Alice Cooper(Was Once A Band, Not Just A Man).

Once existed a record label known as Straight, a label headed by none other than Frank Zappa. Experimental Rock fans are no doubt familiar with some of the artists that once thrived on the label, names like Captain Beefheart, Wild Man Fischer, and The GTO's(Girls Together Outrageously). However, Alice Cooper released their first two records on this label, just a few years prior to going legitimately commercial on the Warner Brothers record label. Alice Cooper was very much a group of people when they originally formed in 1968. They relocated to Los Angeles from Arizona and almost immediately found success in a live setting by opening for great big Psychedelic Rock bands such as The Doors, and eventually became regulars at the famed Whisky A Go Go. Frank Zappa liked what he heard and the bizarre theatrics they effortlessly put into their live performances, and the group of high school chums were quickly signed to Straight Records.

The first record to be released on Straight Records was entitled "Pretties For You" and came out in 1969. This is a record that causes the listener to ask the question: Which came first, the Bowie or the Cooper? Much of what the Alice Cooper Group brought to life on this album Bowie himself would later explore during his much celebrated Ziggy Stardust era. Needless to say, Alice Cooper was a precursor to Glam Rock before they were a precursor to Heavy Metal. 1970 saw the second and final release by Alice Cooper on Straight Records, which was an album entitled "Easy Action." While Alice Cooper's first record was essentially self-produced, with Zappa allowing them all of the creative freedom they wanted. "Easy Action" was actually produced by David Briggs, a producer best known for working on some of Neil Young's better known material. Legend has it that Alice Cooper and Briggs were never on the same page while making the album, but the Alice Cooper attitude is in full swing with such gems like "Lay Down And Die, Goodbye." A few of the cuts could almost be referred to as Noise Rock, if not at the very least...Punk Rock.

We all know Alice Cooper the man as a trailblazer in Rock, avid golfer and so forth, but the two "Indie" records by this phenomenal and fun loving Rock group are equally as potent as anything released during their very well known early '70's heyday on the Warner Brothers record label, a time period that saw their live performances turn into full blown operas with nightmarish themes and such chart topping hits like "Under My Wheels" and "School's Out." The good news is this: the first two records by the Alice Cooper Group are now easily obtainable online as made available on CD and as an import on a label based out of Europe. The price is right, and these once obscure early gems by Alice Cooper are just waiting to be rediscovered.

When it was a band, and not just a Republican in mascara who supposedly ate a live chicken: