Bob Greene, Billion Dollar Babies and the Break Up

[Ted Sallis]

That's your opinion but plenty would disagree with you.

I'm Flash & Space Pirates (as good as they are) better than Steven? nah I don't think so man!

You actually think Steven is a good song?! I've never been able to fathom how incredibly bad that song is!

Ted

[Ted Sallis]

also Ted if you think Pretties For You is better than WTMN you are one strange person, but each to their own!

Not so strange considering I can actually hear some signs of brilliance in at least a few of the PFY songs. The WTMN album on the other hand is the work of an artist who had just left just about all of his brilliant work behind him.

Ted

[pitkin88]

I'm with Crayon on this one Ted.

[recoop]

Somehow, I cannot attribute the BDB book as contributing greatly to the split up of the band- the underlying tensions may have done but merely publishing an account of them i can't see it. These guys didnt seem that sensitive to me.

Regarding Alice protecting his interests fair enough maybe this could be expected- in retrospect it seems to me amazing that Vince was allowed to have the same name as the group in the late 60s...if he hadnt been known as Alice Cooper, I think it would be have been more difficult to operate under the name...one could argue that much of the notoriety came from having a central figure and other band members benefited etc etc...Re WTMN, when it came out I didnt care for it but after a few weeks started to really like (although some similar themes)..I ahve played it more than MOL,PFY,EA and SO probably..prefer Killer, LITD and BDB

[Ted Sallis]

That's your opinion but plenty would disagree with you.

I'm Flash & Space Pirates (as good as they are) better than Steven? nah I don't think so man!

You actually think Steven is a good song?! I've never been able to fathom how incredibly bad that song is!

Ted

Apologies - I confused 'Years Ago' with 'Steven'. Years Ago is the incredibly bad song; Steven is considerably better but still no match for just about any ACG song (except some of the PFY and EA songs).

Ted

[Crazy Little Child]

In general, i think considering the book as part of a conspiracy is probably off base.

However, i've read some things over the years that DO give credence to the conspiracy theory, although they were in Michael Bruce interviews and i can't say they are accurate.

With regards to the "Good to See You Again Alice Cooper" film, he suggested that Shep funneled the money for the theatrical side of the movie to the WTMN television special. If true, this would certainly suggest he was using his position to privilege Alice the individual over Alice the group.

It's also worth mentioning that Neal Smith, as well as MB, did some solo recording at the time of the hiatus (although not released until a couple of years ago).

I think the timing of the legal name change also suggests that Alice & Shep were preparing to make a go of it, and were prepared to fight for the name, although that is of course speculation.

At the end of the day, though, as has been suggested, whether or not they managed another album together, the writing was probably already on the wall for the band due to all the reasons already stated.

[A_MichaelUK]

>With regards to the "Good to See You Again Alice Cooper" film, he suggested that Shep funneled the money for the theatrical side of the movie to the WTMN television special. If true, this would certainly suggest he was using his position to privilege Alice the individual over Alice the group.

The two were almost a year apart though so I don't understand how that is possible.

>It's also worth mentioning that Neal Smith, as well as MB, did some solo recording at the time of the hiatus (although not released until a couple of years ago).

I thought everyone knew that (and it was released in 1999, actually). I don’t think anyone said only Michael wanted to make a solo album.

>I think the timing of the legal name change also suggests that Alice & Shep were preparing to make a go of it, and were prepared to fight for the name,

Of course they were. I think we already discussed why that may have happened.

[Crazy Little Child]

.

>It's also worth mentioning that Neal Smith, as well as MB, did some solo recording at the time of the hiatus (although not released until a couple of years ago).

Just thought it was worth a mention, towards the fact that they had all agreed to take time off, do solo albums, etc (only MB's got mentioned).

And when you're old like me, 1999 seems like just a few years ago!

[Ted Sallis]

>It's also worth mentioning that Neal Smith, as well as MB, did some solo recording at the time of the hiatus (although not released until a couple of years ago).

I thought everyone knew that (and it was released in 1999, actually). I don’t think anyone said only Michael wanted to make a solo album.

To clarify: Neal's album Platinum God was (finally) released in 1999, I believe. Michael's album In My Own Way The Complete Sessions (a 2 CD set) came out in 2002.

Ted

[Daggers & Contracts]

To clarify: Neal's album Platinum God was (finally) released in 1999, I believe. Michael's album In My Own Way The Complete Sessions (a 2 CD set) came out in 2002.

