''Constrictor'' is the ninth solo and overall sixteenth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
musician
Alice Cooper
Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
, released on September 22, 1986
After a hiatus from the music industry after the release of ''
DaDa
Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
'' (1983), Cooper remained in seclusion for three years. He starred in ''
Monster Dog'' (1986), a horror film for which he wrote two songs. He also guest starred on the
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...
track "
Be Chrool to Your Scuel
BE or be may refer to:
Linguistics
* Be (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet
* ''be'' (interjection), in several languages
* Be languages or Ong Be, a pair of languages of northern Hainan province, China
* Belarusian language, ISO 639- ...
". ''Constrictor'' was Alice Cooper's first studio album to feature
Kane Roberts
Kane Roberts (born Robert William Athas; January 16, 1962) is an American rock guitarist and singer best known as a former lead guitarist for Alice Cooper. Additionally, he has performed as a solo act, and his cover of the Bon Jovi song "Does ...
on guitar,
Kip Winger
Charles Frederick "Kip" Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American singer and bassist who is active as a member of the rock band Winger (band), Winger and as a solo artist. He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contr ...
(who would later gain fame with his own band,
Winger) on bass guitar, and the only one to feature David Rosenberg on drums. Winger has since pointed out that his last name was erroneously spelt in the album credits as Wringer.
The album returned Cooper to the charts at number 59 after his previous two studio albums ''
Zipper Catches Skin'' (1982) and ''DaDa'' (1983) had failed to crack the Top 200.
[ All Music:Constrictor/ref>
The horror series '']Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...
'' teamed up with Cooper during this time to produce the theme song for its latest film. The song "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" was written for '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' (1986) and went on to become a #4 hit in Sweden in 1987. Also featured in the film were ''Constrictor''s " Teenage Frankenstein" and "Hard Rock Summer", the latter of which did not end up on the album.
The track "The Great American Success Story" was apparently intended as the theme song to the Rodney Dangerfield
Jack Roy (born Jacob Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004), better known by the stage name Rodney Dangerfield, was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humor, ...
film ''Back to School
''Back to School'' is a 1986 American comedy film starring Rodney Dangerfield, Keith Gordon, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Terry Farrell, William Zabka, Ned Beatty, Sam Kinison, Paxton Whitehead, Robert Downey Jr., M. Emmet Walsh, and Adrienn ...
'' (1986), but was not actually used.
The demo of "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" was totally different from the final album version. A reworked version of the "He's Back" demo landed on the album as "Trick Bag" instead. The version of "He's Back" that was featured in ''Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' was remixed from the album version.
''Constrictor'' also led to one of the most successful tours of the late 1980s, "The Nightmare Returns" tour. Three songs from the album, "Teenage Frankenstein", "Give It Up" and "The World Needs Guts" were regularly performed on this tour. However, as with all Cooper live songs since his third solo studio album '' Lace and Whiskey'' (1977), these songs failed to remain in the setlist during subsequent tours. "Teenage Frankenstein" was also played on the tour supporting the follow-up studio album ''Raise Your Fist and Yell
''Raise Your Fist and Yell'' is the tenth solo and overall seventeenth studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released on September 5, 1987, by MCA Records. It features the track "Prince of Darkness", which is featured very brief ...
'' and occasionally during the 2001 "Descent into Dragontown" tour and during the 2019 "Ol' Black Eyes Is Back" tour, whilst "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" was played occasionally in the late 1980s and the early 2000s before becoming a frequent part of the setlist on the "Raise the Dead" tour. The song was resurrected alongside Teenage Frankenstein during the "Ol' Black Eyes Is Back" tour, the song was not played during the American leg and a portion of the European leg.
Track listing
Personnel
Musicians
*Alice Cooper
Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
– lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
*Kane Roberts
Kane Roberts (born Robert William Athas; January 16, 1962) is an American rock guitarist and singer best known as a former lead guitarist for Alice Cooper. Additionally, he has performed as a solo act, and his cover of the Bon Jovi song "Does ...
– guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s, bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
, keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Mus ...
s, drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
, backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
*Kip Winger
Charles Frederick "Kip" Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American singer and bassist who is active as a member of the rock band Winger (band), Winger and as a solo artist. He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contr ...
– bass, backing vocals
*David Rosenberg – drums
*Donnie Kisselbach – bass
* Paul Delph – keyboards, backing vocals on "He's Back"
* Tom Kelly – backing vocals on "He's Back"
*Beau Hill
Beau Hill is an American record producer who is best known for his work with Ratt, Alice Cooper, Kix, Winger, Streets, Warrant, Fiona, and Europe. He also played instruments and sang backing vocals for some of the artists that he produced, as ...
– backing vocals
Technical
*Beau Hill – production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
*Michael Wagener
Michael Wagener (born 25 April 1949) is a German retired record producer, mixer and engineer from Hamburg, best known for his work with many popular American hard rock and heavy metal music, heavy metal bands in the late 1980s. He is particularly ...
– production, mixing
*Stephen Benben – engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
*Ira McLaughlin – assistant engineering
*Garth Richardson
Garth "GGGarth" Richardson, (born ), is a Canadian record producer and sound engineer. He is the son of music producer Jack Richardson.
He has worked with such musical acts as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crüe, Nickelback, Rage Against ...
– assistant mixing
*Mike Reese – mastering
*Anita Bourne – production coordination
Charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1986 albums
Alice Cooper albums
MCA Records albums
Albums produced by Beau Hill
Glam metal albums