Pretties For You
Release Date: June 25, 1969
Highest US chart: #193
Tracks: Titanic Overture * 10 Minutes Before the Worm * Sing Low, Sweet Cheerio * Today Mueller * Living * Fields of Regret * No Longer Umpire * Levity Ball * B.B. on Mars * Reflected * Apple Bush * Earwigs to Eternity * Changing Arranging
Puzzling and original, Cooper’s experimental lo-fi debut album is like nothing you’ve ever heard from the band. There are little snippets of songs, bits that start here then suddenly go there, and lengthy but utterly enthralling instrumental segments... it's trippy and weird and raw, but not unfocused, there are catchy guitar licks (Living), bass lines (Apple Bush), harmonicas (Cheerio) and melodies to dig.
“Reflected” will later be retooled and renamed “Elected” for the Billion Dollar Babies album, and while the latter is lyrically superior (none other than John Lennon praised the tune), there are facets I prefer in the former (the melodic secondary verse, or pre-chorus). The Pink Floyd influenced "Levity Ball" (inspired by the movie "Carnival of Souls") and the 60s pop-psych fuzz toned "Living" are other highlights. And it's fitting that the band start their careers -at decades end- with a record like this, one that's Mary Jane and black light posters, and Fields of Regret played in a darkened room as a lava lamp bubbles. Say hello to Alice, bid a final farewell to the 60s, and ready yourself for the nightmare fueled 70s.
While "economizing their sound", as Alice described it in his bio, Golf Monster, was crucial to the development and success of the group. I'm thankful we have this record of the bands early musical stylings. I like Pretties, not 'despite' whatever imperfections fans and critics find in it, but because of them (for example, pieces of another song bleeding through the tape on Levity Ball lends a ghostly, eerie quality to the number). The LP has character, and I wouldn't want it polished up like Billion Dollar Babies (any more than I'd want Babies to be lo-fi). Pretties is right just the way it is, and so much better than its reputation; I unapologetically and unironically love it to death... unconventional key changes, shifting time signatures, eccentric performances and all.
Note 1: Producer Frank Zappa apparently didn’t give the guys much time to work on this (In fact they thought they were still working out the kinks when Frank told them, that’s it, were done, I’ll have an album for you in a week - Shep Gordon says Zappa wasn't even there through most of it, he took off and left others in charge).
Note 2: When this was released, they put a sticker over the woman's exposed panties. LMAO
Note 3: According to a couple of folks, the vinyl re-pressing was not so hot, I've read complaints of shrill, ear-piercing high notes in spots. I have the '73 pressing, and the latter Apple download, and have not encountered this issue. The vocal mix is just fine. In addition: You can hear a few of these songs (with "Nobody Likes Me") collected on Live at the Whiskey A-Go-Go 1969 (including the best version of "Levity Ball" I've heard to date).
Personal memory: I can't recall how or when I acquired most of my early records, Greatest Hits was a Christmas gift - Welcome to My Nightmare I bought with my own money doing chores. But Pretties I picked up in 1977 or 78 in high school - my friend John had the album and was willing to trade it... for a couple of Playboys, which I must say, is a rather 70s-style roll 'n' roll transaction.
Puzzling and original, Cooper’s experimental lo-fi debut album is like nothing you’ve ever heard from the band. There are little snippets of songs, bits that start here then suddenly go there, and lengthy but utterly enthralling instrumental segments... it's trippy and weird and raw, but not unfocused, there are catchy guitar licks (Living), bass lines (Apple Bush), harmonicas (Cheerio) and melodies to dig.
“Reflected” will later be retooled and renamed “Elected” for the Billion Dollar Babies album, and while the latter is lyrically superior (none other than John Lennon praised the tune), there are facets I prefer in the former (the melodic secondary verse, or pre-chorus). The Pink Floyd influenced "Levity Ball" (inspired by the movie "Carnival of Souls") and the 60s pop-psych fuzz toned "Living" are other highlights. And it's fitting that the band start their careers -at decades end- with a record like this, one that's Mary Jane and black light posters, and Fields of Regret played in a darkened room as a lava lamp bubbles. Say hello to Alice, bid a final farewell to the 60s, and ready yourself for the nightmare fueled 70s.
While "economizing their sound", as Alice described it in his bio, Golf Monster, was crucial to the development and success of the group. I'm thankful we have this record of the bands early musical stylings. I like Pretties, not 'despite' whatever imperfections fans and critics find in it, but because of them (for example, pieces of another song bleeding through the tape on Levity Ball lends a ghostly, eerie quality to the number). The LP has character, and I wouldn't want it polished up like Billion Dollar Babies (any more than I'd want Babies to be lo-fi). Pretties is right just the way it is, and so much better than its reputation; I unapologetically and unironically love it to death... unconventional key changes, shifting time signatures, eccentric performances and all.
Note 1: Producer Frank Zappa apparently didn’t give the guys much time to work on this (In fact they thought they were still working out the kinks when Frank told them, that’s it, were done, I’ll have an album for you in a week - Shep Gordon says Zappa wasn't even there through most of it, he took off and left others in charge).
Note 2: When this was released, they put a sticker over the woman's exposed panties. LMAO
Note 3: According to a couple of folks, the vinyl re-pressing was not so hot, I've read complaints of shrill, ear-piercing high notes in spots. I have the '73 pressing, and the latter Apple download, and have not encountered this issue. The vocal mix is just fine. In addition: You can hear a few of these songs (with "Nobody Likes Me") collected on Live at the Whiskey A-Go-Go 1969 (including the best version of "Levity Ball" I've heard to date).
Personal memory: I can't recall how or when I acquired most of my early records, Greatest Hits was a Christmas gift - Welcome to My Nightmare I bought with my own money doing chores. But Pretties I picked up in 1977 or 78 in high school - my friend John had the album and was willing to trade it... for a couple of Playboys, which I must say, is a rather 70s-style roll 'n' roll transaction.
Purchases: Vinyl (1973 reissue, palm tree label, w/out "Straight Records" logo), iTunes
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Easy Action
Release Date: March 27, 1970
Highest US Chart: Did Not Chart
Tracks: Mr. and Misdemeanor * Shoe Salesman * Still No Air * Below Your Means * Return of the Spiders * Laughing at Me * Refrigerator Heaven * Beautiful Flyaway * Lay Down and Die, Goodbye
The band is still evolving, finding its identity - Action dwells somewhere between Pretties Floydish freak-outs (Still No Air, Below Your Means) and the coming Detroit shock rock (Mr. and Misdemeanor, Spiders, the West Side Story influences, that will be better realized in "Schools Out"). Produced by Neil Young’s pal David Briggs, the group was not happy with him and said he hated the band and didn’t give much effort. They’re not the only ones who’ve not been pleased with the Producer, Nick Cave didn’t like the guy’s work either and overhauled the album they did together.
Song-wise, critic Joe Viglione at allmusic noted the similarities between Laughing at Me and Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World (which will be recorded on May 4th, 1970), so that's a vibe. Moreover, there's sweet bubblegum hooks (Shoe Salesman), lovely melodies (Beautiful Flyaway), and I adore Smith's urgent snare in Spiders. There’s also some noisy noodling that's... an acquired taste (Air, Lay Down).
The band is still evolving, finding its identity - Action dwells somewhere between Pretties Floydish freak-outs (Still No Air, Below Your Means) and the coming Detroit shock rock (Mr. and Misdemeanor, Spiders, the West Side Story influences, that will be better realized in "Schools Out"). Produced by Neil Young’s pal David Briggs, the group was not happy with him and said he hated the band and didn’t give much effort. They’re not the only ones who’ve not been pleased with the Producer, Nick Cave didn’t like the guy’s work either and overhauled the album they did together.
Song-wise, critic Joe Viglione at allmusic noted the similarities between Laughing at Me and Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World (which will be recorded on May 4th, 1970), so that's a vibe. Moreover, there's sweet bubblegum hooks (Shoe Salesman), lovely melodies (Beautiful Flyaway), and I adore Smith's urgent snare in Spiders. There’s also some noisy noodling that's... an acquired taste (Air, Lay Down).
While not as daring as Pretties, and it doesn't it put me in an altered state as that one did, there are moments where it really sends me.
BTW: That’s Guitarist Michael Bruce, not Alice, doing the vocals on Flyaway and Below Your Means. And Tommy Smothers can be heard at the beginning of Lay Down and Die, Goodbye, saying… “You are the only censor. If you don't like what I say, you have a choice. You can turn me off.”
