🔘 DaDa – Album: 1983 (US Release)

Released: September 1983 (US)

Label: Warner Bros. Records

Catalogue Number: 1-23969

Released in the US in 1983, DaDa stands as one of Cooper’s most surreal, psychologically fragmented, and artistically daring albums — the final chapter of his early‑’80s blackout era. Built on eerie synth textures, dream‑logic narratives, and Bob Ezrin’s atmospheric production, the record drifts between dark humour, unsettling introspection, and avant‑pop experimentation. Long misunderstood on release, DaDa has since become a cult cornerstone, valued for its emotional rawness and its unfiltered plunge into the subconscious.

🔘 Archival Overview

DaDa was the fifteenth studio album by Alice Cooper and the last of his three “blackout” records, created during a period of heavy substance abuse. Though Cooper later admitted he remembered little of its creation, the album has become one of the most analysed and mythologised works in his catalogue. Produced by Bob Ezrin and co‑written with Dick Wagner, DaDa blends synthesizers, Fairlight CMI sampling, and theatrical storytelling into a surreal psychological concept piece.

🔘 Track List

Side One

A1 DaDa – 4:46 (Ezrin)

A2 Enough’s Enough – 4:19 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner, Shaw)

A3 Former Lee Warmer – 4:07 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner)

A4 No Man’s Land – 3:48 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner)

A5 Dyslexia – 4:25 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner, Shaw)

Side Two

B1 Scarlet and Sheba – 5:19 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner)

B2 I Love America – 3:47 (Cooper, Shaw)

B3 Fresh Blood – 6:53 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner)

B4 Pass the Gun Around – 5:43 (Cooper, Wagner)

Produced by: Bob Ezrin

Associate Producers: Dick Wagner, Robert “Ringo” Hrycyna

Engineers: Bob Ezrin and ESP Studios staff

🔘 Release Details

Label: Warner Bros. Records

Format: 12-inch Vinyl LP

Country: US

Year: 1983

Notes:

- No cassette release in the UK

- Recorded at ESP Studios, Buttonville, Ontario (1982–83)

- Matrix examples: 92-3969-1 A-1

🔘 Variants

Variant 1

US – Warner Bros. – 1-23969 (1983)

Format: LP, Album

Country: US

Year: 1983

Notes:

- Standard US pressing

- Includes original printed inner sleeve

Variant 2

Europe – Warner Bros. – WB 92-3969-1 (1983)

Format: LP, Album

Country: Europe

Year: 1983

Notes:

- European sleeve variation

- Same tracklist and mastering

Variant 3

Canada – Warner Bros. – 92 39691 (1983)

Format: LP, Album

Country: Canada

Year: 1983

Notes:

- Canadian pressing with unique label fonts

US front cover vinyl album Warner Bros. Records. 1-23969

🔘 Chart Performance

UK — Official Albums Chart

Peak Position: #93

Weeks on Chart: 1

Label: Warner Bros. Records

US — Billboard 200

Did not chart

Singles

“I Love America” (12" UK)

Released: November 18, 1983

Catalogue: ALICE 1T (920166-0)

Tracks:

A1 I Love America

B1 Fresh Blood

B2 Pass the Gun Around

Chart Performance: Did not chart

🔘 Context & Notes

Personnel

Alice Cooper — vocals

Dick Wagner — guitar, bass, backing vocals

Graham Shaw — Oberheim OB-X, Roland Jupiter, backing vocals

Bob Ezrin — Fairlight CMI, keyboards, drums, percussion

Richard Kolinka — drums (Scarlet and Sheba, Former Lee Warmer, Pass the Gun Around)

John Anderson — drums (Fresh Blood)

Prakash John — bass (Fresh Blood)

Karen Hendricks — backing vocals

Lisa DalBello — backing vocals

Sarah Ezrin — DaDa voice

Recording Notes

DaDa was built heavily around the Fairlight CMI, one of the earliest digital sampling synthesizers. Ezrin’s production leans into surreal atmospheres, fragmented narratives, and psychological tension. Dick Wagner later revealed that Cooper was struggling with alcoholism during the sessions, and that the album was created partly to fulfil a contract — a claim never confirmed by Warner Bros.

US back cover vinyl album Warner Bros. Records. 1-23969

Press Reception

DaDa received minimal promotion and mixed reviews on release, but has since been reappraised as one of Cooper’s most daring and emotionally revealing works. Tracks like “Former Lee Warmer” and “Pass the Gun Around” are now considered cult classics.

Legacy

DaDa is the final entry in Cooper’s “blackout trilogy,” following Special Forces (1981) and Zipper Catches Skin (1982). Though never toured and rarely discussed by Cooper at the time, the album has grown into a fan favourite for its experimental edge and psychological depth.

🔘 Visual Archive

The original 1983 sleeve features surrealist artwork reflecting the album’s fractured dream‑logic themes. Later pressings retain the same design, with minor regional variations.

Caption: 1983 Warner Bros. US pressing of DaDa — Cooper’s most surreal and enigmatic album.

🔘 Related Material

Previous Album

Zipper Catches Skin (1982)

Next Album

Constrictor (1986)

US cover Cassette Album Warner Bros. Records 9 23969-4

🔘 Discography (Selected, Chronological)

Special Forces — 1981

Zipper Catches Skin — 1982

DaDa — 1983

Constrictor — 1986

🔘 Mini‑Timeline

1981 — Special Forces released

1982 — Zipper Catches Skin released

1983 — DaDa released in the US

1990s–2010s — Album gains cult status among fans

🔘 Glam Flashback

DaDa isn’t glam in sound, but it carries Cooper’s theatrical DNA — a surreal descent into the subconscious, wrapped in synths, shadows, and Ezrin’s cinematic production.

🔘 Closing Notes

A cult favourite and one of Cooper’s most experimental works, DaDa remains a haunting, enigmatic snapshot of an artist navigating the darkest corners of his imagination.

🔘 Sources

Discogs

Wikipedia

Official Charts Company

45cat

AllMusic