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Thanks for that post Suzi we were going through the faces naming them and Veronica Lake was the one name I could not remember and what makes it worse i was only watching her in a film last week. |
Motley Crue, Still with Alice as support, have added some more dates to their American tour: October 5 - Hidalgo, TX @ State Farm Arena October 7 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center October 8 - Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena October 10 - Evansville, IN @ The Ford Center October 11 - Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena October 13 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena October 14 - Buffalo, NY @ First Niagra Center October 16 - Bridgeport, CT @ Webster Bank Arena October 17 - Manchester, NH @ Verizon Wireless Arena October 18 - Bangor, ME @ Cross Insurance Center December 4 - Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena December 7 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center December 8 - Grand Forks, ND @ Alerus Center December 10 - Saskatoon, SA @ SaskTel Centre December 12 - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place December 13 - Calgary, AB @ ScotiaBank Saddledome December 15 - Portland, OR @ Moda Center December 19 - Phoenix, AZ @ U.S. Airways Center December 20 - San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena December 22 - Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center December 27 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Arena It's looking less and less likely that we will get any Alice activity this side of the pond this year |
The discography continues, and again here are two more good songs from 'Love It To Death' Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ 07/09 - Second Coming (Cooper) This is the second of the 'religious' songs on the album Keyboards are by Bob Ezrin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swJPuN-To24 " I couldn't tell if the bells are getting louder The songs they ring I finally recognize I only know Hell is getting hotter The Devil's getting smarter all the time And it would be nice to walk upon the water To talk again to angels on my side Time is getting closer I read it on a poster fanatical exposers on corners prophesized It would be nice to walk upon the water To talk again to angels at my side I just come back to show you all my words are golden So have no gods before me, I'm the light." The annoying thing here is that the keyboards at the end of the song finish very abruptly. However, on the album, they lead into 'The Ballad Of Dwight Frye' The song is a stage favourite, and is still included in the live shows. Any pictures you see of Alice performing in the straight jacket is almost certainly during a performance of this song When performed live, the song always seems to be edited - the final verse ('I grabbed my hat...') is always omitted. I don't think I have ever heard the full version on stage Legend has it, that Alice was 'buried' under a pile of chairs when recording the track, which resulted in the claustrophobic panic in his voice during the 'I've got to get out of here' parts of the song It's been suggested that this is the introduction of the Steven character, and should be seen as the genesis to the 'Welcome To My Nightmare' album Dwight Frye shouldn't need any introduction to anyone on this forum The child's voice at the start of the song was provided by Monica Lauer, who was a friend of the band. She was actually in her early twenties when the recording was made Bob Ezrin plays keyboards on the song 08/09 - The Ballad Of Dwight Frye (Bruce, Cooper) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwPxB_F7ok0 "[Little girl] Mommy where's daddy? He's been gone for so long. Do you think he'll ever come home? I was gone for fourteen days I coulda been gone for more Held up in the intensive care ward Lyin' on the floor I was gone for all those days But I, was not all alone I made friends with a lot of people In the danger zone See my lonely life unfold I see it every day See my lonely mind explode Since I've gone away I think I lost some weight there and I, I'm sure I need some rest Sleepin don't come very easy In a straight white vest Should like to see that little children She's only four years old.. old I'd give her back all of her play things even, even the ones I stole See my lonely life unfold I see it everyday See my lonely mind explode When I've gone insane I wanna get out of here I wanna get out of here I, I've gotta, I've gotta get out of here I, I gotta get out of here I, I gotta get out of here IgottagetoutahereIgottagetoutahereIgottagetoutaher e Ya gotta let me out of here Let me outta her etc See my lonely life unfold I see it everyday See my lonely mind explode Blown up in my face I grabbed my hat and I got my coat and I, I ran into the street I saw a man that was choking there I guess he couldn't breathe Said to myself this is very strange I'm glad it wasn't me But now I hear those sirens callin' and so I am not free I didn`t wanna be I didn`t wanna be I didn`t wanna be See my lonely life unfold (I didn`t wanna be) I see it every day (Leave me alone I didn`t wanna be Don't touch me!) See my lonely mind explode When I've gone Insane" |