Things I learned from the book Alice Cooper at 75 - Neal felt the record sounded too dry, and Straight Records used rehearsal recordings rather than Briggs's production tapes for the release? If true, do the Briggs tapes survive, because damn, I'd like to hear them? (Edit: Dennis disputes this)
Of note: The band made an appearance in the film, Diary of a Mad Housewife, playing "Lay Down and Die, Goodbye". Released in August 1970, their scene was shot sometime in the spring (according to the Sick Things UK timeline)
Love it to Death
Release Date: March 9, 1971
Highest US Chart: #35
Tracks: Caught in a Dream * I’m Eighteen * Long Way to Go * Black Juju * Is It My Body * Hallowed Be My Name * Second Coming * Ballad of Dwight Fry * Sun Arise
And now they emerge! With a vision, a confident voice and a producer they trust (Bob Ezrin). "I’m 18" is a bona fide classic and illustrates Ezrin’s influence as it was originally much longer and scattershot (and was titled “I Wish I Was 18 Again”) Bob got these guys to focus and tightened up, and between them all, Detroit, shock-rock was born.
The production on the LP has a rather muddy, low mid-frequency tone, that rocks with garage band intensity (Caught in a Dream). But the band maintains their strange, theatrical side in epic numbers like the brilliant, “Ballad of Dwight Fry” (my favorite from Cooper), which has a conventional acoustic melody (circling around the same E, G, D & C chords, with an additional A at the chorus), accentuated by offbeat guitars and keyboards, leading to Alice’s chant, “I Wanna/Gotta Get Out of Here!” which builds and gets more frantic as it goes - likely aided by the fact that he was put in a straitjacket while recording those bits.
The instrumentation delivers a distinct, identifiable sound that showcase the band's impressive talents - an example? Take note of Dunaway's countermelody bass playing, what he called his, abstract experimentations, focus on the dexterous turn on Long Way to Go and come away wowed. As for the singing, we're now treated to Cooper's signature raw, screaming -expressive- vocals in full flower. And lyrically, he's hitting new highs -"I got a baby's brain and an old man's heart, took eighteen years to get this far, don't always know what I'm talkin' about, feels like I'm livin' in the middle of doubt" - I'm Eighteen. Or this scary/strange bit on Fry... "Should like to see that little children, she's only four years old, old. I'd give her back all of her play things, even, even the ones I stole."
And curious, that following the bluesy, existential, "Is it My Body", we get two biblical tunes - though Neal, who wrote Hallowed, said there was no connection between it and Cooper's "Second Coming", a pretty, but haunting number that grinds at the bridge and segues seamlessly into Dwight Fry. It's not a song that gets a lot of attention, but I've always considered it one of the album's highlights.
Love it to Death was a game changer for Alice Cooper, and an influential one, inspiring rockers and punks, like Joey Ramone and others - it's a remarkable achievement, a timeless classic.
Note: In a video interview in 2022, Michael Bruce listed this as his top AC album, though on the Astroturf Q&A he named Killer, as did Dennis, Neal's #1 was School's Out (also Glen's choice).
Note 2: "Medicine Ball Caravan", a concert film about a traveling tour and hippies, is released in Aug 1971 - filmed in 1970, it features the band (in their only appearance on the tour) performing Black Juju
Note 3: In concert, at the time, Body was coupled with My Very Own, (aka, "Going to the Graveyard") a song that was never released on any album. (but a live version could be included on a long overdue deluxe remastered edition, hint, hint).
Purchases: Vinyl (1973 reissue, with palm tree label), CD
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The production on the LP has a rather muddy, low mid-frequency tone, that rocks with garage band intensity (Caught in a Dream). But the band maintains their strange, theatrical side in epic numbers like the brilliant, “Ballad of Dwight Fry” (my favorite from Cooper), which has a conventional acoustic melody (circling around the same E, G, D & C chords, with an additional A at the chorus), accentuated by offbeat guitars and keyboards, leading to Alice’s chant, “I Wanna/Gotta Get Out of Here!” which builds and gets more frantic as it goes - likely aided by the fact that he was put in a straitjacket while recording those bits.
The instrumentation delivers a distinct, identifiable sound that showcase the band's impressive talents - an example? Take note of Dunaway's countermelody bass playing, what he called his, abstract experimentations, focus on the dexterous turn on Long Way to Go and come away wowed. As for the singing, we're now treated to Cooper's signature raw, screaming -expressive- vocals in full flower. And lyrically, he's hitting new highs -"I got a baby's brain and an old man's heart, took eighteen years to get this far, don't always know what I'm talkin' about, feels like I'm livin' in the middle of doubt" - I'm Eighteen. Or this scary/strange bit on Fry... "Should like to see that little children, she's only four years old, old. I'd give her back all of her play things, even, even the ones I stole."
And curious, that following the bluesy, existential, "Is it My Body", we get two biblical tunes - though Neal, who wrote Hallowed, said there was no connection between it and Cooper's "Second Coming", a pretty, but haunting number that grinds at the bridge and segues seamlessly into Dwight Fry. It's not a song that gets a lot of attention, but I've always considered it one of the album's highlights.
Love it to Death was a game changer for Alice Cooper, and an influential one, inspiring rockers and punks, like Joey Ramone and others - it's a remarkable achievement, a timeless classic.
Note: In a video interview in 2022, Michael Bruce listed this as his top AC album, though on the Astroturf Q&A he named Killer, as did Dennis, Neal's #1 was School's Out (also Glen's choice).
Note 2: "Medicine Ball Caravan", a concert film about a traveling tour and hippies, is released in Aug 1971 - filmed in 1970, it features the band (in their only appearance on the tour) performing Black Juju
Note 3: In concert, at the time, Body was coupled with My Very Own, (aka, "Going to the Graveyard") a song that was never released on any album. (but a live version could be included on a long overdue deluxe remastered edition, hint, hint).
Purchases: Vinyl (1973 reissue, with palm tree label), CD
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Killer
Release Date: November 27, 1971
Highest US Chart: #21
Tracks: Under My Wheels * Be My Lover * Halo of Flies * Desperado * You Drive Me Nervous * Yeah, Yeah, Yeah * Dead Babies * Killer
2 essential albums in one year! Many feel this is Cooper’s best and while it's not quite that for me, it’s still a winner, with unforgettable refrains and musicianship as tight as a drum on songs like Under My Wheels (their first with horns), Be My Lover (cracks me up to hear Alice doing Mae West's voice at the end, considering he'd later act in a movie with her), and the cinematic, western flavored Desperado (I adore those smooth strings).
2 essential albums in one year! Many feel this is Cooper’s best and while it's not quite that for me, it’s still a winner, with unforgettable refrains and musicianship as tight as a drum on songs like Under My Wheels (their first with horns), Be My Lover (cracks me up to hear Alice doing Mae West's voice at the end, considering he'd later act in a movie with her), and the cinematic, western flavored Desperado (I adore those smooth strings).
My favorite overall is the spy thriller, Halo of Flies, with music and lyrics inspired by John Barry and James Bond - It's a return to the style of sprawling suite that switches gears in mid stride (Alice has said that Halo was an attempt to write progressive “King Crimson” type rock), and is another where you could simply focus on Dennis' play and delight in that - the way he switches from a legato style to staccato (or, short clipped notes), then back again as the Moog does its thing - eventually moving into a series of glissando slides, which he'll later return to, but this time emphasizing the divided pitches. And when Neal joins him during the solo, it's Dunaway who provides the steady beat while Neal takes the lead with a series of fantastic fills, rolls, etc, before giving way to Glen and Michael's guitars.
All told, side 1 is -chef's kiss-
Side 2 isn't as perfect, but it's no dog - You Drive Me Nervous is a solid opener, with memorable drum pattern and discordant guitar work. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, is, yeah, the least of these, though Alice simply wails on that harmonica, making it impossible to skip. The record storms back with Dead Babies, a controversial number about child neglect, that digs into your skull with an earworm of a chorus (or should that be 'earwig', with these guys?) The closer, Killer is interesting - I admire Glen and Michael's intertwining, snake like play. Plus, it's a concert song, written with theatrics in mind, so you have to imagine Alice being led to the gallows during the long musical interlude to get the full effect. (BTW, if you ever watch The Shaw Brother's film "The Delinquent", you'll hear a few seconds of this song play during the credits - used without permission of course).
