Easy Action
Easy Action is the second studio album by the American band Alice Cooper, released in March 1970 on Straight Records. The title comes from a line in West Side Story, one of the band's favourite films. It followed their 1969 debut, Pretties for You, and like that record it found neither commercial nor critical success. Drummer Neal Smith later recalled that producer David Briggs disliked the music, and felt the album sounded too dry. Singles included "Shoe Salesman", paired with "Return of the Spiders".
It sits at the start of the story, before the band's run from Love It to Death onwards, and it has often been overlooked. Still, "Mr. & Misdemeanor" and "Refrigerator Heaven" later turned up on compilations. The closing "Lay Down and Die, Goodbye" began life as a B-side from the band's days as Nazz. It opens with a Tom Smothers sample about choosing to switch him off, then moves into an instrumental jam.
Easy Action: tracklist and credits
9 tracks · 34:44Tracklist
- 1Mr. and MisdemeanorBruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith3:10
- 2Shoe SalesmanBruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith2:39
- 3Still No AirBruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith2:34
- 4Below Your MeansBruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith6:54
- 5Return of the SpidersBruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith4:32
- 6Laughing at MeBruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith2:16
- 7Refrigerator HeavenBruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith2:01
- 8Beautiful FlyawayBruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith3:01
- 9Lay Down and Die, GoodbyeBruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith7:36
- Produced by
- David Briggs
- Recorded at
- Sunwest Studios, Hollywood
- Recorded
- November–December 1969
- Engineered by
- Barry Keene
- Labels
- Straight Records, Straight
- Length
- 34:44
Line-up
- Michael Bruce · guitar, lead vocals
- Glen Buxton · guitar
- Dennis Dunaway · bass guitar, background vocals
- Neal Smith · drums (drum set), background vocals
- Alice Cooper · lead vocals, vocals
- David Briggs · piano · guest
Singles
- “Shoe Salesman” · June 1970
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Also released on 24 March
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How we know the release date wikipedia 1970-03-24 vs 1970-03-27 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | March 1970 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 24 March 1970 | |
| Wikidata | 27 March 1970 | |
| US release | March 1970 | earliest US date |
8 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1970 | US | Straight Records | original | |
| March 1970 | US | Straight Records | original | |
| June 1970 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1989 | CA | Enigma Retro | 018777339124 | other |
| 1989 | US | Enigma Retro | 018777339124 | other |
| 2005 | XW | Straight Records | 603497089260 | other |
| 2008 | XE | Rhino | 081227992705 | other |
| 21 December 2011 | JP | Straight Records | 4943674112616 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1800×1800 | native |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |