History hasn’t been kind enough to Alice Cooper band, who stand alongside fellow Detroit-rockers The Stooges as the true progenitors of punk rock. Alice Cooper don’t have as high a threat level as The Stooges’s out of control mayhem, but they make up for it in intelligence, as their melodramatic teenage introspective classic “I’m Eighteen” makes perfectly clear. I definitely have a lot to say for Glen Buxton’s buzzsaw guitar as well, and Bob Ezrin’s frequent keyboards that give Love It to Death an air of drama and mystery.

The band are also blessed with Vincent Furnier (who is now the man known as Alice Cooper) on vocals, whose one-of-a-kind scratchy snarl gives the band their sleazy, confident, and gutsy personality. Love It to Death is one of the most original albums of 1971, and one of the most fun albums of its decade with great energetic instrumental performances by every member and a surprise around nearly every corner.