Cooper, Alice / Prime Cuts

The ultimate Alice Cooper video featuring ultra-rare concert performances, television appearances and interviews--a comprehensive visual biography that will take you through the legend of Alice Cooper from before "I'm Eighteen" to "Poison" and beyond. All the Cooper classics are here from his private video vaults. Songs: Black Juju, Levity Ball, Ballad of Dwight Fry, Elected, Sick Things, Eighteen, Hello Hooray, Dead Babies, Billion Dollar Babies, No More Mister Nice Guy, Under My Wheels, Welcome to My Nightmare, Only Women Bleed, Cold Ethyl, From the Inside, How You Gonna See Me Now, Clones, Department of Youth, Trash, Poison, School's Out.

This 1991 documentary explores the ever-likable ghoul-rocker's history in the music biz, from the early days when Alice Cooper was, in fact, the name of a pretty good band (whose members are all unfortunately spoken of, even analyzed, here in past tense, as if they're all dead) to Cooper's elder- statesman status by the time this production was underway. Along the way, we see too-brief clips from more than 20 videos, all interrupted for reflections by manager Shep Gordon, producer Bob Ezrin, Slash, Ozzy, and the man-of-the-hour himself. The most welcome elements here are selections from the original band, including "I'm Eighteen," "Billion Dollar Babies," and "Black Ju Ju." Solo material--"Only Women Bleed," "How You Gonna See Me Now"--is an interesting reminder of Cooper's somewhat altered direction by the late 1970s. Rounding things out is the real story behind that infamous urban legend about Cooper and a chicken. --Tom Keogh