Welcome to My Collection

A selection of records, books, toys and whatnot

Alice Coopers Greatest Hits

Release Date: August 1, 1974

Highest US Chart: #8

Side 1: I'm Eighteen * Is It My Body * Desperado * Under My Wheels * Be My Lover * School's Out

Side 2: Hello Hooray * Elected * No More Mr. Nice Guy * Billion Dollar Babies * Teenage Lament '74 * Muscle of Love

Featuring songs from 5 of their 7 first albums, remixed by Jack Richardson, so that gave a listener a little something new to mull over. Artwork? Simply gorgeous, my parents gifted me this for Christmas that year and they poured over that cover, told me the names of all the actors (the ones I didn’t know) - from wiki…

The album’s cover art was designed by Ernie Cefalu and features a sepia-toned Drew Struzan illustration of the band members in front of a 1930s garage, accompanied by such period movie stars as Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Robert Taylor, Edward G. Robinson, Jean Harlow, Peter Lorre, and Groucho Marx. The inner sleeve features a similar illustration of the band surrounded by these and other stars of Hollywood’s golden age such as Marilyn Monroe, Gary Cooper, Judy Garland, Errol Flynn, Clara Bow, Boris Karloff, Zasu Pitts, Tyrone Power, Bela Lugosi, Marlene Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead, Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd. A depiction of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre is in the upper middle.

The Alice Cooper Show

Release Date: December 1, 1977

Highest US Chart: #131

Side 1: Under My Wheels * I'm Eighteen * Only Women Bleed * Sick Things * Is It My Body? * I Never Cry

Side 2: Billion Dollar Babies * Devil's Food/Black Widow * You and Me * I Love the Dead/Go to Hell/Wish You Were Here * Schools Out

When it comes to live shows, you want to see him strut his stuff, not just hear it, so this was not a record I played a lot, and Alice doesn't have fond memories of it - from wiki...

Recorded live in Las Vegas at the Aladdin Hotel on August 19 and 20, 1977, during Cooper's "King of the Silver Screen" United States tour. Before doing the gig that would become this album, Alice Cooper was exhausted from constant touring, recording and drinking. Contractual obligations resulted in him being heavily pressured into doing it. Alice states "Whenever a fan comes to me with this album to sign, I tell them I hate this album". The TV special Alice Cooper and Friends featured live footage from that tour.

The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper

Release Date: April 20, 1999 

Highest US Chart: Didn't chart

Disc 1: Don't Blow Your Mind, Hitch Hike, and Why Don't You Love Me (The Spiders) * "Lay Down and Die, Goodbye" (Original version from The Nazz) * Nobody Likes Me (demo) * Levity Ball * Reflected * Mr. and Misdemeanor * Refrigerator Heaven * Caught in a Dream" (single version) * I'm Eighteen * Is It My Body? * Ballad of Dwight Fry * Under My Wheels * Be My Lover * Desperado * Dead Babies * Killer * Call It Evil (unreleased demo) * Gutter Cat vs. the Jets * School's Out (single version)

Disc 2: Hello Hooray * Elected (single version) * Billion Dollar Babies * No More Mr. Nice Guy * I Love the Dead * Slick Black Limousine" (Flexi-disc from New Musical Express) * Respect for the Sleepers" (unreleased demo) * Muscle of Love * Teenage Lament '74 * Working Up a Sweat * Man with the Golden Gun * I'm Flash & Space Pirates (Flash Fearless Vs. the Zorg Women, Pts. 5 & 6) * Welcome to My Nightmare and Only Women Bleed (single versions) * Cold Ethyl * Department of Youth * Escape * I Never Cry * Go to Hell

