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Constrictor (album)

Constrictor is the ninth solo studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released in September 1986 by MCA Records.[6] After a hiatus from the music industry after the release of DaDa (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 track "Be Chrool to Your Scuel". Constrictor was Alice Cooper's first studio album to feature Kane Roberts on guitar, Kip Winger, 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.[7]

Constrictor
Studio album by
Alice Cooper
ReleasedSeptember 24, 1986[1]
Recorded1985–1986
Genre
Length37:07
LabelMCA
Producer
Alice Cooper chronology
DaDa
(1983) 		Constrictor
(1986) 		Raise Your Fist and Yell
(1987)
Singles from Constrictor
  1. "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)"
    Released: October 1986
  2. "Teenage Frankenstein"
    Released: March 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

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.[8]

The horror series Friday the 13th 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 #1 hit in Sweden. 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 film Back to School (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 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

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All tracks are written by Alice Cooper and Kane Roberts, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Teenage Frankenstein"3:40
2."Give It Up"4:13
3."Thrill My Gorilla"2:56
4."Life and Death of the Party"3:45
5."Simple Disobedience"3:30
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."The World Needs Guts" 3:59
7."Trick Bag"
4:18
8."Crawlin'"
3:22
9."The Great American Success Story"
3:38
10."He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)"
  • Cooper
  • Roberts
  • Kelly
3:49
Total length:37:07

Personnel

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Musicians

Technical

Charts

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Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] 94
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 21
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 17
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 41
US Billboard 200[13] 59

Certifications

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Certifications for Constrictor
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[14] Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "FMQB" (PDF). p. 45.
  2. ^ a b Prince of Darkness - Alice Cooper | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2021-04-08, a pair of hard rock albums for MCA: 1986's Constrictor and 1987's Raise Your Fist and Yell;both albums were largely spotty affairs; instead of returning to the raw garage rock of his early-'70s peak, Cooper attempted to stay in step with the then-thriving pop-metal scene
  3. ^ He's Back - Alice Cooper | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2021-04-08
  4. ^ AllMusic review
  5. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Fireside Books. pp. 11–13. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  6. ^ "Great Rock Discography". p. 171.
  7. ^ https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/interviews/kip_winger_names_guitarist_who_never_gets_enough_love_names_disappointing_thing_about_his_first_alice_cooper_album.html [bare URL]
  8. ^ All Music:Constrictor
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Alice Cooper". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 52.
  11. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Alice Cooper – Constrictor". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  13. ^ "Alice Cooper Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  14. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Alice Cooper – Constrictor". Music Canada. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
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