Side 2 isn't as perfect, but it's no dog - You Drive Me Nervous is a solid opener, with memorable drum pattern and discordant guitar work. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, is, yeah, the least of these, though Alice simply wails on that harmonica, making it impossible to skip. The record storms back with Dead Babies, a controversial number about child neglect, that digs into your skull with an earworm of a chorus (or should that be 'earwig', with these guys?) The closer, Killer is interesting - I admire Glen and Michael's intertwining, snake like play. Plus, it's a concert song, written with theatrics in mind, so you have to imagine Alice being led to the gallows during the long musical interlude to get the full effect. (BTW, if you ever watch The Shaw Brother's film "The Delinquent", you'll hear a few seconds of this song play during the credits - used without permission of course).
Note 1: While snakes have been associated with Alice all these decades, the Boa on the cover was the first, and was actually Neal's pet, who he named Kachina. And the lettering? It was done by Dennis, using his left hand.
Note 2: Rick Derringer played guitar on "Under My Wheels" and "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah"
Note 3: A few words about the Killer and School's Out 2023 Deluxe Editions (I also took a look at the 2001 B$B remastered release)
Purchases: Vinyl (1973 reissue, with palm tree label), original CD and deluxe, remastered CD
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School’s Out
Release Date: June 30, 1972
Highest US chart: #2
Tracks: School’s Out * Luney Tune * Gutter Cat Vs. The Jets * Street Fight * Blue Turk * My Stars * Public Animal #9 * Alama Mater * Grande Finale
"She wanted an Einstein, but she got a Frankenstein" - Public Animal #9
The hot streak continues with a flawless production that opens with a flawless song. The title track is one of the greatest rockers ever recorded, a complete package, from the arrangement, Glen's singular, unforgettable opening riff and repeated phrase, Alice’s scorching vocals, to the delightfully witty lyrics ("We got no class, and we got no principles (Principals), and we got no innocence, we can’t even think of a lyric that rhymes"). Neal Smith’s dynamic style works so well on this LP. During School’s Out, when he’s hitting that steady rhythm accompanied by Dennis Dunaway’s bass during the chorus, I can picture an army of kids charging through the hallways towards freedom.
As a bassist Dennis dominates, and as a songwriter, drawing from one of his 'Dream Poems', he scares the life out of you! Luney Tune gives me the creeps, with those nightmarish lyrics, and Alice's anguished voice ("I can't find the exit, I quit looking for doors, I stole a razor from the commissary, I just couldn't take it no more!")
In addition, I'm impressed by the grand nature of the record. In “My Stars” (my second favorite track) the piano and rolling snare set up the piece in dramatic fashion before the guitars and Cooper’s angry wail blasts through the speakers, with words that paint a picture and bristle with action and angst... (“Landscape’s alive and it’s movin my feet - All I need’s a holocaust to make my day complete!”). BTW, Dick Wagner played on this song and LP as a session musician. His first with Alice.
There’s also variety to be had, from the jazzy blues feel of “Blue Turk” (featuring Bruce's enchanting, Addams Family sounding keyboards) to Neal's mellow anthem to days gone past, “Alma Mater”. As well as Broadway numbers being represented with a nod to “West Side Story” (Buxton & Dunaway's "Gutter Cat Vs. the Jets").
School’s Out is a pulse pounding grabber marked by complex compositions, and killer performances, which makes it easy to love, and easy to admire. But like Love it to Death and Welcome to My Nightmare there's an extra 'something' that elevates these - they are deeply evocative; when I play them, they transport me to another time and place in my life.
"She wanted an Einstein, but she got a Frankenstein" - Public Animal #9
The hot streak continues with a flawless production that opens with a flawless song. The title track is one of the greatest rockers ever recorded, a complete package, from the arrangement, Glen's singular, unforgettable opening riff and repeated phrase, Alice’s scorching vocals, to the delightfully witty lyrics ("We got no class, and we got no principles (Principals), and we got no innocence, we can’t even think of a lyric that rhymes"). Neal Smith’s dynamic style works so well on this LP. During School’s Out, when he’s hitting that steady rhythm accompanied by Dennis Dunaway’s bass during the chorus, I can picture an army of kids charging through the hallways towards freedom.
As a bassist Dennis dominates, and as a songwriter, drawing from one of his 'Dream Poems', he scares the life out of you! Luney Tune gives me the creeps, with those nightmarish lyrics, and Alice's anguished voice ("I can't find the exit, I quit looking for doors, I stole a razor from the commissary, I just couldn't take it no more!")
