I know what you’re thinking. Why has nobody made a hard rock version of The Jets’ theme from West Side Story, and then blended it into in imaginary scenario where they fight a gang of feral cats?
Well, worry no longer, because Alice Cooper
has done just that, with Gutter Cat vs. The Jets/Street Fight. And great fun it
is too.
That sense of tongue-in-cheek humour
pervades this album, and I love it. We all know, I’m sure, the title track
School’s Out, and the lyric “we can’t even think of a word that rhymes” as a
great illustration of disinterested and feckless youth. The album is, loosely,
themed about youth, and the freedoms that come in the long summer after
finishing obligatory education; freedoms that can be frittered away in delinquency
(e.g. Gutter Cat vs The Jets with its gang fights, or the Stooges-esque Public
Animal #9), or idled away in young love (the jazzy Blue Turk). The penultimate
track, Alma Mater, is a mirror to School’s Out, wistfully recognising that the
friendships of the schooldays are a fleeting thing, Cooper forlornly asking
that his classmates “remember The Coop”. After this we get a rousing
full orchestral Grand Finale, reprising some of the musical themes of the
album, fitting with its nods towards Sondheim.
Musically this is great stuff, with a wide
variety of styles on display. Lyrically witty, Cooper giving knowing winks to
the audience – it's all just artifice and show, folks, and if you had a good
time listening, that’s all that matters. And yes, Coop, we did have fun.
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