The Toy Box: Alice Cooper

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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Raise Your Fist And Yell

Today I'm wrapping up my tour of duty through Alice Cooper's 80's discography. Not because 1987's Riase Your Fist And Yell was his last entry of the decade, but rather because I've already played through 1989's Trash. It's been an interesting journey with highs and lows, changing styles, and a complete resurgence in his career.

As noted in yesterday's post, Cooper entered 1987 with an appearance at WrestleMania III, joining Jake "The Snake" Roberts in his corner for his match against Honky Tonk Man. This was followed by a cameo appearance in the film, Prince Of Darkness, playing a vagrant. Cooper would also contribute the title track song for the movie, which would later be included on his 1987 album.

The release of Raise Your Fist And Yell continued to comeback success of Cooper, with the album peaking at number seventy-three on the Billboard 200. To support the record, he embarked on the controversial Live In The Flesh Tour. Though all theatrics, the act was deemed so violent and gory that Germany would force him to remove elements, and members of Parliament in the UK would unsuccessfully attempt to ban it all together.

From the opening riff, it's a much louder album than any of his predecessors have been. It has a vibe of Ozzy Osbourne's No Rest For The Wicked. The opening song, Freedom, appears to serve as the title track, incorporating "raise your fist and yell" into the chorus. It's a decent song for sure.

With track two, I got the sense that intros were the name of the game. Whereas Freedom had a slick guitar lick opening, Lock Me Up thundered across an eighteen second solo drum roll.

The intros fell to the wayside from there, but the heavy metal sounds kept coming. Guitarist Kane Roberts was not only dishing out satisfying solos but adding flourishes here and there that made for a unique listening experience. This was all kept in time with the thundering bass of Kip Winger (later to be known for his own band, Winger).

Step On You was probably the last song I heard which I would consider adding to a shuffle list. From there, the rest of the album just continued to be loud and mediocre. Not bad, just not memorable.

Alice kicked off 1988 contributing a cover of Spirits', I Got A Line On You to the soundtrack for Iron Eagle II. He'd later use the tune as the B-side to the single for Poison from 1989's Trash. Prior to the end of the year, his contract would expire with MCA. He'd switch to Epic Records after being presented an offer that ultimately allowed him an unlimited budget, as well as no time limit to record albums.

Trash would serve as a commercial comeback for Cooper, returning him to the glory days of Billion Dollar Babies and School's Out. It would peak at number twenty on the Billboard 200 and feature a slew of guest appearances which included Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Joan Jett, and Diane Warren. But if you want more on that, please check out that specific post.

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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Constrictor

By 1983, Alice Cooper was in a bad spot. Career wise, his albums were selling less and less, and his popularity declining with each new release. Worst of all, he was so dependent upon drugs and alcohol, that he would state retrospectively that he didn't even remember recording music between 1981 and 1983. His health had not only severely declined, but his marriage was on the brink of being over, with his wife filing for divorce.

At the bequest of his manager and wife, he'd return to rehab, his second since his failed 1977 attempt at cleaning himself up. This time, he'd not only complete the course successfully, but recommitted his life to Jesus. Cooper was not only able to salvage his marriage, and remains with Sherly Goddard to this day, but he hasn't relapsed once!

By 1985 he was ready to make a comeback. Though I wasn't able to pinpoint the actual timeframe, during the early 80's Twisted Sister frontman would be giving an interview, which during he would continuously sing the praises of Cooper not only for his music, but the inspiration he bestowed upon him. Cooper would hear about the interview, and call up Snyder, thanking him for the kind words. This would lead to not only a long-time friendship between the two, but collaboration on Be Chrool to Your Scuel from Sister's 1985 album, Come Out And Play.

This was followed by him starring in the b-flick, Monster Dog, which he also contributed two songs to. However, the true test would be when he returned to the studio to record and release 1986's Constrictor. Could he be a devout Christian and Alice Cooper? Would the world accept this? Did he have any music worth listening to?