In addition, I'm impressed by the grand nature of the record. In “My Stars” (my second favorite track) the piano and rolling snare set up the piece in dramatic fashion before the guitars and Cooper’s angry wail blasts through the speakers, with words that paint a picture and bristle with action and angst... (“Landscape’s alive and it’s movin my feet - All I need’s a holocaust to make my day complete!”). BTW, Dick Wagner played on this song and LP as a session musician. His first with Alice.
There’s also variety to be had, from the jazzy blues feel of “Blue Turk” (featuring Bruce's enchanting, Addams Family sounding keyboards) to Neal's mellow anthem to days gone past, “Alma Mater”. As well as Broadway numbers being represented with a nod to “West Side Story” (Buxton & Dunaway's "Gutter Cat Vs. the Jets").
School’s Out is a pulse pounding grabber marked by complex compositions, and killer performances, which makes it easy to love, and easy to admire. But like Love it to Death and Welcome to My Nightmare there's an extra 'something' that elevates these - they are deeply evocative; when I play them, they transport me to another time and place in my life.
And... my first copy of this was on 8-track. I can't recall how I came to have an 8-track player (given to me by a relative, or a yard-sale buy?) But School was included.
Purchases: Vinyl (1973 reissue, with palm tree label), 8-track (gray cartridge), original CD and remastered, deluxe edition CD
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Billion Dollar Babies
Release Date: February 25, or March 1973
Highest US Chart: #1
Tracks: Hello, Hooray * Raped and Freezin’ * Elected * Billion Dollar Babies * Unfinished Sweet * No More Mr. Nice Guy * Generation Landslide * Sick Things * Mary Ann * I Love the Dead
Their first #1 record, their most polished sound - Babies was a monster hit, spawning 4 hit singles, multiple television appearances and a feature film which focused on the tour (“Glad to See You Again, Alice Cooper”).
Anchored by Michael Bruce who -linked often with Cooper- was a songwriting force of nature, Babies is about as good as it gets; I even like the slight, Mary Ann, which originally was a protest song titled “Uncle Sam”, that ended with the line “I thought you were a man”. Alice kept the body of that lyric intact, making for an interesting finish.
2 top notch tracks set the standard - 3 favorites reinforce its reputation as a masterpiece.
That titanic trio? B$B - According to Dennis' bio, the title song began as this pretty ballad, that was was transformed into an idiosyncratic, grinding rocker, with a stand-out rattling drum (Neal Smith simply destroys), and guest vocals from hippy folkster Donovan. Generation Landslide (the final tune written for the LP) has some slick jangly picking, martial rat-a-tat-tat drumming, and caustic lyrics - I like how wide open the arrangement is, it's not a wall of sound and yet it packs a punch. And last but not least is Sick Things, a tribute to the fans. It's one of their eeriest, what with its lumbering melody, provocative and mysterious lyrics, the whispered background vocals and those strange mechanical sounds... it all makes my blood run cold.
Other noteworthy numbers: An older tune, Reflected, was rewritten as Elected, to become, as Paul Elliott described it, "a work of mischievous political satire". “I Love the Dead" has a 50s doo wop style chorus and a Dr. Phibes-like camp horror sensibility; the words are twisted enough that one wouldn’t wanna listen to it while Grandma was in for a visit. (And continuing with the bands love of Bond, the song ends with a 007 style stinger - couple that with the John Barry-esque musical interlude in Unfinished Sweet, and the super spy was well represented).
Finally, No More Mr. Nice Guy was the song that turned me into a full-fledged fan, or rather, it was the chorus of No More Mr. Nice Guy that tipped the scales - it was on a compilation LP they were selling on TV (Don Kirshner's Rock Power?) - a bit of the Cooper song played, and I was hooked from then on - gimme more of that!
Did You Know? The album that took over the #1 spot from Billion Dollar Babies? Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”. And on a sad note, the baby pictured on the photo was Lola Pfeiffer, the daughter of Alice’s PR woman. Tragically the child would contract a disease and died a few years after the release of the LP.
Note: The LP marked the Cooper debut of Steve "The Deacon" Hunter. His guitar solos are featured on "Generation Landslide", "Billion Dollar Babies", "Sick Things", "Unfinished Sweet", and "Raped and Freezing". He also played pedal steel guitar on "Hello Hooray". Mick Mashbir played on the album as well, that's his lead solo on Nice Guy.