Ted

I have the single disc of In My Own Way on One Way Records released on Cd in 1997
with a copy-write of 1975

[A_MichaelUK]

>with a copy-write of 1975

Yes. That is when it was originally released (in West Germany only I think).

[Ted Sallis]

>with a copy-write of 1975

Yes. That is when it was originally released (in West Germany only I think).

Yes, I believe AMUK is right about IMOW initially having only been released in W.Germany, and sorry again - I don't have the single CD or original LP of that release, so it somehow slipped my mind.

Ted

[TodayMueller]

Did not know that either.
AC was a big name in Germany at the time, but I can understand that MB's solo didn't sell on that because it is nothing like ACG stuff.

[patrick]

recently read a review on battle axe ( not a positive one) and the author stated that a year earlier, The Spiders From Mars had attempted (and failed) to release an album on their own, without Bowie.
The simularity between it is that a band with an obvious frontman doesn't make it without him.
then I thought about Queen: here Freddy didn't make it alone (his attempts were not successfull) whereas Queen ( be it less succesfull than before) survived (a bit..) And yet you cannot say Freddy wasn't the face of Queen..

[recoop]

Good point Today Mueller re MBs offering being nothing like Alice Cooper stuff..being around in the 70s I think even Alice's sales suffered because the solo stuff gradually moved away from the musical sound of the original collective- a lot of my friends jumped ship even when Welcome came out as the sound wasnt bluesy/rnb enough-I can only talk from my experience but changing only the lead guitarist, for example, could lead to negative reappraisal from fans...in fact it seems that Alice may have had a similar thought when Glen was ailing in the ealry/mid 70s in that band would not be the same without him...re the sound think of band who had longevity like Status Quo, Queen etc the music was often instantly recognisable- musical/sound wise the same could be said of Free- another tragically short lived band.

[steven_crayn]

I'm with Crayon on this one Ted.

it's Crayn, Crayons are those things you still write with

[steven_crayn]

That's your opinion but plenty would disagree with you.

I'm Flash & Space Pirates (as good as they are) better than Steven? nah I don't think so man!

You actually think Steven is a good song?! I've never been able to fathom how incredibly bad that song is!

Ted

Apologies - I confused 'Years Ago' with 'Steven'. Years Ago is the incredibly bad song; Steven is considerably better but still no match for just about any ACG song (except some of the PFY and EA songs).

Ted

so you don't know the difference between Years Ago and Steven? that tells us all we need to know about your uniformed judgement of how good Welcome To My Nightmare really is, you probably only played it once and it went over your head

[Ted Sallis]

Apologies - I confused 'Years Ago' with 'Steven'. Years Ago is the incredibly bad song; Steven is considerably better but still no match for just about any ACG song (except some of the PFY and EA songs).

Ted

so you don't know the difference between Years Ago and Steven? that tells us all we need to know about your uniformed judgement of how good Welcome To My Nightmare really is, you probably only played it once and it went over your head

Uniformed judgement?! So I guess checking your posts for typos before submitting them goes over YOUR head, LOL. And as for WTMN, I've heard cover versions of 2 songs from the album which clearly beat the original versions, so that says a lot about the mediocre quality of the album.

Ted

[steven_crayn]

Apologies - I confused 'Years Ago' with 'Steven'. Years Ago is the incredibly bad song; Steven is considerably better but still no match for just about any ACG song (except some of the PFY and EA songs).

Ted

so you don't know the difference between Years Ago and Steven? that tells us all we need to know about your uniformed judgement of how good Welcome To My Nightmare really is, you probably only played it once and it went over your head

Uniformed judgement?! So I guess checking your posts for typos before submitting them goes over YOUR head, LOL. And as for WTMN, I've heard cover versions of 2 songs from the album which clearly beat the original versions, so that says a lot about the mediocre quality of the album.

Ted

Mediocre?

You are clearly in the deluded minority if you can brand the album as mediocre.

Pray tell us about these cover versions you have heard that beat the original versions on the album.

You really are hilarious

[Ted Sallis]

Mediocre?

You are clearly in the deluded minority if you can brand the album as mediocre.

Pray tell us about these cover versions you have heard that beat the original versions on the album.

You really are hilarious

I'm just giving my honest appraisal of the album - is that your definition of deluded minority? Do you have or have you heard the 2CD Welome to Our Nightmare? It came out in the early 90's and has U.S. hardcore bands' covers of AC/G songs from PFY until Alice's Hey Stoopid album, I think.

I refer to the covers of WTMN (title track) and Only Women Bleed from that release.

And I'd rather be hilarious than immature.

Ted