School's Out - 2023 Rhino label Remastered 50th Deluxe Anniversary Edition 23-track 3LP Reissue

Alice Cooper was unstoppable during the 1970s when the band released four consecutive platinum albums and five Top 40 hits like I’m Eighteen, School’s Out, No More Mr. Nice Guy, and Elected. Rhino will reissue School's Out (1972) – along with another platinum album – Killer (1971)- with newly remastered sound, rare recordings, and previously unreleased live performances.
 
School's out (Deluxe Edition) begins with a newly remastered version of the 1972 original, which peaked at #2 on the albums chart. Essential tracks like Luney Tune and Alma Mater are joined by Gutter Cat vs. The Jets. The latter is an homage to West Side Story, a significant influence on the band. The song incorporates lyrics from “Jet Song” from the 1957 musical, which led to an unlikely songwriting credit for Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim on an Alice Cooper track.
 
The Deluxe Edition contains rarities like the single versions of School’s Out and Gutter Cat vs. The Jets. Two previously unreleased tracks are also included, an alternate version of Alma Mater and an early demo for Elected, a song that would appear in 1973 on the band’s first #1 album, Billion Dollar Babies.
 
Alice Cooper’s concert in Miami on May 27, 1972, adds even more unreleased music to the collection. The show was recorded a few weeks before the band entered the studio to record School’s Out. The live performance features standout versions of Halo Of Flies, School’s Out, and Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, a song that gives Cooper a chance to show off his impressive harmonica skills.

The vinyl versions for both Deluxe Editions recreate the original album sleeves down to the smallest detail. For Killer, that means a gatefold sleeve that opens to reveal a detachable 1972 calendar with a photo of Cooper in the gallows.  The cover of Schools Out looks like a wooden school desk and opens to reveal the LP wrapped in a pair of panties. The band stopped including the underwear following a controversy as to whether or not they were flammable. Thankfully, the lacy unmentionables in the new Deluxe Edition are not a fire hazard.
 
Both sets come with booklets that include track-by-track commentary by band members and former Creem Magazine editor Jaan Uhelszki, plus liner notes by Bill Holdship, also a former Creem Magazine editor. In KILLER (DELUXE EDITION), Holdship writes: “Listening to Killer again after all these years to write these notes was rewarding because, like The Beatles and Elvis, it’s gratifying to realize I ended up ‘wasting’ my life on something that, even in retrospect, really was that great. Fifty years later, Killer remains a perfect – perfect! – rock ’n’ roll record.

Tracklisting:

Side 1 - Original Album Remastered.
1. School's Out   3:30
2. Luney Tune   3:40
3. Gutter Cat Vs. The Jets   4:39
4. Street Fight   0:53
5. Blue Turk   5:31

Side 2.
1. My Stars   5:49
2. Public Animal #9   3:52
3. Alma Mater   4:25
4. Grande Finale   4:26

Side 3 - Live in Miami, FL May 27, 1972 (Previously Unissued).
1. Be My Lover   5:32
2. You Drive Me Nervous   2:22
3. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah   4:02
4. I'm Eighteen   5:52

Side 4.
1. Halo Of Flies   10:12
2. Dead Babies   6:17
3. Killer   7:38

Side 5.
1. Long Way To Go   5:16
2. School's Out   8:28
3. Is It My Body   8:02

Side 6 - Studio Extras.
1. School's Out (Single Version)   3:32
2. Gutter Cat (Single Version)   3:49
3. Alma Mater (Alternate Version)   4:10
4. Elected (Early Take) (Previously Unissued)   4:18