The answer was yes. Cooper has not only had a storied second half of his career, but Constrictor was met with praise from critics. The album even saw his return to the Billboard 200, and gold sales certification.

What I was hoping to get out of it was a glimpse of the things to come with 1989's Trash. Fortunately, this happened in abundance. It's a solid rock album from start to finish. The guitars are back, the synthesizer used in moderation, and Cooper's voice booming with power.

While I won't call it perfect from front to back, it's a solid entry. If nothing else, it's great to hear a straightforward rock album in comparison to he's previous "experimental" albums. Tracks Teenage Frankenstein, Life And Death Of The Party, and The World Needs Guts stand out for me. The latter thrashing with sweet guitar licks.

Also included on the album is Cooper's contribution to Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, the track, He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask). It's not so good, but it's awesome that he contributed to the franchise. Considering there wasn't a soundtrack until 2019, and that only includes the score, it's cool to have the song included on the album. Otherwise, it's likely it would end up as lost media, and who wants that?

Always the showman, he entered 1987 in style, making an appearance in WrestleMania 3, appearing in behind-the-scenes monologues with Jake The Snake, and escorting him to the ring. Jake would go on to (scripted) loose that match, prompting Cooper to throw his snake on Jimmy Hart. Man, those were the days of good WWF rastlin'!

Back to the studio, he'd release Raise Your Fist And Yell in September of that year. That's where we dive into tomorrow, and it's actually my last album in his discography to play through, as I've already done a Retro Spin on 1989's Trash. See you tomorrow for the wrap party!

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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - DaDa

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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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Zipper Catches Skin

As a teenager, Alice Cooper's Trash (1989), and Hey Stoopid (1991) were the only albums. This was eventually followed by his 1994 album, The Last Temptation Of Alice Cooper. After playing it, it was the last album I purchased from him (at the time). I not only didn't hear anything reminiscent of the previous two albums but recall not liking it as a whole. Pretty soon, the artist was nothing more than a footnote in my music collection, and I eventually parted with the albums.

When I eventually began rebuilding my CD collection, Trash, and Hey Stoopid were among must haves for me, and I checked them off relatively quickly. Years would pass by, and I'd find myself at the local used CD shop, as I often did. Pursuing through the multiple rows, I came across his section and found multiple studio albums. I'm not sure what it was that compelled me, but I ended up picking them all up.

From the band era, I had managed to collect five albums, and from his solo area, also an additional five. However, what I soon found out was that this was not only just the tip of the iceberg, but that there were four remaining just from the 80's. Still, they weren't a priority to me. This became all the more so after playing through their 1969 debut, Pretties For You. That listening session didn't go well.

Still, every now and then I would look into those "missing" 80's albums, look at the prices, and move on. It wouldn't be until about a month and a half ago (as of the date of this post), that I'd finally decide to pull the trigger. This all came about when watching a Youtube video from Michael Noland on Cooper. It dawned on me just how old the artist was, and having seen what happened with the prices of Ozzy's lower print latter discs, I felt I best get the remaining ones checked off before the same thing happened with him. Like my comment on Noland's video said, I can only imagine how much more expense these albums would have been had I waited. As it was, it cost me close to two hundred dollars to grab them.

Mind you, if I wanted to collect the rest, there are still thirteen more out there. Thankfully, as of now, I don't have any intensions of doing that. But I suppose I said that about Ozzy too and ended up eventually grabbing all of those.

Over the past few days, I've been working through my 80's discography, starting with 1980's Flush The Fashion, and chronologically reaching today's entry, 1982's Zipper Catches Skin. Failing to chart, nor reach any sales certifications, it was a massive flop.

This is ironic because as I played through it and picked out the songs I was digging, that essentially became the whole album. I daresay it was a practically perfect album.

In retrospective reviews, it appears many people seem to have that opinion. Even Alice himself has said he should go back and re-record this, and his other "blackout era" albums, to give them the justice they deserve.

I mentioned yesterday that Zipper Catches Skin was noted as being a mash up between the Knack and Cars, and I stated that it sounded good on paper. It appears in execution, it works.

Unfortunately for the artist, he continued in a downward spiral. There was no tour to promote the album, probably contributing to its failure. Further, not only did his next album, DaDa (1983), also fail, but he would reach a point in his life where his drug and alcohol abuse was causing physical damage to his body. If that weren't enough to pile on, his wife was at a point where she simply couldn't take any of it anymore. That story all unfolds tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Special Forces

Yesterday, I not only touched on the 1980's Alice Cooper album, Flush The Fashion, but also the history of the original iteration of the band, featuring the lineup of Vincent Furnier, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith, who stayed together until 1974. Today, I continue my journey with 1981's Special Forces, and will also deep dive into the solo years of Alice Cooper.

When the band broke up, Furnier was interested in continuing a solo career. As of 1968, people had begun to refer to him directly as Alice Cooper, and wanting to continue using the name without any legality issues, would choose to change his name to that in 1975. Building off the momentum of the band's success between 1971 and 1974 with hits such as I'm Eighteen, School's Out, Billion Dollar Babies, and No More Mr. Nice Guy, Cooper returned to the studio to release the 1975 classic, Welcome To My Nightmare.

This was followed by 1976's Alice Cooper Goes To Hell, and 1977's Lace And Whisky. However, a steady decline, fueled mostly by drug and alcohol abuse, would begin with 1979's From The Inside, and continue throughout the 80's. Cooper himself would state that he was so heavily using cocaine during this time that he doesn't even remember recording albums between 1981 and 1983.

1981's Special Forces would be his last album to peak on the Billboard 200 (at 125), until 1986's Constrictor. It would also be his last album that he would tour for until the aforementioned '86 release. Forces would also continue the trend of changing musical styles, with the sleek hard rock sound being pushed aside for synth pop. It went as far as to reimagine one of his own previous tracks in this new style, Generation Landslide '81, and as a whole confused long time fans.

Though I'm no Alice Cooper aficionado, I do hear the very different musical style from what once was he shock rocker of the 70's. It's as if he's trying to keep up with he likes of the Cars, which is unfortunate. Alice Cooper was a persona who built himself from the ground up, so to hear him trying to be like other bands of the time is a bit disappointing.

While certainly a misstep, I won't say it's a total failure. There are standout tracks here, such as Who Do You Think We Are, Seven And Seven Is, Skeletons In The Closet, and You're A Movie. But as a whole, this doesn't sound like an Alice Cooper album, and that's ultimately not what you want when you put on one of his albums.

Cooper would release the pop-punk oriented, Zipper Catches Skin, in 1982. Critics would describe it as a mixture of the Knack and Cars, which sounds great on paper. However, as I said above, one doesn't pick up an Alice Cooper album with the intensions of not hearing an Alice Cooper album. Who knows, maybe it will turn out o be a hidden gem. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Flush The Fashion

Getting into the 80's albums from Alice Cooper is something a long time in the works. Beyond his album Trash (1989), I honestly didn't know anything from this era. Couple with the relative rarity of this period of work on CD, and high prices associated with it, it took me a long time to finally come around to it, and commit.

At the age of sixteen, Vincent Damon Furnier, was eager to participate in a high school talent contest. The problem was, he didn't have a band. As such, he quickly gathered four friends from his cross-country team, forming the Earwigs with Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, John Tatum, and John Speer. The problem was that only Buxton and Tatum actually knew how to play an instrument, so while they played guitar, the rest mimed along. Their parody rendition of Beetles songs overwhelmed the audience, winning them the talent show.

Inspired by the results, the guys decided to give it a real go, changing their name to the Spiders, and leaning on Buxton to teach everyone how to play. He'd also serve as main song writer, and take inspiration from the Rolling Stones, Who, Kinks, Doors, and Yardbirds. The band would perform regularly around the Phoenix area, with Furnier on vocals, Buxton on lead guitar, Tatum on rhythm guitar, Dunaway on bass, and Speer on drums. They would record their first single in 1965, Why Don't You Love Me, with a B-side of Marvin Gaye's Hitch Hike. Mascot Records would release it locally and bring the Spiders in as a house band at his club, Stage 7, which later became VIP Club. The would prove beneficial, and the band would find themselves opening for the Lovin' Spoonful, Yardbirds, Them, the Animals, Kings, and Byrds.

