ALICE COOPER – The Alice Cooper Show(1977 Warner Bros.)
The Alice Cooper Show is far from a perfect example of Alice in the mighty 1970’s — for a much better live album experience, pick up Billion Dollar Babies (the deluxe edition) which contained a live album recorded by the original Alice Cooper band. Having said that, the band here are not slouches. Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter were great guitar players who defined the late 70’s period of Alice. However, the albums were starting to slide — Go To Hell and Lace & Whiskey were more notable for ballads like “You And Me” and “I Never Cry” rather than idiosyncratic Cooper rockers or horror tunes.
The recording of this album is fine, but the record is far too brief. Aside from the fact that there are too many ballads (time-wise, over a quarter of this album are ballads!), a lot of the songs are truncated versions. “Sick Things” for example is less than a minute as it segues into “Is It My Body”. Likewise, there is an “I Love the Dead”/”Go to Hell”/”Wish You Were Here” medley where I wish I could have had more. Then again, Alice has always done medleys of tunes, since he has so damn many.
I have nothing negative to say about the singing or performance. The band were outstanding, featuring some of the best players Alice has shared the stage with. They even featured Canadian bassist Prakash John who was previously in the original band Bush with Dominic Troiano (R.I.P). It’s hard to say exactly why The Alice Cooper Show doesn’t completely click. Certainly the medleys and song excerpts make it feel like an overly rushed affair, and even considering that, it’s missing too many great tunes. “Elected”, “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, and “Welcome to My Nightmare” would have been perfect.* Perhaps Warner should have shelled out for a full-on 2 LP set? But Alice was a fading property in 1977, with an infamous stint in rehab to follow.
This record fails to deliver what Alice was really about. The album cover gives it all away. It looks rushed, with truncated images of Alice and his live show. Serious fans will need it to complete the collection. Otherwise, stick to the Billion Dollar Babies deluxe package for a seriously awesome live 1970’s Alice experience.
3/5 stars
* Looks like a lot of those songs were dropped from the set in ’77.
My sister used to have a tradition. Because I’ve always been a collector, she would have an easy time buying gifts for me as a young rock fan. When I was 17 years old, I only had a few albums by certain artists. She’d sneak into my room and go over my collection. She saw that I only owned a few of Alice Cooper’s: Trash, Prince of Darkness, Billion Dollar Babies, and Greatest Hits. For Easter of 1990, she got me Alice’s Welcome to My Nightmare. Not knowing what to except from the Coop, it was pretty much instant love.
I played that cassette a lot and grew to know its track sequence, which was completely different from CD. Later on I purchased the original CD release, but what Welcome To My Nightmare needed (and the rest of the Cooper catalogue needs) is a proper remaster with bonus tracks. Rhino took care of that in 2002.
Now the album itself sounds so much better than the original CD. This sounds more like vinyl, the way it should, rich and deep. The liner notes, unfortunately, are somewhat crappy. They basically just explain to the youth of today why Alice Cooper is cooler than the bands they like. There’s not much about the genesis of the album, which is disappointing. This is, after all, the very first solo album by Vincent Furnier aka Alice Cooper. By 1975, the Alice Cooper band (Furnier, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neil Smith, and the late Glen Buxton) was no more. Never again would they share a stage or a recording studio, at least the original five. The four survivors did finally re-team for a couple songs on 2011’s sequel, Welcome 2 My Nightmare.
Welcome To My Nightmare was a revelation to me when I received it, and it is still mind-blowing today. I think that is due to the production talents of Bob Ezrin. The man who later produced Destroyer and The Wall really came into his own on this album. His production is, for lack of any better words, jaw dropping. You can totally tell it’s him, if you know his style well enough: that creepy horror movie piano, all the orchestrations, sound effects, the kids singing. Those are trademarks. My favourite moment for the kids was in the song “Department of Youth”. Cooper and the kids sing in the fade-out:
Together – “We’re the Department of Youth, ahh ahh, we got the power!”
Alice – “Who got the power?”
