Enigma Retro Releases Early Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper’s early “Pretties for You” and “Easy Action” albums are the first releases in Enigma Records’ new Enigma Retro CD series.

Steve Levesque, manager of press and artist relations for Enigma, said the series--also available in cassette--is designed to re-introduce out-of-print albums or previously unreleased recordings by “superstar or cult” artists.

Though Alice Cooper, rock’s original shock-rockers, didn’t become a national force until its “Love It to Death” album was released in 1971, the two early albums--from 1969 and 1970, respectively--help document the evolution of the group’s exaggerated, outrageous style.

While “Pretties for You,” which featured such songs as “Titanic Overture” and “Ten Minutes Before the Worm,” made it to No. 193 on the national sales chart, “Easy Action”--featuring such tunes as “Lay Down and Die, Goodbye”--didn’t make the national charts at all.

Due this week on Enigma Retro: Captain Beefheart’s “Lick My Decals Off, Baby,” the GTO’s “Permanent Damage” and Ted Nugent’s “Call of the Wild” and “Tooth, Fang and Claw.”

The May line-up includes albums spotlighting Lenny Bruce and Lord Buckley. All these albums are from Bizarre/Straight/DiscReet Records catalogue.

CD REVIEWS

*** 1/2 “The Best of Jesse Winchester” (Rhino/Bearsville)--Winchester’s 1970 debut, produced by Robbie Robertson, was a special treat: The best songs--including “Yankee Lady” and “The Brand New Tennessee Waltz,” both included in this 18-song retrospective--reflected the timelessness and grace of Robertson’s own music with the Band. Though he continued to do appealing work, Winchester has never moved much beyond a cult status. He sings in a gently soulful way that reinforces the warm, philosophical nature of his most appealing songs. The material here is drawn from various albums, including 1981’s “Talk Memphis” which included “Say What,” a modest hit single.

**** “Top of the Stax: Twenty Greatest Hits” (Stax)-- Motown was clearly the most important source of black music in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but Stax also achieved some extraordinary highs. The Memphis-based label’s roster included such influential figures as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, the Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes and Booker T and the MGs. Though much of this music is already available on CD, this is the first time that material from the entire history of Stax (1962 to 1974) is featured on a single album. Earlier collections were incomplete because of contractual regulations growing out of distribution deals Stax made in the ‘60s. The line-up in this 70-minute package ranges from Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” and the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” to Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood” and Johnnie Taylor’s “Who’s Making Love.”

*** “Cajun Spice: Dance Music from South Louisiana” (Rounder)--There have been lots of Cajun, Zydeco or New Orleans R&B; packages in recent months, so the fact that the music still sounds fresh underscores the deep appeal of these South Louisiana sounds. Several of Cajun’s most celebrated artists (from Beausoleil and Jo-El Sonnier to D. L. Menard) are represented in this 65-minute sampler.