30th Anniversary 'The Strange Case Of Alice Cooper' on DVD ?

lattss · Post by **lattss** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:37 am

Well, as I said before, I would buy it and that's mostly because I'll buy anything that is Alice Cooper.Also, that whole era of Alice interests me and I'd love to see the whole show.

From what I've seen,I'd say that what makes it hard to watch for me would be the fact that I knew Alice wasn't very healthy at the time.

Voodoo Revolution · Post by **Voodoo Revolution** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 8:46 am

WickedYoungMan wrote:
I have to agree with you. While the show is very good, unfortunately Alice's performance isn't IMHO. It's almost like he was taking singing lessons from William Shatner

Wow...I kinda want to see this now.

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:34 am

Luney Tune wrote:To Steven, I agree with you on the point that From The Inside is a far better album that Constrictor, but the The Nightmare Returns show is far better than Strange Case. Let me ask you this, what do you think about Alice`s singing performance om Strange Case ?
Or talking performance cause that what it really is.

I don't agree that the Nightmare Returns show is far better than than a Strange Case, don't get me wrong I saw the Nightmare Returns show live 5 times at various UK venues and it was fantastic, but it was very much a heavy metal greatest hits version of Alice with only 3 songs from the album of that time Constrictor played live, compared to the 7 songs played live from the time of From The Inside, I also think the classic rock approach of the band on Madhouse Rock edges it for me.

The Raise Your Fist And Yell show which I saw live 6 times was better than The Nightmare Returns show, one of the reasons being he played 5 songs from that album live and it was a much better album than Constrictor, but not a better album than From The Inside.

I grant you Alice's vocals are not at his best on The Strange Case Of video, but they are not as bad as you and some others are making out and you are overlooking the theatrical spectacular and great band he had for that tour and what a great album From The Inside was, for me the last great Alice album until hopefully Along Comes A Spider which I predict will be his best album and tour for 30 years, and there have been great moments since, but when I think great I have to compare everything to the 1971- 1975 period of Alice and the great comeback of 1978/79 with the From The Inside album and tour after what for me was the dissapointment of Goes To Hell and Lace and Whiskey, despite some great moments on those albums they were not as good as what had gone before.

WickedYoungMan · Post by **WickedYoungMan** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:06 pm

steven_crayn wrote:I grant you Alice's vocals are not at his best on The Strange Case Of video, but they are not as bad as you and some others are making out

All subjective really. I personally don't think it can be overlooked either. Not like it's a "small thing" when it's widely acknowledged I think. Even Steve Hunter had mentioned that people were aware something was wrong at the time but didn't know what but they all pulled through it the best that they culd.

and you are overlooking the theatrical spectacular and great band he had for that tour

I don't think anyone is overlooking any of that really, but of all the aspects in a concert video Alice's performance will probably get the most attention and it definitely does with this, for better or worse.

hywel · Post by **hywel** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 6:45 pm

steven_crayn wrote:
Luney Tune wrote:To Steven, I agree with you on the point that From The Inside is a far better album that Constrictor, but the The Nightmare Returns show is far better than Strange Case. Let me ask you this, what do you think about Alice`s singing performance om Strange Case ?
Or talking performance cause that what it really is.
I don't agree that the Nightmare Returns show is far better than than a Strange Case, don't get me wrong I saw the Nightmare Returns show live 5 times at various UK venues and it was fantastic, but it was very much a heavy metal greatest hits version of Alice with only 3 songs from the album of that time Constrictor played live, compared to the 7 songs played live from the time of From The Inside, I also think the classic rock approach of the band on Madhouse Rock edges it for me.

it wa showbizzy honkytonk not rock.imo.

The Raise Your Fist And Yell show which I saw live 6 times was better than The Nightmare Returns show, one of the reasons being he played 5 songs from that album live and it was a much better album than Constrictor, but not a better album than From The Inside.

i agree.

I grant you Alice's vocals are not at his best on The Strange Case Of video, but they are not as bad as you and some others are making out and you are overlooking the theatrical spectacular and great band he had for that tour and what a great album From The Inside was,

hang on, it is a personal view, perception here, if someone doesnt like the scoac shows it is up to them. he sounded terrible imo. and i will stick to that.

for me the last great Alice album until hopefully Along Comes A Spider which I predict will be his best album and tour for 30 years, and there have been great moments since, but when I think great I have to compare everything to the 1971- 1975 period of Alice and the great comeback of 1978/79 with the From The Inside album and tour after what for me was the dissapointment of Goes To Hell and Lace and Whiskey, despite some great moments on those albums they were not as good as what had gone before.

i see your point, and i agree with tons of what you say. but i love most of diamonds quite a bit of brutal planet, dragontown? eyes? whats that all about? but it is down to what the individual takes from it all.

no offence really.

have a good one.

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:55 pm

hywel wrote: it wa showbizzy honkytonk not rock.imo.

hang on, it is a personal view, perception here, if someone doesnt like the scoac shows it is up to them. he sounded terrible imo. and i will stick to that.

i see your point, and i agree with tons of what you say. but i love most of diamonds quite a bit of brutal planet, dragontown? eyes? whats that all about? but it is down to what the individual takes from it all.

no offence really.

have a good one.

I'd hardly call the Madhouse rock tour just "showbizzy honkytonk", it still rocked - granted it wasn't as heavy as the tours of 1971-1975 but as Alice has showed us there is more to rock than just guys with guitars. Theatre is one of the reasons Alice stood out from the rest, and songs like Serious were heavier and rocked more than the stuff on Goes To Hell and Lace And Whiskey and the 4 alternative albums that followed in the 1980's .

When Alice recorded the heavier albums Constrictor and Raise Your Fist some would say they were more rock albums than From The Inside, I disagree they were more Heavy Metal albums but rock has always had a bit more to it than Heavy Metal in a more eclectic approach.
Alice in his classic rock days always had a heavy feel to the music but he was never just a heavy metal act even though he later flirted with that genre with Constrictor and Raise Your Fist.

You could say Brutal Planet and Dragontown were more metal than rock and rock has changed its boundaries as things have got heavier.
I remember when Metallica came out it was called thrash metal but it seems tame now compared to what has happened since.

I think one of the best descriptions of rock n roll came from Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre " a general adjective for giving it a bit of stick!"

I do like some of the stuff off the last 4 albums you mention but I don't think any of them were great albums and it is dificult when an artist as great as Alice Cooper raises the bar so high as he did for most of the 1970's, how do you follow that body of work?

Hopefully you follow it with Along Came A Spider, I am optimistic!

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:19 pm

WickedYoungMan wrote:
All subjective really. I personally don't think it can be overlooked either. Not like it's a "small thing" when it's widely acknowledged I think. Even Steve Hunter had mentioned that people were aware something was wrong at the time but didn't know what but they all pulled through it the best that they culd.

I don't think anyone is overlooking any of that really, but of all the aspects in a concert video Alice's performance will probably get the most attention and it definitely does with this, for better or worse.

You make it sound as if Madhouse Rock was a disaster!

I do think people have overlooked the theatrics and the great band on that tour, Alice is the focal point granted, but some of the statements people have been coming out with like his performance sucked is totally over the top.

It was a great show, not as good as the 1971-1975 period because the alcohol had finally caught up with Alice and he was at the time of Madhouse Rock a recovering alcoholic.

But that show and the material of that album are still classic Cooper, and if you or anyone else can't see that, then you are the ones missing out.

A DVD release of The Strange Case Of Alice Cooper to coincide with the 30th anniversary next year i would have thought would be highly likely when we have had The Nightmare Returns and Good To See You Again anniversary releases in recent years, and if the poll is anything to go by, so far 20 out of 22 Alice fans said they would buy it!

Subjective enough for you?

Nev · Post by **Nev** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:37 pm

That poll isnt really proving much to your argument.
Of course were gonna buy it. Were Alice fans.
What the poll should ask is:
Will you buy it?
"Yes for sure." "Myeh, but Ill buy it anyways" and "No way."
That way you would at least see how they feel etc. (if thats what you wanted)
Im surprised if any member of this forum would say no because to be a member here you have to be a pretty serious fan. So Im even surprised 2 said no.

While Heaven Wept · Post by **While Heaven Wept** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:58 pm

I'd buy it, even though i've already got it on VHS somewhere.

I actually find it quite upsetting to watch, he looks dangerously thin and is just constantly out of breath. It's compulsive viewing, but for me that's just due to my morbid curiousity. The show itself is impressive and the band are great. It's just such a shame that Alice is so obviously in ill health.

