Alice Cooper: Killer Album US (1971)

Cooper's Halo of Flies Epic

Alice Cooper’s Killer LP, released in the US on November 9, 1971, on Warner Bros. Records (catalogue: BS 2567), stands as a shock rock pinnacle. Produced by Bob Ezrin at RCA Studios in Chicago, this 8-track hard rock opus featured Under My Wheels and Be My Lover, with Halo Of Flies as a progressive suite. Desperado honored Cooper’s friend Jim Morrison (who died that year) and drew inspiration from Robert Vaughn’s Magnificent Seven gunslinger, while Dead Babies sparked outrage despite its anti-child abuse message. Halo Of Flies, per Cooper’s Definitive Alice Cooper (2001) notes, was the band’s bold attempt at King Crimson-style prog, themed around a SMERSH-like spy network. Rolling Stone’s Lester Bangs hailed it as the group’s sound and texture reaching a “totally integrated pinnacle,” fulfilling the promise of their earlier erratic albums and cementing Alice Cooper as “a strong band, a vital band… around for a long, long time.” Issued in Unipak gatefold (with detachable 1972 calendar in 1st pressings), matte/Unipak variants, cassette, and 8-track, it peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 for 8 weeks.

Album Overview

Release Details:

Label: Warner Bros. Records (US).

Formats: Vinyl LP, cassette and 8-track.

Side A:

Under My Wheels (2:50, Bob Ezrin, Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce)

Be My Lover (3:15, Michael Bruce)

Halo Of Flies (8:21, Alice Cooper, Dennis Dunaway, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith)

Desperado (3:25, Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce)

Side B:

You Drive Me Nervous (2:24, Alice Cooper, Bob Ezrin, Michael Bruce)

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (3:33, Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce)

Dead Babies (5:40, Alice Cooper, Dennis Dunaway, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith)

Killer (7:07, Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce)

℗ & ©: 1971 Warner Bros. Records. Produced for Nimbus 9 / Alive Enterprises, Inc. Executive Producer: Jack Richardson.

Notes: Desperado was inspired by Jim Morrison (per Cooper’s 1997 A Fistful of Alice notes) and Robert Vaughn in The Magnificent Seven. Halo Of Flies aimed to rival King Crimson’s prog epics, themed around a SMERSH-like spy network. Dead Babies sparked controversy despite its anti-child abuse message.

The original pressings featured a Unipak gatefold sleeve that included a detachable hanging calendar from 1972.

Killer was released in the US on November 9, 1971 in Vinyl, Cassette and 8-Track, all with the same 8-track sequence:

Vinyl Variations:

Unipak 1st Pressing (Catalogue: BS 2567 / 2567) Unipak gatefold with detachable 1972 calendar

Santa Maria, Unipak (Catalogue: BS 2567 / 2567)

Club Edition, Unipak (Catalogue: BS 2567)

Promo (Catalogue: BS 2567) White label with company sticker

Club Edition (Catalogue: 2567 / SMAS-94265)

Terre Haute Pressing, Unipak (Catalogue: BS 2567 / 2567) First pressing; sleeve includes detachable 1972 calendar. BS 2567 on spine/labels, 2567 on front. Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute.

Pitman Pressing, Unipak (Catalogue: BS 2567 / 2567)

Santa Maria Pressing, Unipak (Catalogue: BS 2567 / 2567)

Club Edition, Unipak, Indianapolis (Catalogue: BS 2567 / R112267)

Club Edition, Misprint (Catalogue: BS 2567)gatefold; no detachable calendar, white panel with credits. No group name or album title on front cover.

Test Pressing (Catalogue: BS 2567):

White Label with handwritten (Alice Cooper Husky).

Promo, Santa Maria, Unipak (Catalogue: BS 2567 / 2567)

Pitman Pressing, Single Sleeve (Catalogue: BS 2567 / 2567):

Single sleeve.

Matte Sleeve (Catalogue: BS 2567 / 2567)

Dynaflex (Catalogue: BS 2567)

Shorepak Sleeve (Catalogue: BS 2567)

Country Variations:

The Alice Cooper album Killer (1971) had a unique alternate sleeve for its Mexican release due to censorship concerns. The standard worldwide cover features Alice Cooper's boa constrictor, Kachina, draped over a red background with handwritten-style text for the band name and title (written left-handed by bassist Dennis Dunaway). However, this artwork reportedly violated national taboos in Mexico, leading Warner Bros. to replace the front sleeve with the inner gatefold photo: a stark black-and-red image of Alice Cooper hanging from a noose (the same photo that appears behind the detachable 1972 calendar in the original US/European gatefold editions).

