Muscle of Love, the seventh and final album from the original Alice Cooper Band, received a deluxe edition reissue this week, complete with early versions and alternate mixes of all of its tracks.
You can see the track listing and listen to “Teenage Lament ’74 (Acoustic Diversion)” below.
Muscle of Love (Deluxe) is available in 2-LP pink vinyl and 1-CD/Blu-ray configurations, with the Blu-ray disc including the 192/24 resolution quadraphonic mixes. A digital deluxe edition will be available on Nov. 20.
The liner notes, written by Jaan Uhelszki, also feature an in-depth, track-by-track account of the album, with interviews from surviving band members Alice Cooper, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith, plus additional guitarist Nick Mashbir, who played on the album.
READ MORE: Top 50 Hard Rock Songs of the ’70s
How ‘Muscle of Love’ Hastened the Demise of Alice Cooper
Released in late 1973, Muscle of Love marked a return to Alice Cooper’s straight-ahead hard rock sound after the more theatrical endeavors of its predecessors, Billion Dollar Babies and School’s Out. It underperformed those two albums, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and limping to gold status. By contrast, Billion Dollar Babies topped the charts and School’s Out peaked at No. 2, and both albums went platinum.
The Alice Cooper Band played their final show in April 1974 and split shortly thereafter. Cooper had by then legally changed his name from Vincent Furnier, and he launched a successful solo career with 1975’s Welcome to My Nightmare.
Fifty years later, the titular frontman is still hard at work, having just announced a series of tour dates for early 2025.
Alice Cooper, ‘Muscle of Love (Deluxe)’ Track ListingDisc 1 “Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo)””Never Been Sold Before””Hard Hearted Alice””Crazy Little Child””Working Up a Sweat””Muscle of Love””Man With the Golden Gun””Teenage Lament ’74″”Woman Machine”
Disc 2″Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo) (Early Version)””Never Been Sold Before (Early Version)””Hard Hearted Alice (Alternate Mix)””Crazy Little Child (Early Version)””Working Up a Sweat (Alternate Mix)””Muscle of Love (Alternate Mix)””Man With the Golden Gun (Early Version)””Teenage Lament ’74 (Acoustic Diversion)””Woman Machine (Alternate Mix)””Teenage Lament ’74 (Single Version)””Muscle of Love (Single Version)”
Blu-ray Disc”Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo)””Never Been Sold Before””Hard Hearted Alice””Crazy Little Child””Working Up a Sweat””Muscle of Love””Man With the Golden Gun””Teenage Lament ’74″”Woman Machine”
LP 1A1.” Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo)”A2. “Never Been Sold Before”A3. “Hard Hearted Alice”A4. “Crazy Little Child”B1. “Working Up a Sweat”B2. “Muscle of Love”B3. “Man With the Golden Gun”B4. “Teenage Lament ’74″B5. “Woman Machine”
LP 2C1. “Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo) (Early Version)”C2. “Never Been Sold Before (Early Version)”C3. “Hard Hearted Alice (Alternate Mix)”C4. “Crazy Little Child (Early Version)”D1. “Working Up a Sweat (Alternate Mix)”D2. “Muscle of Love (Alternate Mix)”D3. “Man With the Golden Gun (Early Version)”D4. “Teenage Lament ’74 (Acoustic Diversion)”D5. “Woman Machine (Alternate Mix)”
Alice Cooper Albums Ranked
You can’t kill Alice Cooper.
Gallery Credit: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff
