Freedom for Frankenstein: Hits & Pieces 1984-1991

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
18 track overview of essential & rare tracks he cut for Epic& MCA, 1984-1991. 78 minutes long, it features cuts from 'Constrictor', 'Raise Your Fist & Yell', 'Trash', 'Hey Stoopid' & 'The Last Temptation' albums, plus covers of Spirit's 'I Got A Line On You' & Hendrix's 'Fire' and four live tracks that had previously only been available as B-sides and Japanese bonus tracks: 'Go To Hell', 'Ballad Of Dwight Fry', 'Sick Things' & 'Only Women Bleed/ Wind Up Toy'. Ozzy, Slash, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai & Joe Perry all guest. 1998 Raven Records release.

Tracks:

He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)
Teenage Frankenstein
Give It Up
Freedom
Lock Me Up
I Got A Line On You
Poison
House Of Fire
Bed Of Nails
Go To Hell (Live)
Ballad Of Dwight Fry (Live)
Hey Stoopid
It Rained All Night
Feed My Frankenstein
Fire
Side Show
Sick Things
Only Women Bleed/Wind Up Toy (Live)

Album Description

18 track overview of essential & rare tracks he cut for Epic& MCA, 1984-1991. 78 minutes long, it features cuts from 'Constrictor', 'Raise Your Fist & Yell', 'Trash', 'Hey Stoopid' & 'The Last Temptation' albums, plus covers of Spirit's 'I Got A Line On You' & Hendrix's 'Fire' and four live tracks that had previously only been available as B-sides and Japanese bonus tracks: 'Go To Hell', 'Ballad Of Dwight Fry', 'Sick Things' & 'Only Women Bleed/ Wind Up Toy'. Ozzy, Slash, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai & Joe Perry all guest. 1998 Raven Records release.

Album Details

Australian Exclusive Release featuring 18 Tracks from his MCA and Epic Years. Also features Four Rare Tracks Previously Issued as Only European and Japanese Bonus Tracks.

Customer Reviews:

Alice Cooper - 'Freedom For Frankenstein:Hits&Pieces,1984-1991' (Raven).......2006-11-07

Good Australian import CD release compilation.This is like my third CD title I've reviewed on the Raven label.One thing I've noticed about Raven CD's,are that whatever the artist,the compilations USUALLY feature songs that one doesn't see on every other comp. available.Total of eighteen tracks,with a running time of over 78 minutes.Wow!That's a long dang CD!I liked,hearing once again "Teenage Frankenstein" (who says that Alice lost his touch in the '80's? No way!), "Freedom", his Spirit cover of "I Got A Line On You", "Hey Stoopid", the eerie "Sick Things" and his stellar cover of Hendrix's "Fire". Comes with a nicely assembled l6-page booklet. Very nice. Recommended. While you're at it, check out other Raven CD releases.

'Freedom For Frankenstein' makes a great companion piece to his 1974 Greatest Hits album .......2005-08-30

"FREEDOM FOR FRANKENSTEIN: HITS & PIECES 1984-91"

REVIEW:

In the past 15 years, Alice Cooper's mid-to-late 80's/early 90's output has often been peddled out onto "slapped together" compilation albums. However, 'Freedom For Frankenstein' emerges as the best of the bunch. With eighteen tracks that include some of the best of his work during that era also includes rarities and live renditions of some of his 70's classics. And that is where this album becomes essential for the die hard Alice Cooper fan. The live tracks are indeed excellent (especially 'Dwight Fry') and are a massive improvement over both of his 1977 and his 1997 live albums. Those just looking for the "hits" will also be pleased to see the Top 10 hit single "Poison," as well as the mid-level hits like "He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)," "House of Fire," "Hey Stoopid," and "Feed My Frankenstein" also being included in this package. However, like most compilation albums, fans will always find a song --- or even several songs --- that are not represented but should be. And 'Freedom For Frankenstein' is certainly no different. But as it stands, it is a welcome addition to your Alice Cooper collection.

NOTABLE ARTISTS / MUSICIANS INCLUDED ARE:

Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne (vocals); Slash, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Joe Perry (guitar); among others.

INTERESTING FACTS:

1. Released on May 19th 1998, "Freedom For Frankenstein" is an Australian release only.

2. The track "I Got A Line On You" was only released as a "promo-only" single in the US and as part of an EP in the UK. The track "It Rained All Night" originally appeared on the Japanese version of the greatest hits package "Classicks".

3. The live tracks "Go To Hell" and "Ballad of Dwight Fry" were recorded on March 6th 1987 at the Cincinnati Gardens for the radio program "Superstar Concert Series". "Sick Things" and the medley of "only Women Blood" and "Wind Up Toy" were from the September 1991 Electric Ladyland Studio recordings done for the Album Network.

