Alice Cooper Group: "Love It To Death" Album (1971)

Alice Cooper Group’s Love It To Death was released as an LP album in the UK by Warner Bros. Records (catalog number WS 1883) on March 9, 1971, entering the UK Albums Chart on September 9, 1972, riding on the success of the group’s hit School’s Out, and peaking at number 28.

The album marked the band's initial commercial success and solidified their aggressive hard-rocking sound, moving away from the psychedelic and experimental rock style of their first two albums. The most famous track from the album, "I'm Eighteen", was released as a single to gauge the band's commercial potential before the album's recording.

In 1970, the band relocated to Detroit, drawing inspiration from the city's aggressive hard rock scene. They recruited a young Bob Ezrin as their producer, who motivated them to refine their songwriting during two months of intensive rehearsals lasting ten to twelve hours daily. The single "I'm Eighteen" soon reached the Top 40, i the US peaking at No. 21, convincing Warner Bros. of Alice Cooper's commercial viability to release an album. "Love It to Death" climbed to No. 35 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and eventually achieved platinum status. The album's second single, "Caught in a Dream," reached No. 94 on the charts.

Cover of the censored sleeve for "Love it to Death" by Alice Cooper Group.

The original album cover showed Alice posed with his thumb sticking out, making it look like his penis; Warner Bros. quickly replaced it with a censored version. The Love It to Death tour included an intricate shock rock live performance: during "Ballad of Dwight Fry"—a song about an inmate in a mental institution—Cooper would be dragged offstage and return in a straitjacket, with the show reaching its peak as Cooper was mock-executed in a prop electric chair during "Black Juju." Ezrin and the Coopers collaborated on a series of hit albums until the band split in 1974. The album is now regarded as a foundational influence on hard rock, punk, and heavy metal; several tracks have become live Alice Cooper staples and are often covered by other bands.