As a fan of both jazz and classical music I’m pretty spoiled for choice when it comes to releases on R2R tape. But if rock and / or metal are more your thing, then you’re possibly feeling a bit neglected. So here’s some good news for you: German label Horch House recently released ‘Live From The Astroturf’ by the Alice Cooper Band on master tape copy!
The Alice Cooper Band was formed in 1964, comprising Cooper on lead vocals, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar and keyboards, bass guitarist Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith on drums. The band was discovered in 1969 by Frank Zappa, who signed them to his label. They achieved an unusual level of mainstream stardom for a hard / glam rock band, but then disbanded in 1974, after which Cooper pursued a solo career.
Like him or not, Alice Cooper was one of the pioneers of a theatrical brand of hard rock designed to push the boundaries of provocation, earning him the moniker ‘the godfather of shock rock’. If you’ve ever been to one of his live shows, you’ll have likely seen swords, guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, snakes and more. Cooper’s stagecraft and showmanship are justifiably legendary, and no matter how well you know his work, he still has the ability to grip audiences with a sense of unpredictability and a perception of potential danger. While you’d be forgiven for thinking that his ideas are mostly drawn from the horror genre, there’s also a lot of vaudeville in there, and apparently off-stage he’s actually a really funny guy!
The album Live From The Astroturf was an unexpected and pretty special happening. In 2015, record store owner and superfan Chris Penn convinced the original Alice Cooper Band to reunite for a special one-off performance at Good Records, his store in Dallas, Texas, USA. Glen Buxton, who sadly passed away some years prior, was replaced by Cooper’s current guitarist Ryan Roxie. As if a reunion wasn’t already a big enough surprise, the audience wasn’t even expecting it – they thought they were attending a book signing for Dennis Dunaway’s Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!
The recording was released as a limited edition on 12” vinyl (5,000 units, plus 100 units of each of cassette and 8-track) through Good Records in 2018. Then in 2022, a repackaged album got a worldwide release from Earmusic in a variety of formats, including several colours of vinyl each with a DVD, plus a CD and Blu-ray edition. A documentary film was also made of the event (also called Live From The Astroturf), which was an official selection at a number of film festivals in the USA and won Best Documentary Short Feature at the 2019 Phoenix Film Festival. You can find out more about the whole event and watch the film trailer at https://www.livefromtheastroturf.com
Now, the album is available for the first time worldwide on R2R tape from Horch House. There are 3 versions at different price points: ‘Studio’, ‘Standard’ and ‘Start’ Master Copies.
I have a copy on order, so when it arrives I’ll have a good listen and let you know how it sounds!
For full details including specs and prices, head over to https://www.horchhouse.com/alice-cooper-live-from-the-astroturf
Dave Denyer: The Reel-to-Reel Rambler 