Kids – “We do!”
Alice – “And who gave it to you?”
Kids – “Donny Osmond!”
Alice – “WHAT?”
Loosely, this is a concept album about the kind of nightmares Alice would have. The result was a collection of remarkably timeless and classic songs: “Only Women Bleed”, “Black Widow”, and “Escape” for example. “Escape” is the most straightforward rocker on the album, and a joy it is. The rest is often more complex, arrangement-wise and lyrically.
The title track is a fun rollercoaster ride with epic horns. Same with “Devil’s Food” and “The Black Widow” which work together as a creepy classic featuring Vincent Price. I would not want to live my life without these songs. Alice is nothing if not diverse, and then “Some Folks” sounds showtune-y. “Only Women Bleed” is the famous ballad, often misunderstood, but respected enough to be covered by artists such as Lita Ford, Tina Turner, and Etta James.
“Department Of Youth” and “Cold Ethel” are more rock and roll, and why not? What better genre to sing about rebellion and necrophilia? It’s worth pointing out the guitar charms of Steve Hunter and the late Dick Wagner. These two incredible players, under the guidance of Ezrin, lent Welcome To My Nightmare the rock edge that it needed, lest it be swallowed up by the dramatic tendencies.
Of course, Welcome To My Nightmare features the first-ever appearance of the character of Steven. “Years Ago” has Alice singing in this incredibly creepy little-kid voice, as Steven. Then the song “Steven” kicks in, and it’s even creepier, but very epic in scale. Alice is at his most effective here. Steven would pop up many times, such as on the next album Alice Cooper Goes To Hell, 1991’s Hey Stoopid, 1994’s Last Temptation, and the more recent Along Came A Spider. Whether it’s supposed to be the same guy, or just a character who shares the same name, I do not know.
The bonus tracks are alternate versions of “Devil’s Food” (much extended), “Cold Ethyl”, and “The Awakening” with alternate lyrics and more Vincent Price! Not available on the Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper box set! These three tracks alone, to the Cooper collector, necessitate a re-buy. The improved sound probably would have hooked them in anyway.
I could never say, “If you only buy one Alice Cooper album, buy this one.” The reason I can’t is that almost every album by the original Alice Cooper band was monumental, particularly School’s Out and Billion Dollar Babies. However, if you buy two or three Coops, please make one of them Welcome To My Nightmare, remastered!
5/5 stars
* There is also a DVD Audio of this album mixed in 5.1 by Bob Ezrin himself!
AEROSMITH – Get Your Wings (1974 Columbia, 1993 Sony remaster)
Only the year after dropping their debut, Aerosmith cranked out another collection of solid bluesy rock tunes, but this time with better production! With Bob Ezrin overseeing the project, Aerosmith made the fateful hookup with Jack Douglas. Although the band had bigger hits under Bruce Fairbairn in the 80’s, Aerosmith made their best albums with Jack Douglas in the 70’s.
Get Your Wings really sounds like the Aerosmith we now know and love. The first album wasn’t all the way there yet. Get Your Wings sounds like my kinda Aerosmith. Surely, the opener “Same Old Song and Dance” is familiar to millions. Horn laden and funky, “Same Old Song and Dance” hits all the Aero-bases.
As a piano player, Steven Tyler usually keeps in simple and rhythmic, and “Lord of the Thighs” is the perfect example of that kind of Tyler piano part. It’s a menacing song, right in the pocket, also boasting some of Joe Perry’s more memorable solos.
One of my favourite songs, and one of the least-known is the sci-fi tale “Spaced”. This is a story about the “last man to survive”. It’s an ambitious tune for Aerosmith, and boasts a number of catchy parts. Another seldom heard track is “Woman of the World” which is also pretty cool. I like the acoustic intro and the smoking Joe Perry licks. “S.O.S. (Too Bad)” is a full-speed-ahead Aerosmith blast of adrenaline, a definite classic. These tracks boast a high level of musical depth and satisfying chops.
