Published on Apr 22, 1999
I can always count on longtime readers like Trent Nakagawa to
suggest albums that I haven’t touched for years as potential review
candidates. Recently, Trent asked me if I was familiar with
From The Inside, the 1978 release from Alice Cooper.
Prior to digging this CD out of the Pierce Memorial Archives, my
answer to Trent would have been, “Unfortunately, yes.” I first
listened to it when it was re-issued on Metal Blade back in 1990,
but didn’t find much to appreciate about the disc.
Of course, my knowledge of Cooper and his music was more limited
than it is now – and even today, I don’t claim to have a vast
knowledge of Cooper’s music. But after re-listening to this CD (for
the first time, in fact, since my days in college radio), it really
isn’t a bad album, even if it sometimes feels like it’s a little
too ballad-heavy.
Loosely based on Cooper’s stay in a psychiatric hospital to
fight his alcoholism,
From The Inside is a look at one man’s quest to regain his
foothold on sanity, while examining the lives of his fellow
patients. (Cooper says in the liner notes of this re-release that
the characters in the songs are based on real patients he met.)
One might be surprised to find out that Cooper collaborated with
Bernie Taupin – best known for his work with Elton John – on this
album. For the most part, the partnership works well, even if the
album seems to border on the theatric at times. (Theatric…
cripes, look who I’m
talkin’ about here.)
The title track helps to set the scene, documenting Cooper’s
slide into alcoholism while enjoying the pinnacle of success. As a
rocker, it’s not a bad track at all, though it sometimes seems to
be a shorter song than it really is. We’re able to track our hero’s
progress throughout the album, from his moments of desparation
(“The Quiet Room”: “Just don’t know why / Suicide appeals to me”)
to his concerns about how his loved ones will react (“How You Gonna
See Me Now”) to his eventual release (“Inmates (We’re All Crazy)”),
all the while feeling the turmoil that Cooper was eveidently going
through.
There are a few tracks that I’m not sure about – namely, whether
they’re about Cooper or other patients. “Serious” sounds like it
could have been a track about living life in the fast lane, but it
also could easily be the tale of another patient who battled his
own demon (namely, gambling). “For Veronica’s Sake” has the singer
lovingly thinking about his pet dog who is locked up like he is,
and feels like he needs to get better in order to take care of her.
I’d like to say this is Cooper speaking about his life, but
immediately following the pathos of “How You Gonna See Me Now,” it
seems almost anti-climatic to be purely about Cooper.
The tales of some of the other inmates are no less tragic, from
the debutante wanna-be who can’t let go of her past (“Wish I Were
Born In Beverly Hills”) to the soldier who is constantly fighting
the wars in his head (“Jackknife Johnny”) to the star-crossed
lovers who committed crimes of passion to be together (“Millie And
Billie”), Cooper and Taupin paint pictures so realistic that you
can almost see the inmates take shape before your eyes.
For all of the strengths of
From The Inside, it sometimes feels like it’s too soft of an
album. Sure, you have your rockers like “Serious” and “Jackknife
Johnny”, and sure, I realize that Cooper’s career hasn’t always
been about how loud he could crank the amplifiers. But it sometimes
feels like things get a little
too quiet (“Millie And Billie”, “Inmates”). This isn’t to
say that ballads are unwelcome; “The Quiet Room” and “How You Gonna
See Me Now” are powerful tracks that speak volumes.
From The Inside is an album that, like a lot of Cooper’s
catalog, has been overlooked for a long time. (Although this album
is presently available only as an import, I believe that Rhino
plans to re-release it, along with a good portion of Cooper’s
discography.) With the potential of a rebirth of interest in
Cooper’s career thanks to the recently-released box set, maybe now
is a great time for radio to re-discover this album. My suggestion:
test the waters with the track “Serious”, and watch the phones
light up.