1 Attachment(s) As noted in my introduction to 'Love It To Death', the album contains (what I consider to be) one tedious song, and one joke song. This is the joke one! The final song on the album is a cover of the Rolf Harris tune 'Sun Arise' Whatever possessed the band to do this, I shall never know! Alice Cooper - Vocals Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ 09/09/ Sun Arise (Butler, Harris) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki6m_za9Zzw "Sun Arise come every mornin' Sun Arise come every mornin' Sun Arise come every mornin' Bringin' back the warmth to the ground Sun Arise fillin' up the hollow Sun Arise fillin' up the hollow Sun Arise fillin' up the hollow Bringin' back the warmth to the ground Sun Arise, she come every mornin' Sun Arise, each and every day Sun Arise, she come every mornin' Sun Arise Every every every every She drive away the darkness everyday She drive away the darkness everyday She drive away your darkness everyday Bringin' back the warmth to the ground Sun Arise, whoa-oh-oh Sun Arise, whoa-oh-oh Sun Arise, whoa-oh-oh Ever-y ever-y ever-y ever-y (repeat to fade)" It was during 1971 when the Alice Cooper Group made their first appearance in England. On Nov 3rd, they recorded an appearance on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test', performing `Under My Wheels` and `Is It My Body?' and the following day they made their live debut at the Mayfair Suite/Kinetic Circus, Birmingham, England where (legend has it) Robert Plant in audience. On Nov 7th, the band appeared at the Rainbow Theatre in London, with Arthur Brown, and Roger Ruskin Spear as support. This show had David Bowie in the audience, and was the first show to feature a snake. The review for this show appears below On the 'Love It To Death' tour, many familiar props had already appeared. The show featured the 'Electric Chair' and The Straightjacket for 'Dwight Fry'. Cindy Smith (sister to Neal) who became Cindy Dunaway (wife to Dennis) started to play a nurse on-stage around this time as well. A sample setlist for these shows comprised of:
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Suzi, I am greatly impressed by your encyclopaedic knowledge of "The Coop!" This is one of the best ever uses of a thread in a forum in cyber history, as far as I'm concerned. Thankyou:thankingyou: |
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How do you follow up the release of an essential (but slightly flawed) album? Easy - you release an even more essential (and less flawed) album! 1971 saw the release of 'Killer', the second album release of the year by the Alice Cooper Group. It is arguably THE classic Cooper album, and it contains everything from classic rock 'n' roll songs to epic horror tunes and basic garage rock to overblown grandeur If the band had 'arrived' with 'Love It To Death', with 'Killer' they made themselves at home at the top of their game. John Lydon has described this as being the greatest album ever recorded The snake on the cover is Neal's snake Kachina. Dennis Dunaway provided the lettering for Killer, using his left hand (he's right handed) because he felt that gave it a more eerie look. Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ Bob Ezrin - Keyboards, Mini-Moog Producer - Bob Ezrin The opening song is 'Under My Wheels', which the band performed on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test', when they made their debut in England It is very much a stage favourite, and still part of the live show In 1998, it was re-recorded by Alice as a duet with Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses for the film 'The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years' Bob Ezrin plays keyboards on the original track Additional guitar is performed by Rick Derringer 01/08 - Under My Wheels (Bruce, Dunaway, Ezrin) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbWE-j9WGoQ " The telephone is ringing You got me on the run I'm driving in my car now Anticipating fun I'm driving right up to you, babe I guess that you couldn't see, yeah yeah But you under my wheels Why don't you let me be 'Cause when you call me on the telephone Saying "take me to the show" And then I say, honey, I just can't go Old lady's sick and I can't leave her home The telephone is ringing You got me on the run I'm driving in my car now I got you under my wheels I got you under my wheels I got you under my wheels I got you under my wheels Yeah yeah I got you under my wheels Telephone is ringing You got me on the run I'm driving