Aerosmith covered the legendary Yardbirds song “Train Kept a Rollin'” and managed to make it their own. When it picks up steam at the end, better hold on tight. This song may enduce whiplash. You get to cool down as it fades into the acoustic classic “Seasons of Wither”. As far as I’m concerned, “Seasons of Wither” is almost as brilliant as “Dream On”. It’s that good. It also takes advantage of the fuller production that Jack Douglas brought to the table.*
Although “Seasons of Wither” would have been a fine side closer, a coda is tacked on in the funky “Pandora’s Box”. Double and triple entendres, a rock solid rhythm section, and those soon-to-be-trademark Aerosmith horns n’ piano — what more do you need? While it does feel oddly sequenced, “Pandora’s Box” is every bit as classic as anything else on the album.
Get Your Wings showed significant growth from the band’s debut. Their trajectory had yet to peak…even better things were ahead.
4/5 stars
* I noticed in the photos in the CD booklet, this album was once available in Quad! Oh, to have a quad version of “Seasons of Wither”!
AEROSMITHBOX OF FIRE review series:
Disc 1: Aerosmith (1973)
Disc 2: Get Your Wings (1974)
I was aboard on the ground floor with Hurricane, as soon as I heard of them. I was already a huge Quiet Riot fan, and Hurricane had in their roster the brothers of Rudy Sarzo and Carlos Cavazo. On guitar was Robert Sarzo (now in Operation: Mindcrime), and on bass Tony Cavazo. Their first video ever, “Hurricane”, was in near-constant rotation at Chez LeBrain. When I joined the Columbia House record club, Hurricane’s first full length Over the Edge was in my introductory first order.
I loaned Over the Edge to my buddy Bob, who did not like it. I was surprised because I thought it was right up his alley, but he didn’t care for the singer Kelly Hansen (now in Foreigner). I was digging it at the time, and although there were some tracks that were undoubtedly filler, I thought it had quite a few killers too! The first single “I’m On to You” for example was memorable, tough enough, and catchy as anything that major bands had been releasing.
There were two big names attached to the album: Mike Clink produced it, with Bob Ezrin acting as executive producer. You would expect it to sound a lot better than it actually does. Vocals and guitars often seem distant, the drums don’t have enough snap, and there are weird distracting keyboard overdubs that cramp the mix. Over the Edge is not horrible sounding by any stretch, but it sure is not up to the standards of Mike Clink and Bob Ezrin.
It’s not always your best bet to open an album with a slow-building semi-rocker like “Over the Edge”, acoustic intro and all. Thankfully, Robert’s electric riff kicks in and the track begins to rock like an old Europe anthem. It’s a little more dark and foreboding than most of the hard rock making the charts in ’88 — it has some weight to it, and that’s what I liked about it. But I also get what my friend Bob didn’t like about Hansen’s vocals. He has powerful lungs but when he’s pushing, his voice can sound a little uneven. As an album opener, “Over the Edge” implies there will be drama and twists and turns ahead.
The first twist is a bizarre cover of Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” that slows down and unnecessarily modernizes the track. Maybe this cover was Ezrin’s doing. I don’t know and I advise that it’s a track for skipping as it just kills the momentum. “I’m On to You” is way, way better. A bright hard rocker with a catchy na-na-na chorus and fiery guitar licks is a fast way to the heart.
“Messin’ With a Hurricane” is a pretty cool song, sounding a bit like 80’s-era Ace Frehley lyrically and musically, but without Ace! Then “Insane” (a song title Ace also used in ’88) ends the side with a boring “blues” rock jam. Nope, sorry, no sparks happening for me here. Even worse though, side two opener “We Are Strong”…oh man. I am struggling to describe how bad this song is. Imagine swimming in a jar of lukewarm Cheez-Wiz. Nothing about this sounds good to me.
Hurricane salvage the situation with “Spark in My Heart”, a decent hard rocker with an anthemic chorus. It has some balls to it and Hansen’s singing here is great. “Give Me an Inch” is really good. It uses the guitar sparingly and has an unusual construction that I am immediately attracted to. It’s very different, and still hits the spot today. Likewise, “Shout” is still a good song, although Kelly Hansen pushes the limits of his range on it.
