A-Team every Tuesday night
I graduated, but I ain't too bright
I love Detroit 'cause I was born to fight
(I love America)
The whole song was pretty much over the top like this.
Just typing all of that made me have to pause, and literally say, "Um..." because I just didn't know where to go from there. I suppose the only thing more I can really say is that DaDa is a strange one. Is it bad? Is it good? I don't know. Let's just say that it's unique.
I suppose that it's not surprising. Things were at a head for Alice Cooper. Not only had substance abuse caused him to mentally lose years of his life by 1983, but he was to the point of cirrhosis of the liver. Further, his wife of seven years, Sherly Goddard, had also had enough, and the two filed for divorce.
His wife and manager checked him back into rehab, his second time since initially going in 1977, but relapsing. The happy ending to the story, but not his 80's discography, is that Alice successfully completed rehabilitation, and has remained sober since. Further, at some point between 1985 and 1986, he recommitted his life to Jesus, and his Christian faith.
Though he remained relatively out of the spotlight between 1984 and 1985, it was during this period that he realized that being a Christian didn't mean he couldn't be a rock star. Rather, that he just needed to change his lifestyle and focus. A refocused Cooper would return to the studio, and release 1986's Constrictor, which is where we pick up tomorrow.
However, before I do, I will also call out one more standout track, and that was Pass The Gun Around. I think it may very well be the only song that features a guitar. It was either really good, or the only standout track that sounded like a straightforward Alice Cooper song. Either way, I dug it.
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