Disc 3: It's Hot Tonight * You and Me (single version) * I Miss You (From the Billion Dollar Babies album, Battle Axe) * No Time for Tears (Sextette film outtake) * Because (with The Bee Gees - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack) * From the Inside" (single version) * How You Gonna See Me Now * Serious" * No Tricks (duet with Betty Wright - How You Gonna See Me Now” B-side) * Road Rats" (originally released on Lace and Whiskey - Roadie soundtrack) * Clones (We're All) (single version) * Pain * Who Do You Think We Are (single version) * Look at You Over There, Ripping the Sawdust from My Teddybear" (unreleased demo) * For Britain Only" (UK-only single) * I Am the Future" (single version) * Tag, You're It * Former Lee Warmer * I Love America * Identity Crisis & See Me in the Mirror (Monster Dog soundtrack) * Hard Rock Summer (previously Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives soundtrack)

Disc Four: He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask) (unreleased demo) * He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask - Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives soundtrack) * Teenage Frankenstein * Freedom * Prince of Darkness" * Under My Wheels (The Decline of Western Civilization II soundtrack) * I Got a Line on You (Iron Eagle II soundtrack) * Poison, Trash, Only My Heart Talkin' * Hey Stoopid" (single version) * Feed My Frankenstein * Fire (“Love's a Loaded Gun” B-side) * Lost in America" * It's Me * Hands of Death" (Spookshow 2000 Mix with Rob Zombie - Songs in the Key of X soundtrack) * Is Anyone Home? (A Fistful of Alice) * Stolen Prayer

An exhaustive 4-disc collection that follows Coopers musical career and band history. Loaded with well-known studio versions, along with demos, B-sides, rarities and previously unreleased material, this was an incredible release, a must have for the Cooper faithful.

The art design is killer, with a 3D Alice (on the original release) seen behind bars on the cover. Each individual CD also sports memorable art, there's a booklet with photos, song memories, a discography and an authorized bio, Alcohol and Razor Blades, Poison and Needles: The Glorious Wretched Excess of Alice Cooper, All-American, written by Creem magazine editor Jeffrey Morgan.  

Memory: I had a co-worker who belonged to a CD club, when she heard that I was looking to buy this, she informed me that she could get it for me at a better price, and that's how I came to own it.

Books & Comics & Mags

These two biographies came recommended, written by Alice and bassist Dennis Dunaway - according to Dunaway he has a vivid memory, so there's the promise of veracity in his bio. And I have to say I was hooked from page 1 - even in cases where I knew how it was going to turn out I was hanging on every word. From the bands early struggles to the highs of fame, and how it unraveled. We come to know these distinct personalities and their playing styles and how that affected song development and studio work. Dennis records it all with candor.

As a lyricist Alice is skilled at painting evocative pictures with words, and he proves to be a charming and captivating raconteur here. The subject seems an odd combination - rock star memories/golf monster tips - and if you're not into sport it might even turn you off from giving the book a try, though that part of it is not as well-worn as the rock star stuff, you get something new in those chapters. In relation to the band, Alice's side of these stories sometimes differs from how Dennis remembers them, and he's not as detailed, but it's overall a good read, filled with anecdotes and celebrities (Alice really digs famous people) and golf lessons.

While familiar (it quotes from the bands and Sheps bios) Gary Graff's Alice Cooper at 75 rekindles so many good memories, as it chronicles and celebrates ACs 75 years in 75 chapters. The hard cover coffee table book is housed in a crushed velvet-effect box and comes with 2 mini posters and a photo suitable for autographing and framing. 

I purchased this in October of 2023 and read it (appropriately) during the week of Halloween. The book is filled with interviews and backstory for each studio release from the decade. I disagreed with some of his opinions (and I really hate when he suggests that a favorite song of mine should have been dropped from an album), but when he wasn't pissing me off, he was delighting me with fun and fascinating facts - a few I was completely in the dark about (see Constrictor), and several that echoed my own thoughts (Kip Winger not being happy with his bass being buried in the mix on "Raise Your Fist and Yell"). 

There's also a book on the 70s, I'm more familiar with that decade so I haven't picked that up yet.

I have the Dynamite comic book series written by Joe Harris (pictured above), and another by Tim Seeley (Alice Cooper Vs. Chaos), as well as Neil Gaiman's The Last Temptation, and Marvel Premiere #50, which was based on From the Inside.

I collected a bunch of magazines in the 70s, maybe early 80s, with Creem being my go-to mag. Though I'm not sure why, as I was often at odds with them (they bagged on Queen hard, and I dug Queen), but I loved the music and the interviews and pictures, and we didn't have the internet, so this was my source for news and info. I still have the issue pictured above (from July 1975).

And the newest addition, a British mag I picked up as a digital purchase in October of 2023. There are 16 pages of photos & interviews with Alice and 3 of the lead guitarists who have played with him over the decades (Hunter, Kane and Nita).

Toys & Collectables

The Insanity Van

McFarlane Figure 

Tours

T-Shirt from The Nightmare Returns tour, Jan 1987

One of the best concerts I ever attended. He mixed the classics in with and a few from his latest release, Constrictor. The showman was out in full force, the snake was there, as was the straitjacket, the guillotine and other cool props and FX. I sat in the center seat, about the end of the first third of the venue on the main floor, so I had a good view of him.

Setlist: Welcome to My Nightmare, Billion Dollar Babies, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Be My Lover, I'm Eighteen, The World Needs Guts, Give It Up, Cold Ethyl, Only Women Bleed, Go to Hell, Ballad of Dwight Fry, Teenage Frankenstein, Sick Things, I Love the Dead, School's Out - Encore: Elected, Under My Wheels

Program from the Trash tour, April 1990

This was not as strong a show, I don't remember it being as big and theatrical as the "Nightmare Returns"... the music was great of course and I got hear a few of my favorites not played during the last concert, like Steven.

Setlist: Hello Hooray (Judy Collins song played over speakers before show began) - Trash, Billion Dollar Babies, I'm Eighteen, I'm Your Gun, Desperado, House of Fire, No More Mr. Nice Guy, This Maniac's In Love With You, Steven, Welcome to My Nightmare, Ballad of Dwight Fry, Gutter Cat vs. the Jets, Only Women Bleed, I Love the Dead, Poison, Spark in the Dark, Only My Heart Talkin', Bed of Nails, School's Out - Encore: Under My Wheels

Not my tickets (if I still have them, they are in storage) but they looked something like this.

Video

I've seen most of the guest shots (Wayne's World) and starring roles (Monster Dog). Watched the TV special Welcome to My Nightmare and the movie, Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper and the doc on Shep, but this BD is one of the few I own - my thoughts?

Often cool but severely lacking documentary. How can you cover the life of AC and the band and not speak to guitarist Michael Bruce or address the death of Glen Buxton. Why no mention of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction? I would have liked clips from that and other things -- and more coverage on their only #1 album, Billion Dollar Babies and the movie they made in support of that. I liked a lot of it, but it's a CliffsNotes version of the story. (The filmmakers' decision to focus primarily on the friendship between Vince and Dennis was a mistake - The band and Coop deserve a "Beatles Anthology" style miniseries).

CD and BD, the documentary tells the tale of how a local record store owner turned a book signing into a reunion concert. Great fun, great music, love seeing the guys together, they still rock.

Apparel & Accessories

A T-Shirt I picked up recently - I liked the color and design, and always liked that image. I found some info on the setlist, and a review at The Concert Database. In addition, scroll down at Sick Things Uk Timeline to see the ticket and some photos (a rather small stage at that stage in their careers).

I stumbled upon a box of buttons the other day, I used to buy these when I was a teen, and poring over them I found several Beatles, a lot of Devo. Blondie, Ramones, Billy Idol, Split Enz, even some for relatively lesser-known groups like The Dickies, Mi-Sex and Girlschool. But what I didn't find was Alice! What, how, why? Did they not offer them at my local record stores? I needed to change that right quick, so, I went to Etsy and found a couple at a nice price.