I'm Alice

[Si]

Quick question...do you think Vince is still waiting on his copies?

I think it's quite likely Alice hasn't seen a copy. He's not even at home at the moment so even if they have sent him copies directly he won't have had access to them. It's possible someone has shown him a copy of course.

They are actually available on Amazon for one day delivery so in the event of some unforeseen delivery snafu someone from Rhino perhaps an executive head could pony up the bank breaking $40.00 and send them to Dennis as a thank you gift...

They could, but hardly necessary when they surely have them in the Rhino distribution network and could order one sent for nothing. The issue is whether the person at Rhino is even aware Dennis hasn't received a copy.

Either way to say it's a deliberate snub to Dennis is rather silly. That suggests the people at Rhino even care! The person who's job it would be to send out promo copies likely simply gets a list of names and addresses to slap on packages. He/She has no idea who any of those people are. It's far more likely a simple oversight/cock up, or even possibly a post issue.

btw, I'll even actually help your argument.

Rhino has sent promos to no-name youtubers for review and giveaways... but (apparently) not to Dennis... now THAT' is a little insulting!

Also I can vouch for Amazon ( ) as I ordered the vinyl on the day of release with free three day postage, and they actually arrived the following morning.

[cooperrocks]

A lot of your of your anguish comes from the fact that the original members CAN'T let it go. It has been almost 50 years. In the real world Alice has the commercial power that many people would LOVE to get a piece of.

And where did he get that commercial power from?
Oh yeah, it was from all the original ACG songs that he obsconded with when he so graciously "Took the name" Alice cause EVERYONE was calling him that anyway.

Anyway...it's a new week - lets argue about something else shall we?

We definitely can move on to other things but to be frank that is why I pick my spots posting. It makes it kind of hard to have good discussions when some people (not saying you) can't get past about 5 years of a 60 year degree and don't want to discuss anything past 1974. It is hard to have many discussions.

[Saint&Sinner]

I'm puzzled with some of the rhetoric from Parish,
Again its fine to like ACG but if that is all you like, why are you still here? why are you invested in anything alice is putting out now, is it just to dismiss alices solo work and pine over better days?
It kinda sounds like you are bitter by proxy because the band split and obviously you put all the blame onto alice and his team. But as stated MB wanted to do a solo album, is it alice's fault that his album was truly dire? Alice knocked it out the park with WTMN and without the ACG influence (other than bob ezrin who was a huge factor in their success). Its more than likely that if the ACG stayed together they would have faded into obscurity (the slide started with Muscle of love as it is)
The point is there is no need to hold onto history and possibilities of what could have been - if you try and embrace some of the music, you may like it.
I (like many people) much prefer alice's solo work over the ACG. I only like 4 albums of the ACG, i actively hate 2 (pretties + easy action) and dislike 1 (muscle of love) but it doesnt mean i dismiss any tracks the remaining members come up with. Some of them are good (I hate you) some of them are terrible (drunk and in love)
There is a distinct possibility the remaining members of ACG will do an album together, this is what MB appeared to be hinting at anyway (likewise alice has hinted the same) . But whatever they come up with it's not gonna be 1972, allot of people really didnt care when the ACG came on stage with alice back at wembley a few years ago. As has been mentioned the energy dropped and in all honesty you could hear how rusty MB was (tho neal and dennis didnt seem to miss a beat) but people got to experience it, alice didnt have to and would have cost him more money than it was worth i am sure.
Why not enjoy the eras you enjoy and if you dont like what alice has done for 50+ years why dont you gracefully back away and let others enjoy it?

[Parish]

Why dont you gracefully back away and let others enjoy it?

The topic was "I'm Alice" and I chimed in with my opinion which included some additional thoughts that seemed to anger the "Poison" contingent causing them to raise their fist and yell. WTMN was and is brilliant....after that AC solo discography was a few great songs on each album but nothing as good as the ACG's legacy.

[zzz]

A lot of your of your anguish comes from the fact that the original members CAN'T let it go. It has been almost 50 years. In the real world Alice has the commercial power that many people would LOVE to get a piece of.

