MUSCLE OF LOVE Alice Cooper - 1973 LP Warner Bros BS 2748 - w/ Book Cover - VG+

$

33

Muscle of Love is the seventh studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper. The album was released in late 1973, with the band playing its last concert a few months later. Cooper stated in an interview at the time of recording that the album marked a return to a basic rock sound. "It's not complicated in any sense … It's very basic rock and roll throughout. … I really wanted this one to have more guts to it. More balls."

FUN FACT:  "Man with the Golden Gun" was written with the intention of having it appear on the soundtrack of the then-upcoming James Bond film of the same name. Cooper recalled in a 2011 interview: It was supposed to be the Bond theme, but it actually came in a day too late, and by the time they heard it, they'd already signed for Lulu's song. I went, "You're gonna take Lulu over this?" [Laughs.] 'Cause it was perfect for The Man With The Golden Gun. It had helicopters, it had machine guns—it had the Pointer Sisters, Ronnie Spector, and Liza Minnelli doing background vocals! We went to every single one of those John Barry albums to try and invent the perfect James Bond song, and even Christopher Lee, who played Scaramanga in the movie, said, "Oh, man, why did we take the Lulu song? This song is the one!" [Laughs.] So, yeah, we lost out on that one, but I still put it on the album. I said, "I don't care, I'm going to do a James Bond track no matter what."

In place of the usual record jacket, the original LP was packaged in a shallow corrugated cardboard carton, with a "stain" intentionally printed along the bottom. On the inner sleeve, the band members appear dressed as sailors. In the "before" daytime shot, they are about to enter a nude wrestling emporium; in the "after" nighttime shot on the other side of the sleeve, they appear beaten and sprawled out on the street, having been thrown out of the club, the joke being that the live nude female wrestler was a gorilla with a blonde wig. The original release also included a paper "book cover" sheet that could be folded and used as a book jacket.

Although Muscle of Love went to No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and earned a gold certification, it was considered something of a commercial disappointment in light of its predecessor Billion Dollar Babies having reached No. 1 and attaining platinum.

THIS COPY is a 1st Santa Maria pressing from 1073 on the Warner Bros. Records label (see Notes, below).

The vinyl, per a test listen, is in Very Good Plus [VG+] condition. (Looks good, too. :-)

The original “box” cover is surprisingly (after all this time) still in quite decent condition. The cover is in Very Good Plus [VG+] condition.

The original inner sleeve has splitting in the middle of the bottom seam, otherwise, it is in Very Good [VG] or better condition.

The original included book cover is likewise Very Good [VG] condition.

Notes

Comes in a cardboard box instead of a jacket. Front cover has 'Attention: This carton contains one (1) Alice Cooper Muscle Of Love - Fragile' written on it in fuchsia ink. Back cover has 'Do Not Bend - Avoid Excessive Heat - Phonograph Record' written on it, along with tracklisting next to a silhouette of a nude woman, and mfg/distr. info titled 'Contents', all written in fuchsia ink. Spine has information as normal, also in fuchsia ink.

Record comes in a picture sleeve alongside a paper foldout poster/book cover of the "Institute of Nude Wrestling" with instructions how to fold it as a book cover. Some of the credit info is written upside down – which resolves itself when wrapped around a book. Tracklisting on poster/book cover differs from labels and record.

A Warner Bros. recording distributed by WEA International. ℗ © 1973 Warner Bros. Records, Inc., a subsidiary and licensee of Warner Bros. Inc. Made in U.S.A. Printed in U.S.A.

Stereo. Produced for Nimbus 9 Productions Limited. Recorded at Sunset Sound, Hollywood; Record Plant, New York; and the Cooper Mansion, Greenwich, Conn. Strings and horns recorded at A & R Recording Studios, New York. Mastered at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood.

All songs published by Ezra Music (BMI).
Liza Minnelli courtesy Columbia Records.
La Belle credited as 'La Belle (Noma and Sarah)'; courtesy of RCA Records.
Ronnie Spector courtesy of Buddah Records.
The Pointer Sisters courtesy Blue Thumb Records.

Track B4 background vocals credited to La Belle but featuring only Nona (written as Noma) and Sarah.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Rights Society: BMI

Matrix / Runout (Side A label): (S40,603)

Matrix / Runout (Side B label): (S40,604)

Matrix / Runout (Both sides stamped): TML

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout etched, Variant 1): \ BS-2748-40603-1B SX A

Matrix / Runout (Side B runout etched, Variant 1): \ BS 2748 40604-1A SX C

ENJOY!