Alice Cooper’s 80s period, it’s a period of time that most Alice fans aren’t even aware existed, and Alice doesn’t even remember recording Zipper Catches Skin and DaDa due to the severity of his alcoholism at the time of writing and recording the albums.

Because of this most people tend to write off the albums as unworthy of Cooper’s heavy metal done as showtunes legacy, but once listeners dig deeper they’ll find a few good songs buried inside of the albums.

First off, to most Alice Cooper Fans these albums (the aforementioned Zipper Catches Skin, DaDa, and Special Forces) are a bit of a departure from the pure rock and roll/heavy metal sounding Cooper. Instead, these albums rely on a rather compressed and tight New Wave sound.  Gone are heavy guitars and in their place synths and clean twangy guitars.  The only thing that reminds listeners of the Alice of old is the singer’s trademark voice and the sardonic lyrics.

Lyrically, the albums are pure fun. Musically, it’s another story.  The songs feel like they are too quiet or subdued. At any moment the songs feel like they could take off, but instead they stick at the same mid tempo beat.

Still there’s some nice experimentation on the albums, particularly on the Bob Ezrin-helmed DaDa. The songs feel well rounded and take nice unexpected turns.

The early eighties may not have been good for Alice, but these albums are musically more interesting than anything he has recorded since.