One thing about Kelly Hansen that I need to point out is that since 1988, his voice has barely changed at all! He has lost nothing. Singing with Foreigner is a serious gig, and he does it.
The best and worst track on the album is the instrumental closer “Baby Snakes” (no relation to Frank Zappa). In an unexpected left turn, the band crank out a fast-paced metal shuffle with smoking drums and solos. But…but but but! These amazingly smoking instrumental passages are then lowered in volume as we listen to some guy named Jeff calling up some girl named Jenny and constantly asking her out, while she blows him off. It gets tired fast, especially when, for a brief moment, the volume comes back on and Robert Sarzo rips out a killer solo only to be interrupted by Jeff and Jenny again. Bad call, guys. Bad call.
MVP: Drummer Jay Schellen, a serious talent with chops and creative fills. The guy smokes all over this record.
KISS – Destroyer (Resurrected)(2012 Universal, replacement CD)
Good day, loyal LeBrain readers.
Back in 2012, Scott your Heavy Metal OverloRd informed me of a flaw in Kiss’ Destroyer (Resurrected) CD. As he noted then, on the song “Flaming Youth”, there seemed to be a skip or some music missing: “It’s only about 4 seconds in just before Paul sings ‘Whoa Yeah’. It’s like there’s a half beat missing or something.”
When I noticed what he was talking about, it did effect my enjoyment of the CD. Once you hear it, you cannot un-hear it. I haven’t played Resurrected much in the last year and a half. Even iTunes downloads were affected by the flaw.
Then, recently, Scott informed me that Universal were replacing defective CDs for those who bought them. I didn’t realize this, in fact I read nothing about it on the numerous rock sites I read daily. Scott found a contact email for a gentleman at Universal who was in charge of the replacement CDs. I contacted him, and he responded to me within 24 hours with instructions to provide a proof of purchase, which I also did. He then told me he would send out the replacement CD as soon as possible. No fuss, no muss!
I received my replacement copy today. I was surprised to see that Universal sent me not just a CD (as sometimes is the case) but a sealed CD in jewel case. This replacement copy was obviously different as soon as I popped into my computer: the track time of “Flaming Youth” is 3:00 instead of 2:59…and the skip is gone!
I’m enjoying revisiting Destroyer (Resurrected). It is less glaringly different sounding now than it was a year and a half ago. I think I’m actually enjoying it more, for what it is. I’m also enjoying the booklet and liner notes (by Bob Ezrin) once again. Now that I finally have a copy without that annoying flaw, I think this will become the version of Destroyer that I listen to most. The reason is, after enjoying the original Destroyer for decades, this sounds fresh and surprising to my aged ears. When you listen to music that you know and love, you expect every note and every sound exactly as they always have been. When an album gets a subtle facelift like this, the songs continually surprise me. Every time I notice a difference, it forces me to pay attention. When it’s a bad remix, that’s annoying. When it’s a good remix, it’s enjoyable.
One final note: Universal sent me an American pressing, and it is very different looking than my old Canadian version! I don’t know if the design of the CD art was changed specifically for the “fixed” pressing, or if all American pressings have always looked like this. Where previously I had a silver CD with a Casablanca logo and designed to look like an old LP, this version has a black CD — both sides! The Casablanca logo is still there, but the design is otherwise different. Instead of silver artwork with faux-LP grooves, it’s a plain black disc. It’s uber-cool looking and I like it a lot.
It’sTHE WEEK OF SINGLES!Each day this week I’ll be bringing you reviews and images of a recent CD or vinyl single acquisition. Today’s is fresh hot off the presses! I received this single on Saturday (the 16th).
DEEP PURPLE – “Above and Beyond” (CD and 7″ singles, Edel)
This has been a banner year for Deep Purple singles! We’ve had “All the Time in the World”, “Hell To Pay”, “Vincent Price” and now “Above and Beyond” from the excellent new album NOW What?! There’s a “gold” edition of NOW What?! coming soon, and I believe most of the B-sides from these singles will be on it. Most, but not all…
“Above and Beyond” is one of two songs on the new album dedicated to Jon Lord. It’s probably the most progressive sounding of the new songs. It’s certainly one of the most epic. I think Jon would have loved it. Canadian producer extraordinaire Bob Ezrin adds his shine on “Above and Beyond”, you can really hear it in the arrangement.
The second track on the CD version is “Things I Never Said” from some editions of Rapture of the Deep. It was originally from the Japanese CD, and then the “special edition”. It’s one of the better songs from Rapture, and I’ve always liked Steve Morse’s guitar riff. I just didn’t need to buy it again on a single…
Brand new live recordings are the real bait on this single. The CD has two; I don’t believe either is going to be on the “gold” edition of NOW What?!. “Space Truckin'” (Rome, Italy 07/22/2013) doesn’t seem as peppy as other live versions I’ve heard. I suppose that’s why some versions are destined for B-sides, right? A pair of covers close the CD: Booker T. and the M.G.’s classic Hammond organ instrumental “Green Onions” and Joe South’s “Hush”. “Green Onions” serves as an intro to “Hush” essentially. It’s a great song for a band like Purple to do anyway. These come from Sweden, 08/10/2013. Gillan’s struggling a little bit on “Hush”, but Airey and Morse get playful during the solo section, and it’s very reminiscent of how Blackmore and Lord used to interact.
The exclusive bonus track on the 7″ vinyl single is a different recording of “Space Truckin'”. This one is from Majano, Italy, two days after the other version. I actually prefer this version to the one from Rome. I’m not sure why; maybe it’s just that audio illusion of warm vinyl. Maybe Morse just sounds dirtier. This single is absolutely beautiful, on purple clear vinyl complete with limited numbered stamp. Mine? #1934 of 2000. I’ll consider myself lucky. It’s kind of mind blowing to think that there’s an exclusive Deep Purple live recording out there, only 2000 copies made, and I have one of them.
Disclaimer: I am so happy with this album, Deep Purple’s latest, that I put off and put off writing a review for it. As a fan of both Deep Purple Mk VIII and Bob Ezrin, this album would either colossally astound or disappoint me. I’m happy to say that NOW What?! is my favourite album since Purpendicular back in ’96.
At first I thought NOW What?! was going to be an uncomfortably mellow album. How wrong I was. Sure, “A Simple Song” starts powerfully soft (think Purpendicular‘s “Loosen My Strings”). It then takes off into a modern Purple tangent, with groove, a chorus that kills and absolutely outstanding organ work by Don Airey. If there was ever a man to pay tribute to the legacy of Jon Lord, it is Don Airey. He does so with class, homage, and love.
I love “Weirdistan” both for the title and the song itself. It is however “Out of Hand” that is the first mind-blower for me. The strings and arrangements of Ezrin are on this song like a stamp, yet it is also blatantly no other band than Deep Purple. Even though Purple have been backed by strings many times before, Ezrin’s approach sounds like classic Ezrin. It’s hard to verbalize, but Ezrin uses the strings in a support role, yet often up front and in your face.
If none of the previous songs sounded enough like old Deep Purple to you, “Hell to Pay” is sure to satisfy. The edited version from the CD single has nothing on this. The soloing is better than the song, quite frankly, and too much of it was edited out of the single version. Musically “Hell to Pay” has that hard, slightly funky vibe that a lot of later Deep Purple possesses. As far as the solo sections, you’re hearing things that go all the way back to 1968 and “Mandrake Root”. It’s trippy. The spirit of Jon lives on.
“Body Line” is pretty good, again it’s kind of funky in that Purple-y way. Ian Paice, the only remaining member from the original 1968 Mk I version, is responsible for many of the funk vibes, aided and abetted by Morse and Airey. Actually, it’s really hard to single out any one member as MVP on most of these songs. Deep Purple Mk VIII have gelled so well as a band over the last decade, that everything is in sync. Everybody bounces off the other players in a way that is reminiscent of the classic Deep Purple years.
“Above and Beyond” (to be released as a 7″ and CD single October 25) is one of two songs dedicated to Jon Lord. This is probably the most progressive sounding of the new songs. It’s certainly one of the most epic. I think Jon would have loved it. It’s worth noting at this point that Bob Ezrin, as per his modus operandi, has a writing credit on every song. In the same way you can hear him tightening up the songwriting of artists like Kiss and Alice Cooper, you can hear his shine on “Above and Beyond”.
I’m sure it’s a coincidence since almost all the members are different, but “Blood From A Stone” begins similarly to “You Keep On Moving” from Come Taste the Band. Then it gets slinky, before Morse rips some heavy riffs on the chorus. Don Airey shines as well, classing up the place several notches more. This transitions seamlessly into the second Lord tribute, the beautiful “Uncommon Man”. Morse’s guitars are uplifting and unmistakable. I just love listening to him play because there is truly nobody else in the world who sounds like Steve Morse. (Just as there is nobody, Yngwie included, who sounds like Richie Blackmore.) Back to “Uncommon Man”, it features a similar fanfare to “Above and Beyond”, linking them thematically. It also has my favourite keyboard solo on the whole album.
“Après Vous” sounds like a Rapture of the Deep outtake, but a good outtake. Glover has a great groove going on, and there is once again a long instrumental section. When it’s a band like Deep Purple, these aren’t the sections you want to skip through. These are the highlights of a song!
I reviewed “All the Time in the World” when the single was released. Quoting myself, “I’m really fond of “All the Time in the World”. It reminds me of the laid back Purple from Bananas. The classy keys from Don Airey seal the deal for me, but how about that Steve Morse solo? Fantastic!…It might not sound like the Deep Purple of 1970, but that was a long time ago now. It does sound like a rock band staying classy well into their silver years. I don’t hear any compromise nor contrivances here.”
Uncle Meat’s favourite song on the album was “Vincent Price”, and while the whole album is excellent, “Vincent Price” is also instant. It’s really fun, and Ezrin brings his trademark sound effects back to the table. Morse’s spooky guitar line seals the deal. Gillan’s lyrics about vampires and zombies are amusing enough. (This is the kind of lyric that never would have made it past the tyrannical Blackmore.)
There are a couple bonus tracks to be had. “It’ll Be Me” is an unlikely cover, by country singer Jack Clement. Deep Purple pull it off, thanks to Gillan’s lively vocal. “First Sign of Madness” was a free download track, also later released on the “Vincent Price” CD single. It’s a lively song, but different from the album tracks. It reminds me of “Via Miama” from the Gillan/Glover album Accidentally on Purpose. It took a while to grow on me, but I quite like it now just because it doesn’t sound too much like the rest of the album. But these songs will all be on the forthcoming “tour edition”.
Deep Purple pulled off the damn near impossible and put out one of their best albums 45 years after initially forming. Most bands would dream of being able to do this. Hell, most bands don’t put out albums as good as NOW What?! during their primes. If this is a career capper (and I pray Purple have another album in them) then I couldn’t imagine a better album to finish on. The same goes for Ezrin, the guy who produced such classics as The Wall, Destroyer, and Billion Dollar Babies. If Bob retired tomorrow, he could do so having done a freaking great Deep Purple record.
DEEP PURPLE – “All the Time in the World” (2013 Edel single)
I tried to order this single from the Deep Purple Appreciation Society. I was order #31. But then Edel only hooked them up with 10 copies! I had to order this from Amazon instead, paying $23 plus shipping. I’m not happy about that, but it’s Deep Purple and I am a completist with this band.
