Alice Cooper: Zipper Catches Skin
While putting together the Fist album collection I noticed this cover from Alice Cooper and was surprised by such a progressive cover for an artist like himself. Even more surprised it was released in the 1980s. Where are the crazy colours, geometric shapes and big loud type?
The cover immediately reminded me of the XTC cover. Sans any inside humour. What you get here is just the lyrics from the album presented in block paragraph form on the cover. There is also the very subtle ALICE COOPER across the top of the album via a light red hue shift. I’m not sure it was meant to be an opical illusion like the Soulwax covers I think the modern scanning and bad compression has reduced it’s readability.
I believe Explosions In The Sky copied Alice Cooper in their 2003 album “The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place”. The red Band Name in the lower right just sits too closely.
You can imagine all the Alice Cooper fans at the time (sorry to generalise) thinking “WTF is this!?”
The back cover features Alice Cooper in a suit shirt and tie. I wonder if this was originally proposed as the cover?
It’s a dead ringer for Christian Bale in American Psycho.
This is one of the few Alice Cooper covers that doesn’t feature the man himself. It’s also one of two albums he doesn’t even remember recording! “Zipper Catches Skin and the following album, DaDa, are two albums which Alice reportedly has no recollection of recording, due to excessive alcohol abuse. There was no tour to promote either album and none of the songs have yet been played live.” Source
Like all covers which do not feature the same of the album retailers and labels need to put stickers on them to make it easier to spot in record shops. Here’s a couple from Brazil and Europe for the collectors out there. Source
You can also read about the 2010 reissue and a more in-depth review of the album