Alice Cooper's "School's Out" debuted in 1972, quickly becoming a chart-topping anthem for rebellious students. The song's catchy chorus and rebellious spirit marked a significant moment in rock history, resonating with a generation.
One of the best parts of working with records is coming across the weird and wonderful ways artists have presented their records. It’s always a fun moment in the office when we come across a sleeve that folds into a peculiar shape or even a record that can slot into its sleeve to create a model of a plane.
In this post we’re going to be looking at Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out’. The sleeve for the 1972 album was designed by Craig Braun, who worked at Warner Music as a Creative and Marketing Director until 2001.
He has a rather impressive CV, having co-designed the Rolling Stones’ tongue and lips logo and collaborating with Andy Warhol to design the Velvet Undergrounds’ Banana album cover.
His work tended to go beyond just being a flat 12” piece of cardboard. His designs did something – they were a tactile experience.
School’s Out is a definitive example of this design style. The original copies of this record folded out into the shape of a school desk. The cover (top of the desk) features ‘engravings’ in the wood by the band members, and the desk lid lifts up to reveal the contents of it. This includes pencils and crayons, a slingshot and a ‘School’s Out’ quiz which lists the album credits.
The record itself slots into the desk, so it works somewhat like a gatefold. The back of the design features two fold-out ‘legs’ which allow the sleeve to stand a few inches off the ground.
Of course, being Alice Cooper, it couldn’t be entirely virtuous. The earliest presses included a pair of paper panties which acted as the inner sleeve. These were fairly promptly discontinued as they were found to be dangerously flammable.
A limited edition repress from 2021 by Friday Music brought back the panties and original sleeve design but pressed on 180g vinyl. And with presumably safer paper being used for the panties!
There are plenty of copies of the first press around, but to find one with the panties present and intact is very rare indeed.
Did you know? The desk used in the shoot is now on display in the Hard Rock Café in Las Vegas!