To further adapt it for the market, the album was retitled Asesino (Spanish for "Killer"), and it was pressed on red vinyl with a green Warner Bros. label (catalog number GWEA-5090). It still included the calendar insert. This version is highly sought-after by collectors, though fakes (especially on red vinyl) have circulated since the early 2000s.

Tape Cassette Variations:

Killer was released in multiple tape cassette variations, all with the same 8 -track sequence:

A1 Under My Wheels

A2 Be My Lover

A3 Halo Of Flies

A4 Desperado

B1 You Drive Me Nervous

B2 Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

B3 Dead Babies

B4 Killer

Killer Cassette, Album

Warner Bros. Records - M52567

Club Edition

Warner Bros. Records - CWM-2567

Stereo, Dolby B, Snapcase

Warner Bros. Records - M 52567

Club Edition, RCA Music Service Edition

Warner Bros. Records - M 52567

Slipcase

Warner Bros. Records - M 52567

8-Track Cartridge Variations:

Killer was released in multiple 8-Track Cartridge variations, all with the same 8 -track

sequence

A1 Under My Wheels

A2 Be My Lover

A3 Halo Of Flies (Beg)

B1 Halo Of Flies (Concl)

B2 Desperado

C1 You Drive Me Nervous

C2 Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

C3 Dead Babies (Beg)

D1 Dead Babies (Concl)

D2 Killer

8-Track Cartridge, Album

Warner Bros. Records - M 82567

8-Track Cartridge, Album, Stereo

Warner Bros. Records - M 82567, Warner Bros. Records - 2567

8-Track Cartridge, Album

Warner Bros. Records - M8 82567

8-Track Cartridge, Album, Stereo

Warner Bros. Records - M 82567

Production and Context

Produced by Bob Ezrin. Musicians: Alice Cooper (vocals), Glen Buxton (guitar), Michael Bruce (guitar/keyboards), Dennis Dunaway (bass), Neal Smith (drums). Recorded at RCA Studios, Chicago. Killer was Cooper’s shock rock peak, following Love It to Death (1971).

Singles Released and Chart Performance

Killer spawned two singles:

Under My Wheels (1971, Warner Bros. 74-0555):

US Chart Data: Debut December 25, 1971; Peak No. 59; 8 weeks.

Be My Lover (1972, Warner Bros. 74-0640):

US Chart Data: Debut March 11, 1972; Peak No. 49; 10 weeks.

Album Chart Performance

Peak: No. 21 (Billboard 200).

Weeks on Chart: 8.

On June 9, 2023, a newly remastered album expanded with rarities and previously unreleased concerts was made available as 2-CD and 3-LP sets.

KILLER (DELUXE EDITION) introduces a newly remastered version of the original release, which peaked at #21 on the Billboard albums chart. Along with the singles “Under My Wheels” and “Be My Lover,” the record also includes “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” “Desperado,” and the prog-rock-inspired epic “Halo Of Flies.” The bonus material features alternate takes for “You Drive Me Nervous,” “Under My Wheels,” and “Dead Babies.”

The collection also gives fans an unreleased live recording of the band’s performance at Mar Y Sol Pop Festival in Puerto Rico on April 2, 1972. Recorded a few months before the band returned to the studio to make School’s Out, the show previews “Public Animal #9” from the upcoming album. The band played most of Killer during the concert, including “You Drive Me Nervous,” “Under My Wheels,” and “Halo Of Flies.” They also tapped the group’s 1971 album, Love It to Death, for live versions of “Is It My Body?,” “Long Way To Go,” and the smash hit “I’m Eighteen.”

Shortly after the festival, the band released the title track from its follow-up album, School’s Out. The single was released several weeks ahead of the full album to ensure it hit radio airwaves before the school year ended. It worked. By the time school was out, the song was a hit, reaching #7 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K.

Legacy and Collectibility

Killer is a shock rock cornerstone, with Halo Of Flies a prog triumph. Original US Unipak 1st pressing vinyls (with calendar) are collectable.

Streams on Spotify via reissues preserve the analog menace. This LP is a must-have for Cooper fans and ‘70s rock collectors.

Do you have Killer in your vinyl stack? Which track kills it for you? Share in the comments!

Sources

Information is drawn from my personal knowledge and supplemented by web sources, including sickthingsuk.co.uk, Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia, BBC Official Charts Company, Billboard Chart History and YouTube

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