And where did he get that commercial power from?
Oh yeah, it was from all the original ACG songs that he obsconded with when he so graciously "Took the name" Alice cause EVERYONE was calling him that anyway.

He pays the rest of the band very well to keep using the name, which I believe was already his legal name at the time

Regarding him having commercial power because of the ACG songs, are you upset anytime an artist goes solo? Michael Bruce has been performing those same songs like forever too

[Parish]

Michael Bruce has been performing those same songs like forever too

What gall to perform the songs he wrote!

[Si]

He pays the rest of the band very well to keep using the name, which I believe was already his legal name at the time

Urr.. no he doesn't (they get the royalties etc they are entitled to but there is no payment to use the name) - and true but only barely by a matter of months.

[zzz]

Michael Bruce has been performing those same songs like forever too

What gall to perform the songs he wrote!

But that it what you are complaining about Alice doing. You said he absconded with the songs


I stand corrected about my other comment

[Saint&Sinner]

But that it what you are complaining about Alice doing. You said he absconded with the songs

the thing you forgot is it is ok if the ACG members do something but not if alice does it.....or that seems to be what some people are trying to say.

Does Alice do everything i want all the time - no (see detroit stories) but does he hit more often than he misses - hell yeah he does, in my opinion paranormal W2MN, last temp, hey stoopid, brutal planet RYFAY are all top tier albums. he grows he changes, thats the joy of alice. i'm alice is a high 6 low 7 out of 10 but im still playing it allot hahaha and i have pre ordered the album and i am pumped for it. bring it on!

[Ted Sallis]

He pays the rest of the band very well to keep using the name, which I believe was already his legal name at the time

Urr.. no he doesn't (they get the royalties etc they are entitled to but there is no payment to use the name) - and true but only barely by a matter of months.

As an FYI, Dennis has stated in his own Forum here that neither he himself nor the other Members of the Original Group have been properly compensated for the use of the Alice Cooper name (since the "breakup").

Ted

[Lucius Morthem]

Going back to the topic.

I like the song but it will soon be forgotten. It's nothing to write home about.

Now, I love the idea of the band making an album with Alice. They're all terrific.

Do you know what I DON'T like? Seeing Ezrin in the credits as a writer.

I sadly believe that his stellar work is a thing of the past. Even production wise. Alice's band is amazing live and one of the reasons (even Alice has said it) is that they're younger, with more energy and that reflects on him and the crowd. Imagine what a younger producer can get out of Alice in the studio. What Andrew Watt did for Ozzy is amazing, I still listen to some songs of Ordinary Man and Patient Number 9 is on repeat on my player (and Detroit Stories is not)

[rgallie]

I wonder what power the OGs would have over the Alice Cooper brand on a new record featuring just them.

On any contract if they did 1 more album would they be band members with an equal share or hired guns like everyone else?

If it was the latter would die hards recognise it as a true ACG album?

[Spiner202]

Do you know what I DON'T like? Seeing Ezrin in the credits as a writer.

This is the real thing we should be arguing about in this thread. It might just be my blind faith and appreciation for Alice, but I'm convinced most of the missteps in recent years are attributable to Ezrin (and I do like everything Alice has done lately, I'm just theorizing that Ezrin is holding Alice back these days).

[Ted Sallis]

I wonder what power the OGs would have over the Alice Cooper brand on a new record featuring just them.
On any contract if they did 1 more album would they be band members with an equal share or hired guns like everyone else?
If it was the latter would die hards recognise it as a true ACG album?

The AC albums the Original Group have contributed songs to during the past several years (i.e. W2MN) have been Alice Cooper solo albums. Alice himself owns the name, therefore if the current arrangement continues, any further albums recorded and released under the name would also technically be solo albums. Royalty (and maybe publishing) compensation would (or should) be the same as it would have been for the ACG albums in the 70's if a new album featuring just the Original Group was released, but compensation for a live show(s) and merchandising, etc. would likely be different if the current arrangement for Alice as a solo artist is maintained.

