Customer Reviews

Billion Dollar Babies (DVD Audio)

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Billion Dollar Babies (1973.) Alice Cooper's sixth album.

Alice Cooper had released five albums, up to the beginning of 1973, all of which were excellent. From the bizzare-but-still-excellent psychedelic rock of the classic band's debut Pretties For You to the hard and bluesy School's Out, Alice Cooper's band proved to be a damn fine rock and roll quintet that could cover a plethora of styles. Alice Cooper, Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith, and Michael Bruce had proven their musical genius five times already, and in 1973, the band released Billion Dollar Babies, the album that would grant them their immortal status as rock and roll icons. Is the album overrated, or does it deserve its reputation? Read on for my review.

This album deserves every bit of praise it gets - period. Of the ten songs on the album, five of them went on to become fairly popular. Among the popular songs are the classic rock anthem No More Mr. Nice Guy, which is probably Alice Cooper's biggest hit ever released. And who could forget Elected, Alice classic "I want to be president" song? The song is actually a reworking of a much earlier tune the band released. In my opinion, the original version is better, but this version still rocks. The title track is the true highlight of the album; it's gloomy hard rock as only the Coop could do. And on this track, doing lead vocals with Alice, is none other than sixties pop star Donovan Leitch! Even though this song is basically as "anti-Donovan" sounding as you can get, he does a damn good job on it! The bluesy Generation Landslide is a sequel to the story told in the title track, and it too is excellent. Another fairly popular track is the mini-epic opener, Hello Hurray. It's too bad the band didn't release this song as a single, because I'm pretty sure it would have been a million plus seller. The other five tracks on the album are considerably less popular than these five, but they are no less excellent, for the most part. Raped And Freezin', Sick Things, and I Love The Dead are regular Alice Cooper masterpieces. Even the short little piano-heavy track, Mary Ann, is pretty good. In the end, this stands as one of Alice Cooper's strongest albums. It's no wonder so many fans call it his best and most popular.

In addition to the original CD issue of this album, there is a two-disc deluxe edition available. The deluxe version of the album has the complete original album on disc one, and a hell of a lot of bonus tracks on disc two. The bonus tracks are mostly live concert cuts, but there are a few demos and outtakes as well. The deluxe version costs more than the standard version, but not a whole lot more. Take my advice and shell out the extra cash for the deluxe edition.

Billion Dollar Babies is one of those rock and roll masterpieces that's just so good that it's hard to describe in words. Although not my personal favorite Alice Cooper album (that honor would have to go to 1971's Killer), many fans call it their favorite, and I really can't blame them for doing such. If you're new to Alice Cooper, this should be the first one of his albums that you buy. No classic rock collection is complete without this album - no questions asked.

Un de ces meilleur album ...je préférais le groupe original qui est sur cet album ...ils ont créés tout les succès
D'Alice ....Je ne sias pas pourquoi ils ont été virés ...dommage pou mrs Cooper parce qu'il n'y a rien eu de bon apprêt
leur expulsions.....

before kiss,before bowie,before ozzy alice was the madman in make-up,the coop in the early-mid 70`s was one of the biggest and best bands around.this disc is my fav of his,so many classics.all alice cooper discs are good up to welcome to my nightmare(71-75).great classic rock!

Not a big fan of 1972's "School's Out" album, the reason "Billion Dollar Babies" appeals to me more is that here Alice and the boys successfully mesh the Broadway stylings with their gritty rock aesthetic. There's not too much of one or too little of the other here.

Opening with the almost-majestic "Hello Hooray", the album also contains anthems like the celebratory, exuberant "Elected" and the pop-ish "No More Mr. Nice Guy".

"Raped and Freezin'" boasts a cold-start, punchy drums, sharp guitar work and ear-catching piano.

The high point, "Sick Things" is like a musical serpent as the bassline and horns wrap themselves around Alice's ghoulish vocals. High marks also go to the title track with its difficult-to-sing-along-with structure and double-tracked vocals featuring Donovan Leitch. "Mary Ann" is a short, '30s-flavored piano ditty with an ironic final line; and the acoustic "Generation Landslide" provides nice contrast to some of the album's rockers. I subtracted one star because "I Love The Dead" tries a little too hard to be macabre and the dentist-phobic "Unfinished Sweet" rambles.