PACKAGING:

Cool front and back album covers are complimented by an excellent 16 page booklet covering the history of Alice Cooper and the tracks that appear within. It should also be noted that the CD is a picture disk.

APPROX. RUNNING TIME:

78 min. and 25 sec.

FINAL ANALYSIS:

'Freedom For Frankenstein' makes a great companion piece to his 1974 Greatest Hits album while the die hards are treated with some great rarities and live tracks. **** out of 5.

Great Album.......2004-04-13

Ignore any reveiws you see from the die hard Alice Cooper fans who have a hard time coming to terms with the Alice Cooper band breaking up and Alice going solo.

This album is a terrific blend of a few of the great hits from his come back album of the late 80's to early 90's material from the albums "Contrictor" "Raise Your Fist" "Trash" "Hey Stoopid" and "The Last Temptation"

Even tho i'd recomend any of those albums over this one. This is an album that is defintly worth purchasing. It has a selected amount of the best from the albums i mentioned, plus it comes with some rarer tracks like "Rained All night" which is a great hard rock song, and was previously only available on the japanese version of Hey Stoopid. Another song is a cover of "got a lien on you" from an old 60's band called Phyche. Alice does a terrific job covering the song and also a great job on Jime Hendrix "Fire" which has been released on random albums from A.C

But what makes this album better then just another collection of greats from Alice's recent years (around the time of this) is the live tracks. A freind of mine had this album, and i bought it recenlty mearly for the fact that it contains great rarer songs, and some of the best live versions of songs ive ever heard from Alice!

Some people might not share my opinion , but I have never heard "Balled Of Dwight Fry" sound so fantastic! Espechelly a live version! The sound is excellent and the backing vocals breath new life into the song. This album is great. Dont be put off by the old Alice Cooper band fanatics who dissmiss this stuff because they cant get over the fact Alice went solo. This is a great album and a must have for any fans of all eras of Alice and who love to hear great LIVE songs.

And yes, I would recomend it as a starter if your thinking about buying any of those albums i mentioned before,which are all great and worthy of buying, if you want to sample what those terrific album had on them, then this is only a taste of the great tunes from those master peices from Alice!

Best 'best of' out there !.......2001-03-29

This CD was put together by some Alice fan in Australia, and you can tell. This isn't just a collection of singles and commerciality. This is a collection of great Alice Cooper songs.

Any true Alice fan knows his most intelligent stuff came later on in his life. Last Temptation and Brutal Planet are far more conceptual and fluent than any of his 70's pieces (except Welcome To My Nightmare), and this collection of his 80's and 90's work reflects that Alice did not 'sell out' during the eighties, in fact he matured. People who accuse him of producing simple radio rock in the eighties are either hypocrits or too blind too overlook that Alice has always been radio. I mean, 'Under My Wheels' from 1972 might as well have been performed by Aerosmith !

Okay, some of this does sound 80's influenced, but most of the stuff here is timeless. There are so many rare gems here; Bed Of Nails is one of his dirtiest, heaviest and most overlooked masterpieces (witha real cool goth intro to boot!). Great b-sides like I Got A Line On You are also included. In terms of Heaviness ? This ain't thrash, but in terms of hard rock, it don't come much harder. Okay so some might say it doesn't include Snakebite and there's not much stuff here from The Last Temptation which is a shame, but there is so much great stuff here, it's much harder to pick faults with than his studio picked 'Greatest Hits' of the 70's. Plus the fact The Last Temptation is such a conceptual album, few songs would feel right without the whole album on there as well !

The live cuts must be heard to be believed. Alice always sounds better live, Go To Hell and Ballad Of Dwight Fry reflect this. Pure metal, start to finish, thats what Alice has always been about. Ballad Of Dwight Fry is a really insane song (literally) and this live version is probably the best around. This is without a doubt the best representation of what Cooper is about.

Okay there's no Schools Out, but this album doesn't need it. This album was designed to prove he did equally as good, if not better stuff in the 80's than when in his original band. Poison eclipses anythin he did in the 70's in terms of pure rock. So called Alice purists can just, as Alice would say, 'Go To Hell'. But this CD if you wanna know what Alice is about, you will NOT regret! I never give 5 stars to any CD unless it truly rocks, this does not dissapoint...

Good but no masterpiece.......2001-01-05

This album is a kind of collection, so it's very uneven in its song selection. I prefer ALICE in the 70's. In this album, he's sounding too much like the awful glam bands of the 80's, like Poison and Motley Crue. ( of course he did that to survive and come back to the rock scenario - and fortunately it suceeded ! ). No big deal this CD.

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