Music / Love It to Death

Have you got the time to find out who I really am?

Love It to Death is the third album by Alice Cooper, released in 1971. At this point Alice Cooper was a band led by the singer Vincent Furnier, who would later legally change his name to Alice Cooper, but was already using it as his stage name. The album was initially released on Straight Records, a label run by Frank Zappa. The band here are at a nexus of rock subgenres. Some of the music has echoes of the psychedelic era, while it's also a glam rock album contemporary with releases by Marc Bolan, David Bowie, and the New York Dolls. It is also, of course, a foundational influence on metal, especially theatrical artists like KISS and Mötley Crüe. Sales were driven by the hit single "I'm Eighteen".

Tracklist

Side One

1. "Caught in a Dream" (3:10)
2. "I'm Eighteen" (3:00)
3. "Long Way to Go" (3:04)
4. "Black Juju" (9:09)

Side Two

1. "Is It My Body" (2:39)
2. "Hallowed Be My Name" (2:29)
3. "Second Coming" (3:04)
4. "Ballad of Dwight Fry" (6:33)
5. "Sun Arise" (3:50)

See my lonely tropes unfold:

• Album Title Drop: "Long Way to Go":
  The silence is speaking
  So why am I weeping
  I guess I love it
  I love it to death.
• Ballad of X: "Ballad of Dwight Fry"
• Cover Version: "Sun Arise" is a cover of Australian songwriter/comedian Rolf Harris.
• Deliberately Monochrome: The group portrait on the cover is black and white.
• Epic Rocking: "Black Juju" is over nine minutes long.
• Face on the Cover: The band in a spotlight.
• Have You Seen My God?: "Long Way to Go"
  Where is the saviour of the sidewalk life
  and the road that takes us to the crusades
• "I Am" Song/"I Am Becoming" Song: "I'm Eighteen" is both, having to do with one of those transitional ages.
• "I Want" Song: "Caught in a Dream"
  You know, I need a houseboat
  And I need a plane
  I need a butler
  And a trip to Spain.
• Questioning Title?: "Is It My Body"
• Sanity Slippage Song: "Ballad of Dwight Fry", about a husband and father who has a nervous breakdown and gets institutionalized, is one of the standout examples.
• Shout-Out
  • "Ballad of Dwight Fry" is named after a character actor especially noted for his roles in the Universal horror films of the 1930s.
  • The line "Yes, he's the one they call the Fool" in "Long way to go" sounds like a shout-out to "The Fool on the Hill" from The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour.
  • John Lydon lipsynced "I'm Eighteen" at his audition to become lead singer for the Sex Pistols.
• Siamese Twin Songs: From "Second Coming" to "Ballad of Dwight Fry" to "Sun Arise"
• Voodoo Zombie: "Black Juju" sounds like it's about raising zombies through voodoo or necromancy.
  Bodies need rest, we all need our rest
  Sleep an easy sleep, rest, rest
  Bodies need their rest, all need our rest
  Sleep an easy sleep, rest, rest, rest, rest
  But come back in the morning
  Come back hard.

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