School's Out

School's Out followed Killer and reached 2 on the US Billboard 200. It reached 1 in Canada, where it held the top spot for four weeks, and sold over a million copies. The single reached 7 in the US and 1 in Britain. Ian Chapman has suggested it works as a concept album about youth lost on leaving school. The record was made at the Record Plant in New York, with Ezrin producing and playing keyboards, Dick Wagner adding guitar and Wayne Andre playing trombone on Blue Turk.

The packaging was as much of an event as the music. Craig Braun designed a sleeve that opened like a wooden school desk, with the band's names carved into it as graffiti, and the vinyl came wrapped in a pair of paper panties. They were dropped later because the paper was flammable, and in June 1972 the Guardian reported that customs officers had held 600,000 pairs for failing the fireproofing standard, with Israel offering a stopgap supply. The desk used for the cover photograph is on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas.

AllMusic's Tim Sendra wrote that half the joy of the record is marveling at how daringly the band used up its goodwill and blew apart its own template. The album accounts for only 6.8 percent of the songs Cooper has played live, and the title track dominates that share. Gutter Cat vs. the Jets and Public Animal #9 were the only other songs played on the 1972 tour. Blue Turk, Alma Mater and Grand Finale have never been performed, and Luney Tune has been played once.