Beyond the 130 - Alice Cooper Band

[ChrisB]

Good band, some great songs, charismatic front man but what a terrible vocalist

[Charlie O.]

More early Coop. The song they're doing at the beginning - by contractual obligation - is Mars Bonfire's "Ride With Me", subsequently improved upon by Steppenwolf.

[Bent Fabric]

The sort of thread that makes me glad I poked my head in.

They really were untouchable.

[naughty boy]

I've got a mate who works at the Roundhouse in London and he bumps into some famous folk from time to time. He was just telling me that AC is the sweetest of all of them.

[Charlie O.]

I've got a mate who works at the Roundhouse in London and he bumps into some famous folk from time to time. He was just telling me that AC is the sweetest of all of them.

I don't doubt it. Even at the height of his early-to-mid-'70s success - even at the height of his alcoholism - he always came off in interviews, at least, as being uncommonly well-grounded,unpretentious, likable and funny. Mind you, some of his favorite stories do seem to grow more myth-ical as the years roll on (I'm thinking of the Toronto chicken one in particular), but that's to be expected.

[Six String]

How did I miss this thread? I could have sworn we had another major Alice thread that I posted in.
They were my first concert in 1971 on the Killer tour (a few days ahead of GuyE) in Indianapolis, IN. The following year tge second concert was Tull's Thick As A Brick tour. Talk about bands building up expectations for what a rock show is supposed to be like! Killer is still my favorite followed by Love It To Death. I played Eighteen on my 18th birthday in 1972 and boy did it feel good to turn it up loud! (parents weren't home, obviously). They were one of my favorite bands at the time. I saw them the second and final time in Dallas in' '73 which was released as the companion disc of the reissued Billion Dollar Babies cd. It was a great shiw as well but that Killer show blew my mind. I never bought another album by Alice after BDB and never saw him again in concert. Last night I watched that doc. on Shep Gordon that was recommended and wow, what a great story. It was also great to hear what really happened in some of those storiesthat followed the band around. I had forgotten that the chicken incident was at the Toronto Festival and certainly didn't know about Shep's involvement in getting the band on the bill.
Brilliant stuff.

[Guy E]

It was funny back then. We were the perfect age for I'm Eighteen and they were a giddy "Fuck You!" departure from the whole po' faced Woodstock mafia shtick. It was some fantatic teenaged madness. But after a couple of years, I totally outgrew Alice & Co. School's Out was my drop-out LP. I never heard Billion Dollar Babies or Muscle of Love, even though the hits sounded pretty good. I'd simply outgrown them.

But man, when the britches fit they were the greatest. HUGE Fun. They were the closest America came to a teenaged T-Rex/Slade/Status Quo out-of-control virility.

[Charlie O.]

Dennis Dunaway has a book coming out at some point - that should be good.

Just ordered it.

[Charlie O.]

I'm about two-thirds of the way through Dunaway's book now - I'm enjoying it, but it's frustrating too - it seems to be heavily edited. Not for political reasons or anything like that - I'm just imagining that DD turned in a manuscript about twice as long, and some editor who may not have been a big fan of the band said well, we don't need THIS, and we can lose THAT, and nobody wants to read about this OTHER thing...

Well, I woulda!

A couple of tidbits: apparently Jack Richardson, despite his initial misgivings, did take an active role in the mixing of both Love It To Death and Killer; and Rick Derringer played the solo on "Under My Wheels", not because Buxton couldn't or didn't wanna, but just because he happened to be in town when they were recording it and he was an old friend and hey, bring your guitar over...

[Charlie O.]

[Jimbly]

I've got a mate who works at the Roundhouse in London and he bumps into some famous folk from time to time. He was just telling me that AC is the sweetest of all of them.

My aunt was in Toronto and was speaking to a shop assistant who had served AC earlier the same day. She said that he was so nice and polite to her and also the few folk that approached him in the shop. Really made a great impression on her.

[Loki]

That's fricking brilliant, Charlie.


I still can't believe he's a Republican!

[Charlie O.]

[Quaco]

Any U.K. posters going to see any of the mere five shows Alice is doing with the original band? So far it's only the five English shows. This month!

[naughty boy]

I'm considering the Manchester show on the 15th, but there's less than 1% left and I hate being pressured....

[Jumper K]

Off to Birmingham.

[bobzilla77]

Go see em if you can! I got to see that lineup do 4 songs at an awards show (Steve Hunter on guitar in place of Buxton) & it was quite special.

[fange]

[soundchaser]

Oh yes, love them. I've been a fan since I saw them do Dead Babies on Old Grey Whistle Test. I've been listening to quite a bit Alice Cooper Band recently. Halo Of Flies, is my current favourite:

[The Slider]

May I draw your attentions to the post in the Coughing section where I am in search of a couple of items?
I am upgrading Rory Bellows' Alice Mp3 collection