I’m really fond of “All the Time in the World”. It reminds me of the laid back Purple from Bananas. The classy keys from Don Airey seal the deal for me, but how about that Steve Morse solo? Fantastic! Thankfully, the sonic qualities of compact disc bring out all the richness of Bob Ezrin’s production, lacking in the crappy Youtube videos available. It might not sound like the Deep Purple of 1970, but that was a long time ago now. It does sound like a rock band staying classy well into their silver years. I don’t hear any compromise nor contrivances here. This is a both a radio remix and an edit, so expect the album version to differ.
“Hell to Pay” is a more traditional Deep Purple hard rocker, but with a shout-along chorus. You don’t hear shout-alongs too often in Deep Purple, as strange as that may seem, so this is new territory in a sense! The highlights of this song are the solos by Steve and Don. I had to play it again to bask in its awesomeness. There are echos of “Highway Star” at times.
You’ll notice Ezrin gets a writing credit on each track (as does each Purple member). This is indicative of both the collaborative nature of Deep Purple, and Ezrin’s usual musical input.
There are two live tracks, but I unfortunately already have these! They are “Perfect Strangers” and “Rapture of the Deep” from the London Hard Rock Cafe in 2005. They were previously released (and previously reviewed) with the special edition of Rapture of the Deep. This is disappointing, I was hoping for unreleased live versions. Regardless, they’re great versions, particular “Rapture” which is perhaps better than the album version.
One year ago today, I launched LeBrain’s Record Store Tales & Reviews. It’s been a blast. Keep on keepin’ on!
ALICE COOPER – Alice Does Alice (2010 iTunes EP)
It seems the latest thing to do these days is re-record your old classic hits and sell them again. Alice’s reason for doing so was that they needed new multi-track recordings for use in the Guitar Hero video game. I think only one was ever used, which is “No More Mr. Nice Guy” (Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock). The Alice Cooper 6 Pack download for Rock Band is mostly live tracks, not the versions that Alice released on Alice Does Alice.
According to the official Cooper site, these re-recordings were produced by Bob Ezrin. Ezrin, of course, helmed the originals. That must be why these new versions sound so authentic. Yes, part for part, note for note, they’re pretty much the same. Just with Alice’s voice older and wiser, and today’s sound quality. But of course you can’t duplicate a classic, no matter how hard you try nor who you work with. It’s impossible. It’s catching lightning in a bottle. So, these versions will always remain inferior to the classic, magical originals. They’re just too nice, clean and neat.
I will say though, it’s pretty amazing how close these are to the originals. The drums don’t sound the same, they’re thuddier and more modern, but the guitar tones are remarkably similar. All the strings and horns are there too, and they do benefit from the sonic clarity of today’s technology. Kudos to Ezrin and the players for capturing this. (Because this is an electronic release with no physical version, there’s no credits.)
Tracklist:
“School’s Out”
“No More Mr. Nice Guy”
“Elected”
“I’m Eighteen”
“Welcome To My Nightmare”
According to sickthingsUK, six tracks were actually recorded. The sixth was “Poison”, which of course was originally produced not by Bob Ezrin, but by Desmond Child. The track remains unreleased in 2013.
I had forgotten completely about this. It turns out that even before LeBrain was LeBrain, my old record store customers were calling me to pick my (le)brain about everything rock. I found this in my journal:
Date: 2004/08/03 15:34
A dude just called me specifically to hear a “60 second review” of Alice Cooper’s Muscle Of Love record. This is so awesome… I did a damn good 60 second review, too!
I wish I had recorded what I said for my 60 second review, but it probably would have went something like this: “Great album, not as great as the previous four with the original band, but still pretty awesome. Lots of lesser known classics on there, like ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’ and ‘Teenage Lament’. A little more basic rock, a little less elaborate than Billion Dollar Babies or School’s Out, because this is the one that Ezrin didn’t produce.”
Working at the record store was a near-intolerable daily grind, but something like this would have made it all worthwhile. I’m glad I recorded it!
ALICE COOPER – The Alice Cooper Show (1977 Warner Bros.)
ALICE COOPER – Welcome To My Nightmare (1975)
mikeladano.com 