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Flush the Fashion

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Flush the Fashion
Studio album by
Alice Cooper
ReleasedApril 28, 1980 (1980-04-28)
Recorded1979–1980
StudioCherokee (Hollywood)
Genre
Length28:34
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerRoy Thomas Baker
Alice Cooper chronology
From the Inside
(1978) 		Flush the Fashion
(1980) 		Special Forces
(1981)
Singles from Flush the Fashion
  1. "Clones (We're All)"
    Released: April 1980
  2. "Talk Talk"
    Released: September 1980 [1]

Flush the Fashion is the fifth solo studio album by American singer Alice Cooper, released on April 28, 1980, by Warner Bros. Records. It was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles with producer Roy Thomas Baker, known for his work with Queen and the Cars. The lead single "Clones (We're All)" peaked at No. 40 on the U.S. Billboard Top 40. Clocking in at 28 minutes, Flush the Fashion has the shortest running time of any of Cooper's albums.

Background

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The album's ten tracks touch on themes such as the loss of identity, taking on other roles, and the usual Alice Cooper-esque dementia. This is evident even in the lyrics of Flush the Fashion's cover songs (for example the "Clones" single). Cooper also performs several "story" songs, presenting a series of intriguing vignettes in lieu of more traditional subject matter. By the time of Flush the Fashion, after a much-publicized stint in a sanitarium in 1977 for alcoholism and subsequent sobriety, Cooper had secretly developed a heavy addiction to cocaine, although, unlike his subsequent three studio albums, Cooper has some recollection – if not perfect – of making Flush the Fashion.[2]

Cooper did tour the album through the United States and Mexico City during 1980, playing "Clones (We're All)", "Pain", "Model Citizen", "Grim Facts", "Talk Talk", "Dance Yourself to Death" and "Nuclear Infected" on a regular basis. The first four songs remained part of the setlist for the Special Forces tour a year later. Since 1982, songs from Flush the Fashion, as with all of Cooper's albums from between 1976 and 1983, have rarely been performed live. The only cases have been:

  • "Clones (We're All)",[3] of which there were a few irregular performances between 1996 and 2003 and was a regular part of Cooper's setlist during the 2011–2012 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' tour
  • "Pain", which was regular on Cooper's 2017 'Spend the Night with Alice Cooper' tour, and
  • "Grim Facts", which was part of "A Paranormal Evening with Alice Cooper" tour in 2018.

According to Alice Cooper on his radio show on October 5, 2020, all the song titles on this album were taken from Headlines (hence Track #10) from the National Enquirer.

Composition

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Musically, the album saw Alice Cooper transition to a new wave sound with post-punk, pop and pop rock influences. He continued this sound on Special Forces, Zipper Catches Skin and DaDa, his "blackout albums". Cars producer Roy Thomas Baker replaced the gritty guitar riffs that Cooper was known for with "icy synthesizers".

Flush the Fashion contains a number of short, fast, punky new wave songs beginning with "Talk Talk", which has been compared to The Vapors. "Nuclear Infected" and "Model Citizen" are punk influenced while "Grim Facts" is metal influenced.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that Cooper "bottomed out ... [with] a half-hearted new-wave makeover."[6]

Classic Rock wrote that "Flush the Fashion is very much of its time, but its one of Coop’s most fun albums, a rollicking collection of herky-jerky skinny-tie robot rock."[7]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Alice Cooper, Davey Johnstone and Fred Mandel except where noted

Side one flush the fashion suite 13:51
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Talk Talk"Sean Bonniwell2:09
2."Clones (We're All)"David Carron3:03
3."Pain" 4:06
4."Leather Boots"Geoff Westen1:36
5."Aspirin Damage" 2:57
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nuclear Infected" 2:14
2."Grim Facts" 3:24
3."Model Citizen" 2:39
4."Dance Yourself to Death"
  • Cooper
  • Frank Crandall
3:08
5."Headlines" 3:18
Total length:28:34

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the Flush the Fashion liner notes.[8]

Musicians

Production and artwork

Charts

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Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] 32
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] 19
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] 40
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] 32
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 34
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 56
US Billboard 200[15] 44

References

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  1. ^ "Alice cooper singles".
  2. ^ 'Hanging with Mr. Cooper' Archived 2014-10-27 at the Wayback Machine; Phoenix New Times, June 20, 1996
  3. ^ 'Clones (We're All)' performance data
  4. ^ "Alice Cooper: Flash the Fashion album review". Classic Rock. May 26, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  5. ^ Prato, Greg. "Flush the Fashion – Alice Cooper". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  6. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 10.
  7. ^ "Every Alice Cooper album, ranked from worst to best". Classic Rock. February 2, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  8. ^ Flush the Fashion (CD booklet). Alice Cooper. Warner Bros. Records. 1980.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0208b". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  11. ^ "Charts.nz – Alice Cooper – Flush the Fashion". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Alice Cooper – Flush the Fashion". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  13. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Alice Cooper – Flush the Fashion". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  14. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  15. ^ "Alice Cooper Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
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