Their first #1 record, their most polished sound - Babies was a monster hit, spawning 4 hit singles, multiple television appearances and a feature film which focused on the tour (“Glad to See You Again, Alice Cooper”).
Anchored by Michael Bruce who -linked often with Cooper- was a songwriting force of nature, Babies is about as good as it gets; I even like the slight, Mary Ann, which originally was a protest song titled “Uncle Sam”, that ended with the line “I thought you were a man”. Alice kept the body of that lyric intact, making for an interesting finish.
2 top notch tracks set the standard - 3 favorites reinforce its reputation as a masterpiece.
That titanic trio? B$B - According to Dennis' bio, the title song began as this pretty ballad, that was was transformed into an idiosyncratic, grinding rocker, with a stand-out rattling drum (Neal Smith simply destroys), and guest vocals from hippy folkster Donovan. Generation Landslide (the final tune written for the LP) has some slick jangly picking, martial rat-a-tat-tat drumming, and caustic lyrics - I like how wide open the arrangement is, it's not a wall of sound and yet it packs a punch. And last but not least is Sick Things, a tribute to the fans. It's one of their eeriest, what with its lumbering melody, provocative and mysterious lyrics, the whispered background vocals and those strange mechanical sounds... it all makes my blood run cold.
Other noteworthy numbers: An older tune, Reflected, was rewritten as Elected, to become, as Paul Elliott described it, "a work of mischievous political satire". “I Love the Dead" has a 50s doo wop style chorus and a Dr. Phibes-like camp horror sensibility; the words are twisted enough that one wouldn’t wanna listen to it while Grandma was in for a visit. (And continuing with the bands love of Bond, the song ends with a 007 style stinger - couple that with the John Barry-esque musical interlude in Unfinished Sweet, and the super spy was well represented).
Finally, No More Mr. Nice Guy was the song that turned me into a full-fledged fan, or rather, it was the chorus of No More Mr. Nice Guy that tipped the scales - it was on a compilation LP they were selling on TV (Don Kirshner's Rock Power?) - a bit of the Cooper song played, and I was hooked from then on - gimme more of that!
Did You Know? The album that took over the #1 spot from Billion Dollar Babies? Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”. And on a sad note, the baby pictured on the photo was Lola Pfeiffer, the daughter of Alice’s PR woman. Tragically the child would contract a disease and died a few years after the release of the LP.
Note: The LP marked the Cooper debut of Steve "The Deacon" Hunter. His guitar solos are featured on "Generation Landslide", "Billion Dollar Babies", "Sick Things", "Unfinished Sweet", and "Raped and Freezing". He also played pedal steel guitar on "Hello Hooray". Mick Mashbir played on the album as well, that's his lead solo on Nice Guy.
Purchases: Vinyl (3rd pressing w/palm tree label), original CD, iTunes deluxe remaster, Quadio BD, Trillion Dollar remaster CD
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Muscle of Love
Release Date: November 20, 1973
Highest US Chart: #10
Tracks: Big Apple Dreaming (Hippo) * Never Been Sold * Hard Hearted Alice * Crazy Little Child * Working Up a Sweat * Muscle of Love * Man with the Golden Gun * Teenage Lament ’74 * Woman Machine
The streak had to end sometime, after 4 consecutive releases that dominate my top 5, we get one that slips out of the top 10. Unfortunately, this also spells the end of the Alice Cooper group as we know it. The Coop will fly solo from here on out with band mates going off to record an album under the name “Billion Dollar Babies”.
Neither Bob Ezrin nor Glen Buxton is present (though Glen's credited as a writer), and a session drummer was apparently used on some tracks. Dennis Dunaway spoke about it being a difficult record to make, and that there was an overall feeling of exhaustion. And I do get the sense of that, nevertheless, it's a good album.
Lyrically the loose concept zeroes in on teen angst, street life, even male prostitution. The songs have a light jazzy feel, generally mid-tempo - there is little muscle in it, despite the title. Highlights include Big Apple Dreaming, Teenage Lament '74, a prequel to "I'm 18", but still outstanding in its own way (the bass, leads and acoustic strums make a sweet blend), and the melancholic Hard Hearted Alice - I like how this piece is composed & performed, it's rather haunting at the start with its gentle arpeggios, then builds into a groovier number, heightened by euphonious harmonies and Bob Dolan's fluid and soulful keys.