After graduating high school in 1966, Tatum would be replaced by Michael Bruce. It as sited that his reason for departing was that he didn't feel the Spiders would make it. He instead would instead join a group with Bill Spooner (later of The Tubes). Undeterred, the band released their second single, Don't Blow Your Mind, with B-side, No Price Tag. They would follow this in 1967 with several road trips to Los Angeles to play shows. This would come with a name change to Nazz, and a new single, "Wonder Who's Lovin' Her Now, backed by Lay Down And Die, Goodbye. Speer would be frustrated by the slow pace of progress the band was making, and would opt to leave the band, being replaced be Neal Smith. So far, all I'm seeing is two people making big mistakes.

As 1986 rolled around, the band learned that Todd Rundgren was already using the name Nazz, necessitating a name change. Legend has it that a session with a Ouija board led to the name Alice Cooper being chosen. While that sounds like a pure rock and roll story, it's also an urban legend which Furnier would debunk. Instead, Furnier suggested to his bandmates that they come up with a wholesome name, like someone's aunt. Thus, Alice Cooper, the band, was born. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, people started referring to Furnier as Alice Cooper. Embracing this, he would eventually have his name changed legally.

The classic lineup would consist of Vincent Furnier, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith, and stay intact through 1974. Together, they'd release their 1969 debut, Pretties For You, 1970'S Easy Action, and 1971's Love It To Death, which would serve as their breakthrough album. That same year, Killer would be released, and then 1972's School's Out, 1973's Billion Dollar Babies, and also in that year, Muscle Of Love. Hindered by severe substance abuse, creative exhaustion, and a desire to pursue solo projects, the band would break up in 1974. While Cooper would go on to a storied solo career, this wouldn't be the end for the original lineup, who would reunite in 1999, and eventually release The Revenge Of Alice Cooper in 2025.

Cooper would go on to an illustrious solo career, and though there would be albums released between 1975 and 1979, the first of the 80's decade would be Flush The Fashion, released in 1980. Though it would peak on the Billboard 200, it would also be the beginning of a steady decline for the artist, and his last certified selling album until 1986's Constrictor.

As I played through it, I felt it had a very new wave, and 70's classic rock sound. For example, Pain stands out as a track that could easily have been included in Queen's A Night At The Opera with its catchy piano work, and Brian May reminiscent guitar riffs. Truthfully, while I enjoyed hearing something "new" from Alice Cooper, the album as a whole was just okay. The only other track which stood out to me was Clones. I also appreciate that it was one of his earlier works to receive a music video. Though of course at the time there was no MTV to play it on.

I would definitely say that if this were my first introduction to Alice Cooper, I probably wouldn't have gone any further. In retrospect, like I said, it was great to hear something I'd never heard from him before. With that hindsight, I can also appreciate it a bit more than I normally would have.

As noted above, Cooper would find himself in a steady decline of sales and popularity over the next several years. But down doesn't mean out, and he would eventually have a massive resurgence towards the end of the decade. However, before we can get to that point, we need to first dive through a slew of other albums. That continues next time with 1981's Special Forces.

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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Trash

When I went about selecting today's Retro Spin, I was both shocked and happy that I hadn't yet gotten around to this one. Truthfully, I just wanted to listen to something good, and today's pick wasn't going to disappoint on any level.

It was my introduction to Alice Cooper, and in hindsight in my latter years, an eye opening experience of guest appearances that flew so far under my radar in 1989. Trash, despite its name, is what I would consider the greatest Alice Cooper album, and my all time favorite from him.

