Alice Cooper - School's Out and Other Hits (CD) Alice Cooper - School's Out and Other Hits (CD)

Alice Cooper is responsible for penning some of rock's most enduring and instantly recognizable teen anthems, which have all appeared on countless compilations over the years. Several of these tracks are included on the budget-priced School's Out and Other Hits, which focuses primarily on Alice's '70s standouts (by far his best musical period), with one '80s nugget thrown in for good measure. Time has not dulled the roar of "School's Out" (few rock songs have ever bottled the ecstasy of the final school bell as well as this one), while "Under My Wheels" shows that the Stooges and the MC5 were not the only great garage rock bands of the late '60s/early '70s. Also included are such melodic rockers as "Be My Lover" and "No More Mr. Nice Guy," in addition to a sampling of Alice's mid-'70s "ballad period" ("Only Women Bleed" and "I Never Cry") and a stab at new wave, "Clones (We're All)" -- a track that would be covered by the Smashing Pumpkins years later. If it's a budget-priced sampler of prime Alice Cooper you're after (albeit extremely brief), then School's Out and Other Hits is a worthy purchase. ~ Greg Prato

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop