Customer Reviews

Cooper, Alice - Flush The Fashion - CD

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The year is 1980--it's a new decade and Alice Cooper rides the New Wave of music to come up with a fresh twist on his now-formulaic approach to album-making. "Flsuh the Fashion" is a mix of then-trendy keyboard-heavy, pogo-inducing sounds with his patented sardonic rock numbers.

The all-too-short but great opener "Talk Talk" segues perfectly into this album's big hit single "Clones (We're All)" which was a Top-5 smash here in July 1980. "Clones" features an offbeat, otherworldy keyboard line that meshes perfectly with the songs paranoid lyrics. It's one of Alice's strongest performances on record IMO; but the album's best cut is definitely the sorrowful rocker "Pain". The chain-gang rhythm and stinging guitars punctuate what are some of Alice's best lyrics ever. This may be my favorite solo Alice song, period.

The remainder of the album is less inspired but still a good listen. We get more new-wave on "Aspirin Damage" and "Nuclear Infected"; upbeat rock ditty "Leather Boots" and average rock-and-roll numbers "Grim Facts", "Model Citizen", "Headlines" and "Dance Yourself to Death", the latter being the best of the lot with its bluesy tempo and let's-diss-the-parents attitude.

Some filler on this one, but the several outstanding numbers make it essential listening for Alice fans.

Anyone who knows about Alice Cooper realizes that he's an innovator when it comes to music. Throughout his career he's tried different things and he's put out some great albums. This is defintely one of his better ones. Although it's not as great as Nightmare or Love it to Death it's certainly a gem and deserves 5 stars. I know when this album came out I listened to it over and over and I still love it today. The songs are short and simple and represent well the music of that era. It's just a great early 80's album period!! An essential part of any Cooper fans collection.

The early 80's was a strange time for Alice Cooper, as he changed his image a bit and also changed music styles, resulting in some very weird, but overlooked albums. My favorite of his "experimental" albums( which ended with 1983's "DaDa") is "Flush The Fashion".

I remember seeing the video for the song "Clones(We're All)" on T.V. with my brothers and sisters and being very shocked at the way Alice looked, dressed up in a military uniform, with a beret on his head, standing very still and looking nearly anorexic. The song itself is very catchy, however and very new wave, with it's synthesizers and all. The lyrics are interesting....I like the part where one clone has a problem with his "clone status", leading him to say, "I just wanna be myself!".

The album has ten very short songs, with practically no space between songs. The album is very short, clocking in at under 33 minutes. I think half of the album is terrific and find the other half at the very least "interesting", especially in the lyrics department. The first half of the album gets off to a great start with A.C.'s hard rock version of the MUSIC MACHINE song, "Talk, Talk". Alice alternates smoothly between his crunch and sneer voice and his smoother crooning voice. Very solid drumming by Dennis Conway. "Clones" is of course a great song, even though it wasn't written by Alice. "Pain" is one of the better songs on the album, both musically and lyrically. Starting out with just piano, the song then rocks out a bit in a strange time signature and Alice describes what pain would be like if it were a person. This song is followed by the minute and a half rockabilly tune "Leather Boots", with Alice doing his best Elvis impersonation.

I'm not as impressed with the rest of the album, even though I absolutely adore the song "Nuclear Infected", which gets the second half of the album off to a hard rocking start, with it's very infectious heavy metal guitar riff. I like the lyrics for "Grim Facts" and "Headlines", even if the music on these two songs don't grab me. Not all of this album works, but when it DOES work, it works surprisingly well. It's not as good as any of the albums Alice did with his original group, but I certainly prefer it to the hair metal albums he did in the mid to late 80's.

Definitely worth checking out!

