''Constrictor'' is the ninth solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by American rock musician

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, guilloti ...

, released on September 22, 1986 by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

. After a hiatus from the music industry after the release of ''

DaDa Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...

'' (1983), Cooper remained in seclusion for three years. He starred in ''

Monster Dog ''Monster Dog'' () is a 1986 Spanish horror film directed by Claudio Fragasso and starring Alice Cooper and Victoria Vera. Plot summary Vince Raven (Cooper) is performing in the music video for his new song, "Identity Crisis." Later, Vince, Vi ...

'' (1986), a horror film for which he wrote two songs. He also guest starred on the

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and " I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with ...

track " Be Chrool to Your Scuel". ''Constrictor'' was Alice Cooper's first studio album to feature

Kane Roberts Kane Roberts (born Robert William Athas; January 16, 1962) is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his work with Alice Cooper. Additionally, he has performed as a solo act, and his cover of the unreleased Bon Jovi song "Does Anybody ...

on guitar,

Kip Winger Charles Frederick Kip Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American bass guitarist and singer, active as a member of the rock band Winger and as a solo artist. He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contributing bass an ...

, who would later gain fame with his own band, Winger, on bass guitar, and the only one to feature David Rosenberg on drums. The album returned Cooper to the charts at number 59 after his previous two studio albums ''

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) had failed to crack the Top 200. The horror series ''

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

'' 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 Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Rodney Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) was an American Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-line joke, one-liner humor, his c ...

film ''

Back to School ''Back to School'' is a 1986 American comedy film starring Rodney Dangerfield, Keith Gordon, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Terry Farrell, William Zabka, Ned Beatty, Sam Kinison, Paxton Whitehead and Robert Downey Jr. It was directed by Alan Met ...

'' (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.Alice Cooper Setlists by Album
/ref> However, as with all Cooper live songs since his third solo studio album ''

Lace and Whiskey ''Lace and Whiskey'' is the third solo and tenth overall studio album by American rock singer Alice Cooper, released on April 29, 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. Background After many years of portraying a dark and sinister persona Alice Cooper d ...

'' (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 ''Raise Your Fist and Yell'' is the tenth solo studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released on September 5, 1987, by MCA Records. It features the track “Prince of Darkness”, which is featured very briefly in the John Carpen ...

'' and occasionally during the 2001 "Descent into Dragontown" tour and during the 2019 "Ol' Black Eyes Is Back" tour,Alice Cooper setlists: 'Teenage Frankenstein'
/ref> 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 wasn’t played during the American leg and a portion of the European leg.

Track listing

Personnel

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 withou ...

–

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 string ...

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 ...

, keyboards,

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

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals *David Rosenberg – drums *Donnie Kisselbach – bass guitar *

Paul Delph Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

– keyboards, backing vocals on "He's Back" * Tom Kelly – backing vocals on "He's Back" *

Beau Hill Beau Hill is an American record producer who is best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Kix, Winger, Streets, Warrant, Fiona, Europe, and Ratt. He also played instruments and sang backing vocals for some of the artists that he produced, as ...

– backing vocals Technical *Beau Hill –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Michael Wagener Michael Wagener (born 25 April 1949) is a German former music producer, mixer, and engineer from Hamburg, best known for his work with many top glam metal and heavy metal bands in the late 1980s. He is particularly renowned for his multi-amping an ...

– production, mixing *Stephen Benben –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

*Ira McLaughlin – assistant engineering *

Garth Richardson Garth "GGGarth" Richardson is a Canadian record producer and music engineer. He is the son of music producer Jack Richardson (Alice Cooper, The Guess Who, Badfinger, Poco), a pioneer of the music recording industry in the 1960s and 1970s. Gart ...

– assistant mixing *Mike Reese – mastering *Anita Bourne – production coordination

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1986 albums Alice Cooper albums MCA Records albums Albums produced by Beau Hill Glam metal albums