If I had heard the many hits from the singer from the 60's, 70's, and even early 80's, I wouldn't have been able to tell you what they were. Instead, to me, in 1989, Alice Cooper was as new to the scene as Guns N' Roses, Poison, and Skid Row. Frankly, despite the history that was his career, I could care less. To me, Cooper's albums consist of 1989's Trash, and 1991's Hey Stoopid. Beyond or before that, I have zero interest.

When my young teenage mind first saw the video to Poison on MTV, my introduction to not only the song, but the singer, I needed to own the cassette. Whatever it took, it was a must have for me. Fortunately, mom was feeling rather generous during one of our many outings to the local K-Mart at the Bend River Mall (in Oregon), and it was here that I picked the tape from the music section, and made the request.

Granted, when I first got it home, and for several months to come, I hovered around the same handful of songs, favoring Poison among them, but also House of Fire, Why Trust You, and Hell Is Living Without You. However, as I grew older, my tastes changed a bit, and over time, I came to appreciate the album as a whole from front to back. To me, it ranks among those few and far between perfect from start to finish recordings.

The album itself was intended to be a comeback for Cooper after his highly successful, The Nightmare Returns, tour. For this, hit maker, Desmond Child, was solicited to aid in the song writing and producing. To create a commercial friendly iteration of the singer, hot talent was brought in to provide instrumentation, backup vocals, and assist with writing. This included the likes of Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Richie Sambora, Kip Winger, Jon Bon Jovi, Joey Kramer, Steve Lukather, Tom Hamilton, Joan Jett, Kane Roberts, Guy Man-Dudd, and more. The album was pushed all the more further through exposure on MTV with the music videos, Poison, Bed Of Nails, House Of Fire, and Only My Heart Talking. The point being, Trash was purposely developed to be a hit, and nothing short of that would suffice.

Trash was a major departure from Cooper's previous work, and while this may have unsettled his longstanding fan base, it also served to usher in a slew of new fans. This would lead to the highly successful, Alice Cooper Trashes the World tour, as well as allegedly being nominated for a Grammy. I say allegedly for that nomination because frankly, I can't find any information which backs up this statement. Even though his own Wiki makes mention of this, if you scroll down to the actual list of Awards and Nominations, it's not noted in that section.

Honestly though, there's no much more I can say about this one. It's just good, and a major piece of my musical history which got me through those teenage years. It was also yet another connection between me and (at the time) best friend. Sadly, he and I have long since gone our separate ways, it happens as people get older. However, what hasn't disappeared is Alice Cooper's Trash, which I still love to re-visit from time to time.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
April 27, 1985

Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Hey Stoopid

My personal introduction to Alice Cooper didn't happen until 1989 with his album, Trash. To me, it may as well have been his first. I'd never heard of the guy. It was a pretty decent album. Decent enough that when his follow up, Hey Stoopid, was released in 1991 I picked it up on cassette.

Mind you, this was back in the day when there was no Youtube. I wasn't able to go to a streaming site and listen to a few tracks to determine if I wanted the album. Nope. If it wasn't on the radio, you essentially bought in good faith that an artist you liked would continue to deliver the goods.

Thankfully, this paid off. Hey Stoopid remains my all time favorite album from Cooper. Now I know some of you are thinking right now that I'm crazy. Alice Cooper has had classic hits from the 70's that remain a staple in his concert tours. Nobody even remembers Hey Stoopid.

Alright, I won't deny that. I won't disagree with it either. It's not exactly rated one of the best albums of all time. For me though, it is.

The excitement slowly builds as the chanting of, "Hey, hey, hey, hey," repeats with the drum, and then takes off as it launches into the title track of the album. If you listen carefully, you'll hear the distinct voice of rocker Ozzy Osbourne singing back up. From there, the album delivers a variety of great tracks, good tracks and just okay ones.

Throughout the record, Alice delivers a variety of hard rock and ballads all with full emotion and energy. No matter what you're looking for, you'll find it on Hey Stoopid.