Yeah, yeah, we all know this isn't one of Alice's finer efforts. I mean, you'd never even guess it was Alice unless you're familiar with his voice(and that is sometimes tricky on this one). This is the first of what I call his "weird" trilogy( cruddy name, I know). The beginning of the decade made him want to reinvent himself, and he started it with the new waveish, slightly punkish album. He continued to expand on the punkish sound through the next two albums. But whether you view it as a guilty pleasure, rubbish or genius, there are some fantastic songs on this album. "Pain" I think is one of the best songs he's done lyrically. Basically, this one is for the completists(kinda like Yes' Tormato), because those who want to get into Alice Cooper aren't going to rush for this one first. If you become a hardcore fan, you'll eventually get around to this and either love it to death(haha) or have it sit there in your collection making it look larger.

This was one of the last Alice Cooper CDs I bought, because I put his early 80s albums at the bottom of my must-have list. Shame. Alice is still Alice no matter what method he uses to deliver his point. New Wave Alice gives us some great songs with "Talk Talk," "Clones (We're All)," "Pain," and "Headlines." The other songs don't stand out as much, and some are rather silly, but Flush the Fashion is by no means an album to avoid.

I don't like Alice Cooper music much,its too mellow with all that acoustic guitar sound. The first Alice Cooper album I ever bought was 'Flush the Fashion' because I heard the song 'Clones (We're All)' over the radio,and I thought wow! really wow! It had an Ozzy Osbourne sound too it,so I buy another album expecting the same,and it turns out to be all acoustical guitar sound! After this I never buy another one of his albums again,if only he had this kind of sound to all of his albums like 'Clones' I would've been a big fan. Then again I only like that early '80's music.

Everything you knew about Alice was out the window when he put out this strange album in 1980 that sounded-- well like 1980. Amazingly the hard rocker who'd become a pop crooner now sounded as fresh and original as the new bands that were just beginning to break.

There are three standout tracks on this album. Clones was a minor hit. If you ever heard it, you probably wouldn't know it was Alice at all. It is slyly funny and great for dancing the robot. Pain was a track from the film Roadie and features Alice's patented dark humor and a nice steady beat. Aspirin damage is a quirky little classic. Most (or all) of the songs on this album are intended to be funny-- and they are-- wickedly so.

The old album still rocks today. It was a nice departure for Alice. Should fit right in at any 80s dance party.

Well, well, well. And even better than "well". I return to Flush The Fashion some 20 years later with an embracing nostalgia and respect. Having not been the biggest AC fan at 16 I remember LOVING this album ( and I had'nt even bought it, my YOUNGER brother Tommy had a cassette ), and having heard it again I still do. But by not being the biggest fan ( as I mentioned ) I can see it as an autonomous effort, owing nothing to Ms. Alices' past or future ( now past ) endeavors. The punch your teacher in the face energy of "Leather Boots," the coulda/shoulda/woulda promise of "Talk,Talk" ( pre Joan Jett cover bonanza-thon, mind you ) and by God the before our time techno threat of "Clones," there's nothing more to say. So buy it, or don't. Like it, or don't. But the next time you wish someone could express ( truly, madly, deeply express ) you're oh so un-21st century desire to " hurt..somebody..." don't come crying to me. Or Alice. Or frigging 1981 for that matter.

First of all, this is my all time favourite Alice Cooper album, and yes, I have heard them all. This album's songs are all classics, my favourite being Clones. If dance music isn't your thing, however, I recommend Killer. It's early but it's cool.

After "Goes to Hell", "Lace & Whiskey", and "From the Inside", it was quite a shock for Alice to put together a solid rock album. He, of course, was trying to get on the punk rock/new wave explosion and actually succeeded. The music is tight and fast -- the album clocks in at under 29 minutes! It's not a perfect album -- hence, only 4 stars. But it contains some of Alice's best material since "Billion Dollar Babies" including the songs "Talk Talk", "Clones", "Pain", "Dance Yourself to Death", "Aspirin Damage", "Leather Boots", "Model Citizen", and "Headlines". Unlike so many of his '80s albums, to include "Special Forces", "Zipper", and "DaDa", the humour in the songs actually works -- staying sharp and subtle -- and not stupid or overly silly like the other aforementioned albums. In 1980, this album restored my faith that Alice could still produce worthwhile albums and left me in anticipation of Alice's next release (which was to be "Special Forces" -- so much for faith). Highly recommended!