20,000 vinyl LPs 168: Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl

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Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl LP
cover photo by Pete Turner
photo of album cover by Styrous®

As with a previous article I've done, Hawkwind (link below), this is not about the musician nor the music on the album, there are plenty of reviews on both (links below), it is only about the album cover itself. There is info about Cooper and the music on Killer on previous blogs (links below).    

Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl LP
back cover photo by Pete Turnerphoto of album back cover by Styrous® 

The 1991 album, Killer, is my very favorite album by Alice Cooper. However, as with the Hawkwind album, it demonstrated the vastly greater advantage of the Vinyl LP format over various other formats for producing extraordinary packaging; the wonderful excursions and experimentation into the field of graphic design it allowed.  

I have Killer in different formats, CD, tape, etc., and the differences are quite remarkable. The Killer vinyl LP was not just a gatefold design, which was common with many record cover albums throughout the history of recorded music . . .     

Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl LP

gatefold front cover
cover photos by Pete Turner
photo of album cover by Styrous®

Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl LP

gatefold interior
interior photo by Pete Turner
photo of gatefold interior by Styrous®

A flap on the left inside of the gatefold could be expanded up into a larger format and then it could be detached from the album, if you wanted!   

Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl LP

gatefold interior open completely
interior photos by Pete Turner
photo of open gatefold interior by Styrous®

It revealed an execution portrait of Alice Cooper . . .   

Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl LP

gatefold interior detail
interior photo by Pete Turner
detail photo by Styrous®

. . . and a 1972 calendar below it, suitable for hanging on the wall to help get you through the year!  

Add caption

Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl LP

gatefold interior detail
detail photo by Styrous®

The graphic design was by Alice Cooper. The photography for the album was done by Pete Turner. Photo District News voted him as one of the 20 most influential photographers of all time and in 1981 the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) awarded him its Outstanding Achievement in Photography honor.             

Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl LP

front cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Killer is the fourth studio album by the Alice Cooper band, which was released in November 1971. The album reached number 21 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and the two singles Under My Wheels and Be My Lover made the Billboard Hot 100 chart.    

Alice Cooper ~ Killer Vinyl LP
back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Alice Cooper ~ Killer 
Vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®
       

Alice Cooper ~ Killer 
Vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®
  

Credits:

    Other [Boa Constrictor] – Kachina    Photography By – Pete Turner (4)
    Design [Album Design] – Alice Cooper (2)

Notes:

Produced for Nimbus 9 Productions, Ltd.
An Alive Enterprises Production.

Warner Bros. Records Inc., a Subsidiary & Licensee of Warner Bros. Inc., Burbank, Calif., New York, New York.
Made in U.S.A.
© 1971
Printed in U.S.A.
℗ 1971

Original issue, sleeve includes detachable 1972 calendar.
BS 2567 appears on spine of sleeve and labels, 2567 appears on front of sleeve.
     
     
     
     
     

Viewfinder links:     

      

Alice Cooper     

Alice Cooper ~ Killer (reel to reel tape)     

Hawkwind ~ Warrior On the Edge of Time          

        

Net links:     

      

Culture Fusion ~ Killer by Alice Cooper review       
Metal Storm ~ Alice Cooper - Killer review      
Rolling Stone ~ Killer review          
Sleeze Roxx ~ Alice Cooper: Killer         
Ultimate Classic Rock ~ How Cooper Kept Rolling With Killer   
Vinyl District ~ Graded on a Curve: Alice Cooper, Killer       

     
     
            
     

Styrous® ~ Monday, February 4, 2019         
        

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