The great tracks, for me, are Hey Stoopid, Snakebite, Might As Well Be On Mars (my absolute favorite on the album) and Wind-Up Toy. The good tracks, again, for me, are Loves A Loaded Gun, Burning Our Bed, Dangerous Tonight, Feed My Frankenstein, Hurricane Years and Die For You. Meanwhile, the just okay ones are Little By Little and Dirty Dreams.

Look, I could sit here and just keep reiterating how great this album is, or you could do yourself a favor and go check it out for yourself.

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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Pretties For You

Ah, yes. Back when Alice Cooper was a band, and not a persona of an individual. The group debuted in 1969 with their album, Pretties For You, and within it you can definitely hear the psychedelic influences that shaped it. What you can't hear is a band that plays in tune, or a singer that seems to be able to hold a note. If this is by choice, it's a poor one.

The album is laughable at best. If you told me in 1969 that the lead singer of this group would go on to be one of the most successful shock rockers of all time, I'd have told you to take another hit off whatever you were smoking. Pretties For You is garbage! Mind you, I came to this conclusion before track two was even over, and nothing beyond that did anything to change my mind.

It's interesting how songs running less than a minute thirty seconds can still feel too long when they're so horrible. They end abruptly too, as if the band didn't even bother to finish writing them.

To be fair, my introduction to Alice Cooper didn't come until 1989's Trash, and album that Cooper purposely pushed for mainstream success. It's because of this, and his subsequent released, Hey Stoopid, that I had a greater expectation for what I was about to hear. I wanted to hear the foundation for what would become the 80's icon I came to know. Well, I heard it. I didn't like it. But, I heard it. Part of it anyway. I finally had to shut it off about halfway through. I couldn't take it much longer.

I'm really worried now, because I recently invested quite a bit of money into a plethora of Alice Cooper albums from the 70's and 80's. I really hope they don't sound like this nonsense. Otherwise, there's a trash can in my kitchen that's going to eat them up. This album was terrible! TERRIBLE! Get this thing away from me!

At least I'm not alone. Apparently even Alice Cooper knows the album stinks. Even he hasn't performed any songs from it since the band's 1971 breakthrough album, Love It To Death. I suppose in light of this, I don't feel so bad shutting it off. If the person behind it even moved away from it, I have no guilt in doing the same.

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"N" The Box (Art Asylum)

"N" The Box
Art Asylum
2001

Welcome to the 21st century Jack in the Box. Art Asylum's 2001 series based on some of the most iconic rockers, or in the case of Iron Maiden, their mascot, Eddie. They're unique, I'll give them that. I would have never thought adults would have an interest in Jack in the Box toys, but I suppose it makes sense. I mean, we collect everything, don't we?

Considered the Godfather of shock rock, Alice Cooper's career has spanned over fifty years. What most people don't know is that Alice Cooper used to be the name of the band. Under the name, the group released seven studio albums which included some of the singer's biggest hits. However, when the band broke up in 1975, singer Vincent Furnier assumed the persona of Alice Cooper, going on to a much larger career.

Eddie has been the mascot of British band, Iron Maiden, ever since their debut in February of 1980. Since then, the iconic character has gone on to perhaps be more recognizable than the actual band members themselves. Eddie has been incorporated into practically every piece of Iron Maiden merchandise to date.

The self professed prince of darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. Original lead singer of Black Sabbath turned solo act, he went from one of the top artists targeted by parent and activist groups to household novelty act reality TV host. Ozzy is definitely not the artist he used to be.

Rob Zombie took perhaps one of the greatest up and coming metal bands, White Zombie, and threw them away to pursue a highly successful solo career, and an equally successful movie career. Though he definitely leans more so towards the macabre style in his acts, it's one that has drawn in millions of fans of both heavy metal music and horror films.

I feel like Kiss is a go to far too often for companies looking to produce music based toys. It's ground which has been covered very abundantly, and really only serves to drive home the point that the band has become, or perhaps always was, nothing more than a novelty.

While Art Asylum produced quality work in their "toys", I think what contributed greatly to their decline was their consistent focus on statue based items. Their products serve little purpose beyond display pieces. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely less appealing to action figure collectors.

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