On "Love It To Death" and "Killer" you could tell this was a band having fun performing songs they were proud of, but had no pretentions. "Billion Dollar Babies" feels more like a planned spectacle: Everything's bigger, more grandiose and flamboyant here. Not to say it isn't great, it just has a different feel and is more showy than "Love It To Death" or "Killer".

The album itself is 4.5 stars, but the double-disc presentation with the excellent live CD pushes it up to 5 stars--a perfect release. Too bad "Love It To Death" and "Killer" didn't get the same treatment, with rare early demos and live versions included.

This timeless yet classic album celebrates the pinacle of the Alice Cooper band. Having risen from being an obscure cult band, Alice Cooper shines with hits like elected, billion dollar babbies and Sick things. The album was originally designed like a wallet with photos of the band as inserts.

Alice Cooper undoubtedly started the shock rock movement. He shocked the world with his his on-stage antics and sometimes weird subject matter. He took heavy metal sounds and mixed them with the pop songs of the day. This was Cooper's most successful recording, and I think it is very good. The thing that kept it from being a 5 star recording is that the last two songs are quite bad. But other than that, I think this is one of the best albums of the 1970's. It is a hard rock classic.

I've been waiting so long to write this review. I love Alice Cooper. I love him to death. Billion Dollar Babies starts off with a killer tune, "Hello Hooray." It's an awesome song. But the next one "Raped And Freezin," comes nowhere near to being as good. "Elected" is better than "Raped...," but still not as good as Hello Hooray, and never will be.

The song, "Billion Dollar Babies" is the best rocker on the whole cd. Donovan does an excellent duet with Alice. Over all these years, I never knew it was Donovan singing. I only discovered this from the liner notes and photos, after buying the cd a couple years ago (2002).

"Unfinished Sweet" is one of the throw-away tunes on the album. Naturally, some people like it, but I don't. So there.

In fact, you can dispose of the entire live bonus disc too. Why listen to a cd of inferior quality when you have the same songs with a beautiful studio sound on the original album? Of course, there's three non-live studio cuts at the end of the live disc: "Coal Black Model T (outtake)," "Son Of Billion Dollar Babies (Generation Landslide) (outtake)" and "Slick Black Limousine," two of which are not available on any other Cooper album. But they're not that good anyway. And "Son Of Billion Dollar Babies (Generation Landslide) (outtake)," might sound alright, but why bother with it when you have the same song, "Generation Landslide," on the studio album?

Generation Landslide is a great song. I find it interesting that they didn't include a live cut of it on the live bonus disc. Instead, they gave us a studio outtake of it called Son Of Billion Dollar Babies. But don't worry. If you like the song that much, there's a live version of it on "Special Forces," Alice Cooper's 1981 album. The song title is "Generation Landslide '81 (Live)"

But don't get excited, Special Forces is not a live album. "Generation..." is the only live track on it. And guess what? The song ain't that good. Stick with the Billion Dollar Babies version.

"No More Mr. Nice Guy" is one of the greatest songs on Billion Dollar Babies. Written by Alice Cooper and Michael Bruce, it's no wonder they released it as a single in 1973. I remember playing it on the jukebox almost every time I went into Jolly's, a burger joint on Kensington avenue. "Frankenstien," by Johnny Winters (or was it his brother, the Edgar Winter Group?), was another crowd favorite at the time.

Alice Cooper are a band of sick puppies. You gotta love the song "Sick Things." When he sings "I love you, things, I see - As much as you love me - You things are heavenly when you come worship me." Is he talking about us, his fans?

I love "Mary Ann." Nothing but a solo piano and two minutes of Alice singing in a longing, nostalgic tone. Not a rock and roll song, but still not out of place on the album.

Listen closely to the very beginning of "I Love The Dead." The first few seconds of the song sound almost identical to the biginning of the song "Welcome To My Nightmare." Then as you're listening to the rest of the song, you'll realize that "I Love The Dead" would fit perfectly on the Welcome To My Nightmare album. In fact, the last thirty seconds of this song is classic "...Nightmare" material.

