Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs! My Adventures in the Alice Cooper Group

uwe · September 02, 2015, 10:06:55 AM

Of the more recent ones (post 2001), his "garage album" The Eyes of Alice Cooper was by far the best, as close to his 70ies highlights as anything he has done. Welcome to my Nightmare Part 2 isn't bad either, but you know how it is with "Part 2" of anything.

uwe · September 10, 2015, 05:14:09 AM

I'm thru with the box! Of the Alice Cooper Band ones, Billion Dollar Babies and Love it to Death rule, Killer is good but not as good (as is Muscle of Love, bit more of an organic production there due to Jack Douglas) and School's Out (the album) sounds surprisingly weak, it seems to be like an album hastily cobbled onto a single (the brilliant title track) whose production sound has nothing whatsoever to do with the (great) sound of the single. School's Out (the album) sounds like a rush job to capitalize on the School's Out (single) mega hit. It probably was.

Of the later ones, Special Forces and Zipper Catches Skin are indeed nothing to write home about, it is amazing how a guitar trio that looks so formidable on paper (Wagner, Nitzinger and Pinera) could sound so limp in real life. I saw a gig of the Special Forces tour in Detroit at the time and the three guitarists failed to convince live too (and Alice looked terrible, unhealthily skinny), the Joe Perry Band which opened for them had so much more life and energy (with just two guitarists). Flush the Fashion, otoh, is not so bad, if totally mismonikered: Rather than flushing the fashion, Alice was chasing it by enlisting Roy Thomas Baker as a producer who gave him the sound of his Bostonian proteges of the time: FtF sounds like a The Cars album (right down to the guitar riffs, not just the new-wavish keyboard playing) whose master tapes have been stolen, with Alice secretly overdubbing his vocals.

But it has its charm (which Special Forces and Zipper Catches Skin are devoid of).

amptech · September 10, 2015, 05:32:43 AM

Thanks for the review, seems like a nice christmas gift for my brother. I mean, he have already bought all those albums many times on many formats, so it´s my turn to chip in

Highlander · September 10, 2015, 01:23:02 PM

Sadly never saw the original lineup but caught the Hunter/Wagner WTMN tour, saw that 3 guitar lineup at Hammersmith, also saw the Kane Roberts Nightmare Returns tour... 1st was the best by a long shake of the stick...

Highlander · September 20, 2015, 04:39:50 AM

Now in the new place I've been trying to order a signed copy of one of these from Strand in NY but even though I've been going through their contact pages I've been hitting a brick wall as it will not accept a UK phone number on their order pages...

The signed copies they have (by sheer chance) are from June 9th (so it appears) which is my significant event date (birth), and I'd like to get one for my "Xmas" prezzie to me, so...

Anyone willing to order one and post over here please ... ? Happy to pre-pay by Paypal ...

Cheers in advance...

uwe · September 21, 2015, 02:59:14 PM

You can get it via Amazon Germany. I did.

Highlander · September 23, 2015, 04:21:47 AM

But not a signed copy, at least not as far as I can see...?

uwe · September 23, 2015, 02:02:49 PM

I can sign it for you!

Highlander · September 23, 2015, 04:38:57 PM

It would be an honour, sir...

Alanko · October 07, 2015, 03:55:14 PM

Seemingly the original Alice Cooper Band reunited for a small show off the back of a book signing at some point in the last few days.

Highlander · October 07, 2015, 07:08:05 PM

Pics on FB DD pages... AC, DD and Neal Smith...

Still no takers for the DD book...? Oh well...

Nocturnal · October 08, 2015, 08:37:35 PM

I will look into it for you Ken.

OldManC · October 09, 2015, 04:40:33 PM

Quote from: uwe on September 10, 2015, 05:14:09 AM
I saw a gig of the Special Forces tour in Detroit at the time and the three guitarists failed to convince live too (and Alice looked terrible, unhealthily skinny), the Joe Perry Band which opened for them had so much more life and energy (with just two guitarists). Flush the Fashion, otoh, is not so bad

Flush the fashion was my first concert. Davey Johnstone was with him and I remember that being an excellent show. I saw him a year later for Special Forces and liked it, but it wasn't the same. I didn't really know enough to know why, but I put it down to my being so excited the first time. Still good memories though.

I saw this the other day and I think it should probably go here:

Nocturnal · October 10, 2015, 10:36:38 AM

Ken, I ordered the signed copy for you. After it gets here I will repackage and get it shipped out to you. Message me your shipping info whenever you have the chance. Probably going to take about a week to get here.

Highlander · October 11, 2015, 10:40:53 AM

You Diamond Geezer...!

PM'd