''Special Forces'' is the sixth solo studio album by American rock singer

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

, released in September 1981 by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. It was produced by

Richard Podolor Richard Allen Podolor (January 7, 1936 – March 9, 2022) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter. His career started as a session musician in the 1950s, and he was best known as the producer of Three Dog Night. Life and career ...

, best known for his work with Three Dog Night. Alice Cooper appeared on ''

The Tomorrow Show ''The Tomorrow Show'' (also known as ''Tomorrow with Tom Snyder'' or ''Tomorrow'' and, after 1980, ''Tomorrow Coast to Coast'') is an American late-night television talk show hosted by Tom Snyder which aired on NBC in first run form from October ...

'' with

Tom Snyder Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and '' ...

to promote ''Special Forces'', being interviewed and looking very gaunt in full military- drag make-up, after which he gave live performances of "Who Do You Think We Are" and his

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

's " Seven and Seven Is", both from the album. Cooper toured ''Special Forces'' through the United States, Canada, France, Spain and the United Kingdom, but other than the aforementioned songs he played no further ''Special Forces'' songs live, except for snippets of "Vicious Rumours" at a few shows in the U.S. and Scotland. With the exception of "Who Do You Think We Are", which was a regular part of setlists during the

Eyes of Alice Cooper ''The Eyes of Alice Cooper'', released in 2003, is the sixteenth solo album by American rock musician Alice Cooper. With this album, Cooper returned to his earlier hard rock sound, in the vein of '' The Last Temptation'', and left the heavy indus ...

tour in 2004,Alice Cooper Tour Archive
/ref> none of the songs from ''Special Forces'' has been performed live since 1982.Alice Cooper Tour Archive
/ref> French television special ''

Alice Cooper a Paris ''Alice Cooper a Paris'' (more commonly known as ''Alice in Paris'') is a French television special starring shock-rocker Alice Cooper. A series of music videos of songs from his then-current album ''Special Forces'' with a few songs from ''Flush ...

'' was recorded in January 1982, before the start of the ''Special Forces'' European tour – Cooper's first tour of Europe since 1975. The tour was a major success. ''Special Forces'' is the first of three studio albums which Cooper refers to as his "blackout" albums, followed by ''

Zipper Catches Skin ''Zipper Catches Skin'' is the seventh solo studio album by American rock singer Alice Cooper, released on August 25, 1982 by Warner Bros. Records. Album background The album was co-produced by bassist Erik Scott alongside Cooper. Cooper blended ...

'' (1982), and '' DaDa'' (1983), as he has no recollection of recording them, due to

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

. Cooper stated "I wrote them, recorded them and toured them and I don't remember much of any of that",Love And Poison, An Alice Cooper Interview
/ref> though in fact he toured only ''Special Forces''. The ''Special Forces'' tour, ending in February 1982, would be Cooper's last for over four years, as he succumbed to the abuse of

freebase cocaine Freebase may refer to: *Free base or freebase, the pure basic form of an amine, as opposed to its salt form *Freebase (database), a former online database service * ''Freebase'' (mixtape), 2014 mixtape by 2 Chainz *An original song by the Mike Fl ...

and a subsequent relapse of

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, until his return to the road in October 1986 with

The Nightmare Returns ''The Nightmare Returns'' is a live concert video of Alice Cooper. The concert was filmed live in Detroit, Michigan, USA on Halloween 1986 at the start of his "The Nightmare Returns" World Tour, in support of his album '' Constrictor''. This vid ...

tour.

Critical reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, critic Greg Prato wrote:

Track listing

* "Look at You Over There, Ripping the Sawdust from My Teddybear", was listed on the album packaging, but was removed by Cooper from the album itself before the release, as he felt it didn't fit with the overall theme. It was later released in

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

form on the 1999 box set ''

The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper ''The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper'' (1999) is a 4-CD box set by Alice Cooper. It includes select tracks from every studio album released until then, plus many B-sides, unreleased songs, and other rarities. It also includes Alice Cooper's auth ...

'', and again in demo form on the 2010 reissue of ''Special Forces''. There is a completed studio version of the song which remains unreleased. * " Seven and Seven Is" is a cover version of

's 1966 original, written by Arthur Lee.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Special Forces'' liner notes. Musicians *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Duane Hitchings –

keyboards 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 * Musi ...

* Danny Johnson –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Craig Krampf Craig Krampf (born October 22, 1954) is an American drummer, percussionist, arranger, record producer and songwriter. The majority of his notable credits are as a studio drummer. Since the 1970s, he has played on albums by other artists ranging f ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Mike Pinera – guitar *

Erik Scott Erik Scott (January 17, 1948 – October 11, 2019) was an American bassist, record producer, and songwriter. Scott played bass for the band Flo & Eddie in the 1970s as well as Alice Cooper in the early 1980s, for whom he also produced. In the 199 ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Alice Cooper albums 1981 albums Albums produced by Richard Podolor Warner Records albums