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Rating: With "Muscle Of Love," the era of the so-called Alice Cooper band, which had accompanied the king of horror rock since the beginnings of "Pretties For You," came to a close in 1973. In 1974, a Greatest Hits album was released to celebrate the work done up to that point by Alice Cooper and his associates, who were cheerfully dismissed by the singer as he began his dazzling solo career with "Welcome to My Nightmare." In reality, this great distinction won’t be very noticeable, not least because the albums, both before and after, are still credited solely to Alice Cooper and the changes in sound won't be that substantial, except for the absence of the keyboards played by the guitarist Michael Bruce, who played both instruments.
But before all of this happened, "Muscle Of Love" came to life in the studio between one tour and another: it is a concept album focused on the themes of youthful discomfort, sexuality, and prostitution, set in New York, as evidenced by the excellent Big Apple Dreamin’, complete with a violin. The album consists of a handful of good tracks, mostly very classic rock by Alice Cooper’s standards (Never Been Sold Before, Working Up A Sweat, Woman Machine and Muscle Of Love). As always, the best thing is that Cooper is not afraid to experiment: this is demonstrated by the ballad Hard Hearted Alice, the swing of Crazy Little Child, and the duet with Liza Minnelli in Teenage Lament ’74. A special mention goes to Man With The Golden Gun, a rather versatile song due to its rhythm changes and the use of brass instruments, which was initially intended as the soundtrack for the namesake film from the James Bond saga, The Man With The Golden Gun, featuring Roger Moore. Alice Cooper and his crew hoped for an (unexpected) popularity of the song so that the film's producers would consider adopting it as the soundtrack for the new chapter in the saga. Obviously, this didn’t happen, and it remains just a good track on this album.
I have personally always found the cover very ugly, as it sacrifices aesthetic for originality. The LP package consisted of this yellow-striped cardboard with a very industrial flavor, presenting the album as nothing more than a mere musical product and not as an artistic work, confirmed by the "fragile" warning at the bottom right, with a small internal insert that picks up on the pleasant nautical theme of the alternative cover, far better than the original.
Sure, compared to the illustrious "Billion Dollar Babies" and "Welcome To My Nightmare" between which it was released, "Muscle Of Love" somewhat struggles to hold up. But, as already mentioned, the ideas within this album are more than original and represent a fitting farewell from Alice Cooper to Dennis Dunaway, Glen Buxton, Neal Smith, and Michael Bruce, who from here on will each go their own way.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 Working Up a Sweat (03:32)
Aw, When you touch there, honey
Makes my blood perspire
You got my body flaming
Like a California fire
Pulsing, pounding, pushing
No longer in control
Heatwave in my brain
Smolder in my soul
You got me workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
I've been playing all night long
Time I was gettin' home
But I've got no place to get
Spontaneous combustion
Scientific fact
But your approach to friction
An unnatural act
Bells I hear ain't fire drills
I hope you understand
It's a bona fide five alarmer
Melting in my hand
You got me workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
I've been playing all night long
Time I was gettin' home
But I've got no place to get
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
Yeah, yeah
I've been playing all night long
'Bout time I was gettin' home
But I've, ooh
Dante's famed inferno
Was a trip to hell and back
But you and a bottle in a cheap hotel
Screams pyromaniac
Bandages came off today
Really feeling sick
The hardest part's explainin'
All those blisters on my - nose!
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
I've been playing all night long
Time I was gettin' home
But I've got no place to get
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
I've been playing all night long
'Bout time I was gettin' home
But I've, ooh
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
Workin' up a sweat
06 Muscle of Love (03:45)
Aw, who's the queen of the locker room
Who's the cream of the crop
Poor Joey took her to the matinee
Said, "God, she wouldn't stop!"
Holy muscle of love
My heart's a muscle
Well, I must have come to that crazy age
Where ev'rything is hot
'Cause I don't know if the things I'm thinking
Are normal thoughts or not
Holy muscle of love
Well, I got a muscle of love
Yeah
Ooh
I read Dad's books like I did before
Now things are crystal clear
Lock the door in the bathroom now
I just can't get caught in here
Holy muscle of love
Well, I got a muscle of love
Holy muscle of love
I got a muscle of love
Holy muscle of love
My heart's a muscle of love
Holy muscle of love
Well, I got a muscle of love
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Must be a gift from above
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Hallelujah, etc.)
08 Teenage Lament '74 (03:53)
What a drag it is
These gold lame' jeans
Is this the coolest way
To get though your teens
Well, I cut my hair weird
I read that it was in
I looked like a rooster
That was drowned and raised again
What are you gonna do
Tell you what I'm a-gonna do
Why don't you get away-ay
I'm gonna live today-ay
I ran into my room
And I fell down on my knees
I thought that fifteen
Was gonna be a breeze
I picked up my guitar
To blast away the clouds
But somebody in the next room yelled
"You gotta turn that damn thing down"
What are you gonna do
Tell you what I'm a-gonna do
Why don't you get away-ay
I'm gonna cry all day-ay
And I know trouble is brewing out there
But I can hardly care
They fight all night about his private secretary
Lipstick stain, blonde hair, oh,oh, oh
What are you gonna do
Tell you what I'm a-gonna do
Why don't you run away-ay
I'm gonna live today
But even
I don't know
What I'm gonna do
Don't know what I'm gonna do
No!
What are you a-gonna do
Tell you what I'm a-gonna do
Why don't you run away
I'm gonna live today
What are you a-gonna do
I'll tell you what I'm a-gonna do
Why don't you get away
Well, I'd rather cry all day
What are you gonna do
What are you
Gonna do
What are you gonna do
Gonna do
Gonna do
What are you gonna do
Gonna do
Gonna do
What are you gonna do
Gonna do
Gonna do
What are you gonna do
Gonna do
Gonna do
What are you gonna do
Gonna do
Gonna do
What are you gonna do
Gonna do
Gonna do (Alice, Alice, Alice, Alice)
What are you gonna do
Gonna do
Gonna do
What are you gonna do
What are you
Gonna do
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