Do you like the bands that pay attention to the visual presentation, give you not just a concert, but a show? No, I’m not talking about the boy bands or the talentless teenage divas, I’m talking about GWAR, Kiss, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie and Slipknot. Those artists and many others owe a tip of the hat to the old master of the macabre, Alice Cooper. Now, his commercial heyday may be behind him by many years, but the man still tours with an incredible band, has a monstrously recognizable back catalogue and still challenges himself as an artist by still flexing some new musical muscles with the consistent release of new material.

As we learned in the bonus material on “Metal A Headbanger’s Journey,” no one has a higher opinion of his own influence and accomplishments than Alice, but the body of work speaks for itself. In designing a No Rock Star Left Behind starter kit for the nearly 60-year-old metal icon, I would recommend the following:

Music

The Best of Alice Cooper: Mascara & Monsters: If you need to get to know the hits, this collection puts together the best stuff from the band Alice Cooper and the immediate period after, when Vincent Furnier changed his name and became Alice Cooper. Rhino does a nice job and this is an excellent representation of the early genius. “Clones” and “Poison” are tacked on as representing the later period and are tracks that charted, but his later work is not well represented here.

Flush The Fashion: Re-inventing himself with a new wave kind of spin and with the production of Roy Thomas Baker, Fashion is catchy and features some incredibly clever but cynical lyrics on “Model Citizen” and “Grim Facts.” The record proved he could stretch musically and write commentary about our culture in a stinging yet humorous manner.

The Last Temptation: An underappreciated classic concept record in which Alice gets a little help from his friends. Chris Cornell lends some backing vocals to a couple of tracks while Jack Blades & Tommy Shaw co-write a couple of songs. “Lost in America” is a very funny but biting commentary on the lost direction of America’s youth.

Brutal Planet: This record is dark industrial metal. In contrast with Flush’s new wave spin, and the straight-ahead rock sound of Temptation, Planet along with its sequel, 2001’s Dragontown, is Alice at his absolute heaviest.

Video

“Wayne’s World”: There is a snippet of “Feed My Frankenstein” in the movie, but the brief encounter between Alice, Wayne and Garth and their discussion of Milwaukee is hysterical.

“Alice Cooper Live at Montreux”: What a flippin’ band he tours with, including Eric Singer, the thunderous replacement for Eric Carr in Kiss, and Brother Cane guitarist Damon Johnson. They rip through his hits with a fabulous ferocity and Alice, the old pro, puts on a fun show.

Web

SickThingsUK is the best Cooper resource. This site gives you all kinds of news, discographies and information on those that have rocked with `The Coop’ in the past. For most things Alice, this is where you have to go.

There you have it, four discs, two DVDs, a web site and the following snippet from the Muppet Show which shows Alice having fun with his image. These items should whet your appetite as we continue to champion those that have come before in No Rock Star Left Behind.