Disc 286 is...Raise Your Fist And Yell
Artist: Alice CooperYear of Release: 1987
What’s Up With The Cover?: This is a very literal album cover. Imagine if when you raised your fist, and yelled, your fist also yelled? The only thing that would make this album cover better would be if this fist were raising a second, smaller fist, that was also yelling.
How I Came To Know It: As oft-noted in the CD Odyssey, I've known Alice Cooper almost my entire life. In the eighties, I was very into heavy metal, and it was a pleasure that one of my musical idols, was similarly entranced. I bought this album when it came out (albeit on tape).
How It Stacks Up: Alas, that this record does not stand as tall today as it did for me when I was 17. I have 25 Alice Cooper albums, and I'd put this one around 20th-22nd. Since this is the third record I've put in this range (alongside Constrictor and Pretties For You) let me just say that of those, this one sits 21st (with Constrictor at 20 and Pretties For You at 22).
Rating: 2 stars, but close to 3 (see below)
"Raise Your Fist And Yell" is Cooper's follow up to his commercial come-back album, 1986's "Constrictor". I say commercial come back, because in my opinion the previous record, 1983's "Dada" is superior to both "Raise Your Fist" and "Constrictor". Unfortunately for Alice, "Dada" was also him dying of alcoholism, so if the edge is off the records that immediately follow, we should forgive him, and just be glad he's still around to bring us more music.
"Raise Your Fist" is solidly in his eighties metal phase, which he has since grown out of (sort of). Consequently, the songs here are heavy on simple melody, principally vocals and guitar driven, and follow that basic construction of verse - chorus - verse - chorus - guitar solo - verse - chorus, repeat and fade.
This is far from Cooper's best work, but to be fair, his best work is superior to most rock records ever made, so I tend to cut him a little slack. Also, being very familiar with his music, I can pick out Cooper's natural brilliance toward melody and song construction, even when the songs aren't to his previously established high level.
Thematically, the album is the story of two halves. The first four songs express Cooper's opposition to music censorship, which was a big theme in the metal and hard rock world in 1987, due to Tipper Gore's efforts to censor lyrics through the Parent's Music Resource Centre. The first track, the aptly named "Freedom" is about this theme, and is written as a metal anthem that you can sing along to, defiantly expressing your right to...er...express yourself. It was pretty good stuff when I was 17, and years later I'm still glad rock and roll won that battle, and shock artists like Cooper can still do their thing.
Taking it upon himself to do just this, the second half of "Raise Your Fist And Yell" explores much darker themes, mostly relating to murder. We follow the loose story of a serial killer, first as he awaits his release date from prison, in the double-entendre filled "Time To Kill". Later, we tag along on his reign of indiscriminate murder through the streets in "Chop, Chop, Chop", as he justifies his actions by suggesting he "keeps the city so clean".
Cooper is best when he is at his darkest, and side two of "Raise Your Fist And Yell" certainly delivers on that front, as his evil alter ego slays a stripper named "Gail" and buries her somewhere, and then describes the strange post-mortem relationship the killer imagines with her decomposing corpse (no - not that kind of relationship, although Cooper has certainly gone there in the past). Harsher stuff has been written since, but for my money, no one makes your skin crawl - viscerally and psychologically - like Alice Cooper.
The music on "Raise Your Fist and Yell" is best for his anti-censorship themes, but the lyrics of these songs have not aged well, and sound preachy at times. On side two, his themes get deep and dark, and lyrically he improves, but the music is now not consistently hitting its stride. The themes he wants to explore are so much better rendered much later on 2008's "Along Came A Spider".
The album also has a song "Prince of Darkness", inspired by the movie of the same name and year by John Carpenter, where a group of researchers find a strange cylinder in an old church that is trying to summon Satan into our world. Cooper has a cameo in the movie as one of the hell-inspired crazies that are beseiging the building where the action takes place.
After a lot of thought, I'm giving this record 2 stars, simply because it is uneven and in places comes off as just another empty eighties metal record. However, giving it one more listen while I wrote this review made me recognize Cooper's talents once again, and I almost added an extra star just in recognition of Cooper's songwriting talent. Whatever it rates, I wouldn't recommend it to those not similarly devoted to his sound.
Best tracks: Freedom, Step On You, Prince of Darkness, Gail
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