1995's
Classicks
is another in a long line of
Alice Cooper
best-of compilations, and it includes both live and studio material. Featured are such late-'80s and early-'90s favorites as
"Poison,"
"Hey Stoopid,"
"House of Fire,"
and a great duet with
Soundgarden
's
Chris Cornell
,
"Stolen Prayer,"
among others. While the live material is advertised as being issued officially for the first time on CD, it turns out that it comprises nothing more than the exact versions lifted from
Alice
's 1989 home video
Alice Cooper Trashes the World
. Still, you can never go wrong with any version of such early-'70s anthems as
"Under My Wheels,"
"Billion Dollar Babies,"
"I'm Eighteen,"
"No More Mr. Nice Guy,"
"School's Out,"
and the ballad
"Only Women Bleed."
While the album's title may be a bit misleading (only six of the 14 tracks are true classics), and while it isn't in the same league as 1974's
Greatest Hits
, hardcore
Cooper
fans will find a decent collection in
. [Note -- the Japanese version of
includes an extra bonus track, the rare B-side
"It Rained All Night."
] ~ Greg Prato