in my car now Anticipating fun I'm driving right up to you, babe I guess you that couldn't see, yeah yeah But you were under my wheels, honey Why don't you let me be, yeah yeah I got you under my wheels, yeah I got you under my wheels, wheels, wheels Got you, got you got you...." The second song on the album is 'Be My Lover', and this is a personal favourite of mine. Some people have commented that the song is a bit over-the-top at the end with the excessive showgirl campness, but I think that makes the song The click sound at the end of the song is Neal dropping his sticks. Michael Bruce has met many musicians (drummers) who cover the song and try to imitate the sound not knowing it was an accident. In 1998, Neil explained: "I used to drive Bob Ezrin crazy by twirling my sticks, as I do after every song. This made Bob crazy because if I dropped them, we would have to do the song over again". They decided to leave the "click" in." 02/08 - Be My Lover (Bruce) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCOuxDbuqmc "She struts into the room, wellI 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 Told her that I came from Detroit City And I played guitar in a long-haired rock and roll band She asked me why the singers name was Alice I said listen, baby, you really wouldn't understand And 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 Oh 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 Ooooooh" |
Two classic songs finish the first side of 'Killer' Track #3 is 'Halo Of Flies'. At over 8 minutes in length, the song starts with some guitar that is supposed to sound like buzzing flies coming, one by one, to circle around your head. After that, the song makes many musical twists and turns. It's fascinating to hear this develop. It takes about the two-minute mark before Alice starts singing! Despite the length of the song, you never once get the feeling that they are repeating themselves. According to Alice, the song was an attempt by the band to prove that they could perform King Crimson-like progressive rock suites, and was supposedly about a spy organisation. Michael Bruce has stated that "the song was basically a mixture of three different songs that the band had been working on, then Alice kind of strung them all together using a central "spy theme"" Lyrics and a melody in the song parody 'My Favourite Things' from 'The Sound Of Music' An ex-girlfriend of Alice, Cindy Laing, came up with the title of the song Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ Bob Ezrin - Keyboards, Mini-Moog 03/08 - Halo Of Flies (Cooper, Smith, Dunaway, Bruce, Buxton) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI2TT5L4iEQ "I've got the answers to all of your questions If you've got the money to pay me in gold I will be living in old Monte Carlo And you will be reading the secrets I sold Daggers and contacts and bright shiny limos I've got a watch that turns into a lifeboat Glimmering nightgowns, poisonous cobras Silencer under the heel of my shoe The elegance of China They sent her to lie here on her back But as she deeply moves me She'd rather shoot me in my tracks And while a Middle Asian lady She really came as no surprise But I still did destroy her And I will smash Halo of flies I cross the ocean where no one could see And I put a time-bomb in your submarine Goodbye to old friends, the secret's in hand With phonyed up papers and counterfeit plans You never will understand" The final song on side one is 'Desperado', which originally had the working title 'Desert Nights' Allegedly, this was written about Alice's drinking buddy Jim Morrison (from The Doors), but it's also been suggested that it's about Robert Vaughn's character from the movie 'The Magnificent Seven' Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ Bob Ezrin - Keyboards, Mini-Moog 04/08 - Desperado (Cooper, Bruce) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_eZAS4dp6s "I'm a gambler and I'm a runner But you knew that when you lay down I'm a picture of ugly stories I'm a killer and I'm a clown Step into the street by sundown Step into your last goodbye You're a target just by living Twenty dollars will make you die I wear lace and I wear black leather My hands are lightning upon my gun My shots are clean and my, my shots are final My shots are deadly and when it's done You're as stiff as my smoking barrel You're as dead as a desert night You're a notch and I'm a legend You're at peace and I must hide Tell me where the hell I'm going Let my bones fall in the dust Can you hear that ghost that's calling As my Colt begins to rust In the dust I'm a killer, I'm a clown I'm a priest that's gone to town" |
"Killer" is a great early Alice offering, I agree that it's an "essential" if only for "Desperado" and "Halo of Flies"! A brilliant vynyl album sleeve too, if you can find an intact one, for the 1971 calendar. |
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