Billion Dollar Babies

I remember when this album was first issued the music press went bananas over it, but I wasn't an Alice Cooper fan so I let it go in an age of not-much-cash-on-hand.

I'm getting on in years now and slowly revisiting some of those purchasing decisions in an age of cash-to-spare-in-moderation, and the price was right for this CD.

So, what do you get? Well, this album probably contains Alice Cooper's most famous material as far as singles go: "Hello, Hooray", "Elected", "No More Mr Nice Guy".

I found the tracks to be a bit of a mixture of style and approach, and don't get the sense of an over-riding theme knitting everything together musically as I had expected. The tracks are moody one minute and bouncy the next. Lyrically, well, it's Alice Cooper at the top of his game and working for effect.

The music is also appeals to me differently in different places. It's hard to put into words but, for example, "Elected" has super-proficient musicians playing the heck out of it then slams into a very simple and obtrusive descending scale for the ending - a tad heavy handed in comparison and must have been for some sort of effect that eludes me - my problem of course.

The lyrics are sometimes hard to make out but that could just be my old-man ears not doing the best job of discriminating the soundscape properly. I do not like the ping-pong mix used to position the vocalists solidly in one channel in some places- usually to emphasize a duet. I find the one-channel sound disrupts the stereo panorama. You may not agree of course, and this was how the original album was mastered.

The insert does its best to render the original wallet/Billion Dollar bill artwork, and provides two pages of lyrics. Like I say I never owned the original but from memory the original cover was a gatefold that had the bill printed on the inside on British pressings. The other material must have been on the dust cover for the album or contained in an inserted lyric sheet I'm guessing. Albums often had a separate lyric sheet in those days.

It's interesting for me to listen to this album and try and access the current of love for Alice Cooper that was there in the 70s. The band were obviously good at what they did and the shock-show approach was innovative in it's day and the template from which so many derivative acts built successful stage shows of their own.

When people tell you the 70s sucked you can hold up an Alice Cooper concert as an example of why the speaker is full of it. The 70s were when rock music came into its own and its practitioners began to experiment with a real multi-media approach to entertainment.

And even though I'm not feeling the love as strongly as I thought I would, it is glaringly obvious from this recording why today Alice Cooper is a watchword in the rock music industry and beloved by a whole new generation of fans.

Classic Coop!!!

This IS the best album from the 'original' Alice Cooper band. Only one song seems out-of-place, if you ask me but the whole record is Alice and his rag-tag band at full gusto. "Elected" is just exploding with confidence and Alice's quirky style of shameless self-promotion (in a good way). Seriously... this is bad-ass rock, tongue-in-cheek completely while at the same time holds up with any Stones or even Beatles albums. I've always had a thing for the underdog... Marilyn Manson, etc. People fuss about Alice Cooper so much and "Billion Dollar Babies" is exactly why. I like the drummer, the guitar riffs are all on-point and memorable, and the subject matter in the lyrics are some of the most interesting, if controversial than any you'll find. In 2011, Alice Cooper was officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And rightly so, damnit! : )

First off, product arrived as described in perfect condition and ahead of given delivery estimate. Absolutely no complaints whatsoever.

Second, was very impressed that the seller had a mint unopened copy of the 2001 remaster. Easily my favorite Cooper release and have wanted this version for a long time. It sounds great and the second disc of live stuff Texas in '73 was above what I expected also as were the outtakes. It's been reviewed and dissected track by track many times over on here so I'll pass on that. Overall a five star product, five star service, and a five star album musically.

This album is a real masterpiece. The songs are complex and powerful. The lyrics are colorful, as expected. I really think this is Alice's best album ever! Fwiw, I have most of their records, and had this one on vinyl since 1977. I don't think Alice ever gets the respect he deserves for his composition skills. These are not simple little 3-chord songs. They change keys and rhythms. He has great breaks in almost every song. The musicianship is top-notch, with a lot of depth. Good stuff, and a highly recommend choice for Halloween!

Probably the last great album put out by the original members of the group and Vince. At this time in their career, everything was clicking and the group had everything going in the right direction. It wasn't long after this album that the group split and everyone went their own directions. Alice (Vince) continued into the theatrical and two of the other members of the group released solo albums that didn't do much. Vince later developed his own lyrical skills and put out several more albums... but this is the keeper of the group at their best. Get this one.