This got me to wondering, just how many of the Welcome To My Nightmare songs did Bob Ezrin already have written in his head before he and Alice dumped the band after the Muscle Of Love album? Who knows? Who even cares? Welcome To My Nightmare is a fantastic album, with or without the old band members. And so is Billion Dollar Babies.

Hearing this for the first time was better then I expected! Its true what the booklet says that this is one of the best RNR albusm of all time! Its definitly a classic! Why I never heard this earlyer i dont know?

The great bonus is the 2nd disc featuring the original Alice Cooper band live performing most of the same songs from the album! And all sound pretty good, unlike previous heard LIVE versions from the band from the past, mostly from bootlegs! The band sure know how to rock and roll and throw in some experimental work thats not boring at all!

Plus the three bonus tracks are a great bonus! They all sound great! And you can certinly hear Alice's, Elvis, influence! Slick Black Limosine is defnitly a great song that should have been on the album! why it was cut will make you wonder? But now its here! Get this 2 disc edition! Its well worth it for the Alice fan!

It's hard to believe that Billion Dollar Babbies is a regular album release instead of a greatest hits CD. From the first notes of Hello Hooray to the ending track I love the dead, the album is great and you never want to turn it off. CD is remastered and sounds so great and crisp. Also CD comes with a bonus second disc which includes some great and rare concert versions from 1973. CD bookelt contains lyrics to the ten album tracks and great notes from songs. A must have CD for any Alice Cooper fan.

1973's "Billion Dollar Babies" is undoubtedly the best record ever to be made by the Alice Cooper band. In this CD, Alice Cooper, Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, Neil Smith, and Michael Bruce painstakingly composed a tracklist that intricately blends hard rock with flamboyant showmanship. In addition, producer Bob Ezrin (who would later play an integral part in Cooper's "Welcome to My Nightmare") added a symphonic touch to this album, tediously incorporating a piano, violins, horns, and trumpets. Alice, meanwhile, wonderfully portrays the spectacle's carny barker; he utters his lyrics with a bold and sarcastic sneer, mocking America's obsession with money and politics. Certainly, no other artist could pull this off with such finesse.
"Raped and Freezin'" is a humorous narrative about a hitchhiker who (after trying to find directions to Santa Fe) is kidnapped by a woman, violated, and then is left stranded in Chihuahua without any clothes on. This song carries plenty of wit, since the main characters' gender roles are reversed. In the simple and direct "Elected," Alice goes on a political campaign to become President of the United States (maybe he'll kick George Bush out of the White House!). Of course, this one track resulted from the hurt and embarrassment of Nixon's Watergate scandal. "Billion Dollar Babies" (sung by Alice and Donovan) is a twisted duet about decadence and debauchery; while comparing a woman to an anatomically correct blow-up doll, the lyrics celebrate the seedy glamour of prostitution and adult films. "Unfinished Sweet" is a diabolical and disjointed track about Alice's trip to the dentist; as the gas makes him unconscious, he participates in a hallucinating mission of espionage with James Bond! In the album's single, "No More Mr. Nice Guy," (a song that would later be covered by Megadeth's Dave Mustaine) Alice revels in his reputation as an obscene rock star; he expresses how proud he is in his flirtation with controversy. "Generation Landslide" mocks the lifestyle of middle-class suburbia; he transforms the American consumer society into a laughing stock. Even the track's two acoustic guitars clink together like coins dropped in a piggy bank! In the chilling "Sick Things," Alice views his fans as sideshow pets. The track's deranged bass rhythm drags like a strongman pulling six Cadillac cars with an iron chain. "Mary Ann" is a romantic piano ballad that will astonish the ears with its sexual irony. Last but not least, "I Love the Dead" is a disturbing, Broadway-style tune about necrophilia. In graphic detail, the lyrics picture a pale, blue corpse staring through its empty eyes. While this is not the first time Alice writes about cinematic horror, "I Love the Dead" foreshadows the coming of "Welcome to My Nightmare," his cadaverous crypt cabaret.
I can guarantee that "Billion Dollar Babies" is worth the money. It's an album suitable for anyone in love with both rock music and the theater. Let the show begin!