Outside the concept songs there's The Man with the Golden Gun, which was rejected as the next 007 theme (Alice suggests that the band was too edgy for Bond) and Woman Machine, a tune they had in their back pocket for a while.
This is another where you hear a nice variety of instruments, there's banjo and clarinet in Crazy Little Child, big sassy brass in Never Been Sold, a violin on the opening track, and a talking drum (maybe a Wolof Tama?) which produced that weird, bending engine sound on the stellar Muscle of Love. You also have backing vocalists to die for; Liza Minnelli, Labelle, Ronnie Spector, and The Pointer Sisters.
The streak had to end sometime, after 4 consecutive releases that dominate my top 5, we get one that slips out of the top 10. Unfortunately, this also spells the end of the Alice Cooper group as we know it. The Coop will fly solo from here on out with band mates going off to record an album under the name “Billion Dollar Babies”.
Neither Bob Ezrin nor Glen Buxton is present (though Glen's credited as a writer), and a session drummer was apparently used on some tracks. Dennis Dunaway spoke about it being a difficult record to make, and that there was an overall feeling of exhaustion. And I do get the sense of that, nevertheless, it's a good album.
Lyrically the loose concept zeroes in on teen angst, street life, even male prostitution. The songs have a light jazzy feel, generally mid-tempo - there is little muscle in it, despite the title. Highlights include Big Apple Dreaming, Teenage Lament '74, a prequel to "I'm 18", but still outstanding in its own way (the bass, leads and acoustic strums make a sweet blend), and the melancholic Hard Hearted Alice - I like how this piece is composed & performed, it's rather haunting at the start with its gentle arpeggios, then builds into a groovier number, heightened by euphonious harmonies and Bob Dolan's fluid and soulful keys.
Outside the concept songs there's The Man with the Golden Gun, which was rejected as the next 007 theme (Alice suggests that the band was too edgy for Bond) and Woman Machine, a tune they had in their back pocket for a while.
This is another where you hear a nice variety of instruments, there's banjo and clarinet in Crazy Little Child, big sassy brass in Never Been Sold, a violin on the opening track, and a talking drum (maybe a Wolof Tama?) which produced that weird, bending engine sound on the stellar Muscle of Love. You also have backing vocalists to die for; Liza Minnelli, Labelle, Ronnie Spector, and The Pointer Sisters.
I must admit, when I was a teen I hated the record, but in my old age I've come around to it. No, it's not to the level the last 4, and in their bios, neither Dennis nor Alice had a lot of positives to say about the LP -Alice was particularly dismissive of it- but I think it's worthy of 4 snakes.
Note: Guitarist Mick Mashbir played on each track and stated that he wrote the music for the verses on "Never Been Sold Before" and the chorus of "Hard Hearted Alice" [1]. He's one of a couple of songwriters who went uncredited in this era (Dick Wagner for "I Love the Dead", Dunaway for "Desperado")
Purchases: Vinyl, iTunes
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My Desert Island Picks
An alternative version of the original greatest hits LP - Featuring 13 fearsome favorites from the Alice Cooper Group, with each album represented.
Fields of Regret (Bruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith - Pretties for You)
Beautiful Flyaway (Bruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith - Easy Action)
I'm 18 (Bruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith - Love it to Death)
Ballad of Dwight Fry (Bruce, Cooper - Love it to Death)
Under My Wheels (Bruce, Dunaway, Ezrin - Killer)
Halo of Flies (Bruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith - Killer)
School's Out (Bruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith - School's Out)
My Stars (Cooper, Ezrin - School's Out)
Billion Dollar Babies (Cooper, Bruce, Vinson - Billion Dollar Babies)
Generation Landslide (Bruce, Buxton, Cooper, Dunaway, Smith - Billion Dollar Babies)
Sick Things (Cooper, Bruce, Ezrin - Billion Dollar Babies)
Hard Hearted Alice (Cooper, Bruce - Muscle of Love)
Muscle of Love (Cooper, Bruce - Muscle of Love)
7 Painful Cuts, 1 From Each Album: Living, Return of the Spiders, Second Coming, Desperado, Luney Tune, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Teenage Lament '74
How does it compare to Dennis Dunaway's 10 Best Alice Cooper Songs?
