Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Alice Cooper - Greatest Hits

I own Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits for two reasons, I'm a stupid hard core fan, and the vinyl artwork is totally worth owning. Other than that I don't have one good reason to own this album. At least I don't anymore. When I first bought this cassette as a kid I didn't have lot of these songs, and for the longest time it stayed that way. Which is how I ended up with the cd copy as well.

I would suggest this album to anyone looking to discover the original group. That being two of the most under rated guitarists of all time Michael Bruce and the late Glen Buxton. Then there's the alien bassist Dennis Dunnaway, a nick name I remember hearing and thinking was an awesome compliment. Then finishing out the musicians is Neil Smith, a drummer that's sadly over looked. After that is the vocalist we all know as Alice Cooper.

The first side of the vinyl release contains tracks that I've already covered in my reviews of Love It to Death, Killer and School's Out. So for the first six songs I'll be using slightly remixed versions of the original write ups, because it's a funny inside joke that way. The joke being ths album was remixed when released in 1974, because it contained no new material.

This album kicks off with the song that made Alice Cooper famous, and it's all thanks to a song that Bob originally thought was called I'm Edgy, or something to that effect. It was actually I'm Eighteen, which I'm sure if you are reading this you know exactly what song I'm talking about. This song was made famous by CKWW in Windsor, Ontario. Long before it became a completely crap talk station. Why would a song like I'm Eighteen get so much airplay in 1971? Because the words were clear and they could easily appeal to the masses. "I got a / Baby´s brain and an old man´s heart / Took eighteen years to get this far / Don´t always know what I´m talkin´ about / Feels like I´m livin´ in the middle of doubt / Cause I´m eighteen / I get confused every day / Eighteen / I just don´t know what to say / Eighteen / I gotta get away." This song is so good that for the longest time it was a go to song when I would perform live.

After that come Is It My Body. This is one of the best slow sexy groove rock and roll songs of all time. Dennis Dunnaway's bass playing is what drives this song, the guitars just add that little bit of dirty charm. What's even better is listening to a guy sing "What have I got / That makes you want to love me / Now is it my body / Someone I might be / Somethin' inside me / You better tell me / Tell me / It's really up to you / Have you got the time to find out / Who I really am". This was just the start of Alice's now famous gender bending.

As a side note. I love Is It My Body even more when my significant other/sexier half/writing editor sings the song. It get's me uber hot. Thank-you Alice!!!

The third track on this compilation album is Desperado. Now, if you don't know this song, and you should be ashamed of yourself if that is the case, don't go Googling just the song title. This song won't even show up on the first page. The first thing you get is a couple of entries for the movie starring Antonio Banderas, then a few other things, and somewhere in that mess is a song by the same title that was released by The Eagles in 1973. That's two years after the much, much, much, better Alice Cooper track. Hell, one could easily argue that the movie starring two of the sexiest actors/actresses ( Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek) in Hollywood at the time was based on this song. Part of me was upset not to hear at least a cover of this song on the soundtrack. It's just that sweet, and would have been great during one of the shoot out scenes.

Under My Wheels opens with the classic line, "The telephone is ringing,..." then the music punches in before, "You got me on the run / I'm driving in my car now / Anticipating fun". From there it just turns into a great energy pumping song, that has you bouncing. Then it continues with, "I'm driving right up to you, babe / I guess that you couldn't see, yeah yeah / But you were under my wheels honey / Why don't you let me be? / Cuz when you call me on the telephone, sayin / Take me to the show / And then I say honey I just can't go / The old lady says You can't leave her home. " Those lyrics make up the first three verses, which pretty much just repeats as the song goes on. This is the type of Rock that inspired bands to keep songs short, sweet and simple. However, the musical work on this song is far from simple.

I love songs where Alice reverses the rolls on women, and Be My Lover is one of those songs. "She struts into the room / Well, I don't know her / But with a magnifying glance / I just sort of look her over / We have a drink or two / Well, maybe three / And then suddenly she starts telling me / Her life story, she says / "Baby, if you wanna be my lover / You better take me home / 'Cause it's a long, long way to paradise / And I'm still on my own" / I told her that I came / From Detroit City / And I played guitar / In a long-haired rock 'n' roll band / She asked me why / The singer's name was Alice / I said, listen baby / You really wouldn't understand, then I said / "Baby, if you wanna be my lover / You better take me home / 'Cause it's a long, long way to paradise / And I'm still on my own, on my own". Musicly this song has such a great Jazz Lounge kind of vibe to it. I could easily picture a woman like Ette Jones singing this one. In fact, I always like this song better when sung by a female, but that's just because I'm a straight man. Also, listen to all that bass on this song. Dennis Dunnaway is the man when it comes to bass between 1970 and 1974. His work since then is just as good, but those years marked his true genius.

This album has one of the two songs I think will always live on, the other is We Will Rock You. As long as there are sporting events, the latter will survive. As long as there is school...

School's Out has got to be the most recognised song in history. It opens with a riff so legandary that is was even inscribed on Glen Buxton's (the guitarist that wrote and played it) tombstone. If you don't know the song, I'm sorry you spent your childhood in a coma, or under some cruel dictatorship.

Side two is made up entirely of tracks from Billion Dollar Babies and Muscle Of Love. The latter is the only original group album that was not originally produced by Bob Ezrin. If you are a hard core fan there is no need to point out Pretties For You or Easy Action, or the fact that the Producer listed on certain albums is not Ezrin, but someone else. Well we all know the truth, and that is why my statement is fine.

There are two songs on Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits that I do not like. The first one is Hello Hooray. It is a fantastic song, and the production is top notch. I love the way it sounds and everything they were trying to accomplish with this song. I love what this song stands for. I just don't care for the song. I can think of other songs from Billion Dollar Babies that should have been included instead. But then again this song is one of the four songs that came off an amazing album.

Next up is Elected, which is actually a reworking of a song called Reflected from the Pretties For You album. Imagine Alice Cooper running for office. Not the blood soaked, evil sadistic Alice Cooper that we associate wth Metal. I mean the rough and tumble, Detroit Shock Rock band of misfits lead by a spokesman that enjoys flaunting money into a crowd on his long phalic joke. While wearing a jump suit and platform cheetah, or maybe it's leopard print, boots.

I love No More Mr. nice Guy. It's a great song, but I think it's too polite and polished. If ever there were a complaint to be made about this song it would be that it's too slick. I would love to have heard the original band do it dirtier.

As a drummer I consider Billion Dollar Babies one of the greatest songs ever performed. It has one of the greatest drum patterns ever, and it's a nightmare to try and play. I love Alice's scream in this one. The guitar work is top notch, and I have no clue at the moment who the other vocalist is, but as I listen to this song it doesn't matter because it just sounds so cool. Oh yeah, the dude's name is Donavan, I think.

The other track on this album I don't care for is Teenage Lament '74. I have never cared for this song, and even as a kid I would often fast forward my tape. I had no choice because I couldn't just simply skip the last song.

Muscle Of Love closes the album. This song has one of the best Guitar riffs I have ever heard. It's wild, wicked, and pumps out the testosterone that this song requires. Then there's the lyrics, which are so dirty. "Who's the Queen of the lockeroom? / Who's the cream of the crop? / Joey took her to the matine (Joey took her to the matinee) / Thank God she wouldn't stop (Said "God, she wouldn't stop") / Holy muscle of love, my heart's a muscle / Well I must have gone to their crazy head, (well it must have gone to their crazy head) / Where everything is hot. / Cuz I don't know if the things I'm thinkin' / I know the thoughts are not (are normal thoughts or not). / Holy muscle of love, my heart's a muscle / I read Dad's books like I did before, / Now things are crystal clear. / Lock the door in the bathroom now, / I just can't get caught in here. / I got a muscle of love / Holy muscle of love / My heart's a muscle of love / Holy muscle of love / I got a muscle of love / Yeah / Must be a gift from above ". I think this is one of the most under rated Alice Cooper songs in the entire catalogue, not just from the original group era.

Of the twelve songs that make up the album ten of them are fantastic. If you have never owned an Alice Cooper album, then there would be nothing wrong with grabbing this one for those songs. I would rather have switched out the other two tracks for an album cut or two. Teenage Lament '74 could be switched out for Man With The Golden Gun, and Hello Hooray swapped with Generation Landslide, just to keep it friendly. If I had been the one putting this album together, it would have had to have been a double album, so the fan favourites could have been included too.

8/10 - content

8/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias

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