Ted

[Si]

I actually had a similar discussion just yesterday.
In all likelihood any band album would come out as an "Alice Cooper" album. However it's also likely there would be a sticker on the front advertising their presence as it's a selling point.

Now, you have to separate perception with the business side.

To most people it would be the new Alice Cooper album and they would think of that as Alice himself, as casual music fans are still often unlikely to know the difference.
However the serious AC fans WOULD know what it was and likely consider it differently. For example in this sites discography index I separate the original band albums from the solo albums - it's likely I would add any forthcoming album to the band section rather then at the end of the solo section.

In the end whether you consider it a "band" album or a "solo" album is completely up to you. It will be an "Alice Cooper" album. It won't make any difference to what it sounds like.

Songwriting and performance royalties are an automatic thing and so probably aren't an issue. Everyone gets what they are automatically entitled to, and that would have to be agreed between themselves before hand and really isn't any of our business.

Merchandising and any live performances would probably be more tricky. It's Alice/Shep who would be putting up the initial money for everything, so shouldn't they get a bigger share to recompense? Maybe it would be a case of splitting revenues after all costs were taken care of. Again its really not our business. Whatever happens Neal, Dennis and Michael will have to have agreed to it before anything took place.

Ted says "if the current arrangement for Alice as a solo artist is maintained". I think it's highly likely that that would be the case. Alice/Shep are the ones with all the contracts and relationships in place, and while it would be cool to have the band playing together again in real terms it will make little difference in how most things are organised and run.
Presumably Neal, Dennis and Michael were happy with how the UK shows were worked out, and how previous album work has been done, so I can't see any massive change if it were to happen again. They would be made an offer, it would be discussed and agreed, and off we go.

[zzz]

Do you know what I DON'T like? Seeing Ezrin in the credits as a writer.

This is the real thing we should be arguing about in this thread. It might just be my blind faith and appreciation for Alice, but I'm convinced most of the missteps in recent years are attributable to Ezrin (and I do like everything Alice has done lately, I'm just theorizing that Ezrin is holding Alice back these days).

I agree. The past few releases (except Breadcrumbs which was absolutely killer, I don't care what anyone says) all have this not necessarily slick, but definitely not rough, almost cartoonish sound to them. It leaves even the good songs sounding kind of generic. In my lay opinion, I think Alice would sound better with either an actual garage rock round, or something like the above mentioned Andrew Watt did on Iggy's new album (or, if I really wanted to indulge in pipedreams, something that would really push the envelope and doing something comparable to Johnny Cash's American series), and with someone who would push him a little bit more. But that last part is of course pure speculation on my part

[patrick]

Back to I'm Alice..
been looking for some reviews, announcements on the net and found this one :
Alice Cooper will release her new album, titled Road, on August 25 !! Her new album ...

and in the reactions on Youtube, I find a lot of people referring to "the old days", claiming the "old style" is back...

Hopelfully the sentence .... : and now I disappear... is only for this song

[Dragontown]

Maybe we should leave the ACG talk for another topic as it's getting harder to follow here.

Back to "I'm Alice", it gained some excitement for me with more spins. The pathos is there, the concept too. And, like someone said, it circles back to the Special Forces lp.
For me, I just hope there's more dynamics in the guitar department in the record, and keyboards: I think keyboards have to be there, don't want this to be a garage album. I expect some magic coming out from this

[revinkevin]

As for Ezrin production on recent Alice recordings, I am too noticing a rather slick and heavier hand that I don’t care for. Ezrin’s work with the past few Deep Purple albums is the opposite. They haven’t sounded this good in ages. Purple being a band with longtime members might have something to do with it. Many voices might keep Ezrin in check a bit. The I’m Alice single seems heavy handed but I’ll reserve judgement until I hear the whole thing. If we are in cheese mode like WTMN2 I would gladly accept some new producer. We will see.

[Parish]

If we are in cheese mode like WTMN2

WHAT a bad rekkid and an unforgivable stain on the glorious original...