There are many 'incarnations' of Alice that i'd LOVE to see on DVD. I've seen some fantastic footage from the FTF period where Alice was on fire, his voice, his onstage persona....brilliant! I'd also love to see tours from the RYFAY and Last Temptation eras released as these have been somewhat overlooked.

Oh, and i'm sure there's some pro-shot concerts from the Hey Stoopid tour that could be released too.

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:06 pm

Nev wrote:That poll isnt really proving much to your argument.
Of course were gonna buy it. Were Alice fans.
What the poll should ask is:
Will you buy it?
"Yes for sure." "Myeh, but Ill buy it anyways" and "No way."
That way you would at least see how they feel etc. (if thats what you wanted)
Im surprised if any member of this forum would say no because to be a member here you have to be a pretty serious fan. So Im even surprised 2 said no.

Rubbish! as 3 Alice fans so far said they wouldn't buy it, you are assuming that Alice fans are stoopid and would buy anything he put out.

And if you are so clever do your own poll!

Nev · Post by **Nev** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:09 pm

hence why i wrote: "So Im even surprised 2 said no." I shouldnt say an Alice fan, I meant to say the hardcore fans.

And if you are so clever do your own poll!
>Relax. Sit down put your feet up and have yourself a nice cold drink.
I said 'if thats what you wanted' in other words if you were trying to get your point across of how fans felt about buying the release of that concert.

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:27 pm

Nev wrote:hence why i wrote: "So Im even surprised 2 said no." I shouldnt say an Alice fan, I meant to say the hardcore fans.

And if you are so clever do your own poll!
>Relax. Sit down put your feet up and have yourself a nice cold drink.
I said 'if thats what you wanted' in other words if you were trying to get your point across of how fans felt about buying the release of that concert.

Please don't patronise me, If you meant hardcore fans then you should have said.

The point of this is that the majority of Alice fans would buy a DVD of The Strange Case and as I said those who don't rate it are in the minority and probably wouldn't buy it, their loss but their right as it is their money they are parting with.

I think I made the point pretty clear, but it has clearly gone over your head.

Shoesalesman · Post by **Shoesalesman** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:04 pm

Nev wrote:Im surprised if any member of this forum would say no because to be a member here you have to be a pretty serious fan.

Maybe, but maybe not. There are folks from all walks of life here, from the die-hards to the curious potential fans.

Back to Strange Case, my way of thinking here is this...

I'd buy it regardless if I thought it was a piece of crap, which I don't. My musical tastes could change in the future and I'd hate to limit my choices based on what I feel today. If you're one of the folks that wouldn't get Strange Case for whatever reason... you may be changing your opinion later on about it... or maybe you won't.

Never say never.

A_MichaelUK · Post by **A_MichaelUK** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:05 pm

>I've seen some fantastic footage from the FTF period

Like what?

>I'd also love to see tours from the RYFAY

There's some rehearsal footage on the "Prime Cuts" DVD (double disc version), if you don't have it.

>and Last Temptation eras released as these have been somewhat overlooked.

Do you mean the 1995 South American shows?

Nev · Post by **Nev** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:08 pm

Id love to hear commentary by Alice on the dvd

hywel · Post by **hywel** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:14 pm

While Heaven Wept wrote:I'd buy it, even though i've already got it on VHS somewhere.

I actually find it quite upsetting to watch, he looks dangerously thin and is just constantly out of breath. It's compulsive viewing, but for me that's just due to my morbid curiousity. The show itself is impressive and the band are great. It's just such a shame that Alice is so obviously in ill health.

There are many 'incarnations' of Alice that i'd LOVE to see on DVD. I've seen some fantastic footage from the FTF period where Alice was on fire, his voice, his onstage persona....brilliant! I'd also love to see tours from the RYFAY and Last Temptation eras released as these have been somewhat overlooked.

Oh, and i'm sure there's some pro-shot concerts from the Hey Stoopid tour that could be released too.

the gent show in belgium was awesome.

WickedYoungMan · Post by **WickedYoungMan** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:00 pm

steven_crayn wrote:You make it sound as if Madhouse Rock was a disaster!

If I do I'm sorry, but I don't think I made it sound that bad either. The show itself was pretty good I thought.

I do think people have overlooked the theatrics and the great band on that tour,

I don't think they are overlooked really, just a given probably.

Alice is the focal point granted, but some of the statements people have been coming out with like his performance sucked is totally over the top.

Subjective.

But that show and the material of that album are still classic Cooper, and if you or anyone else can't see that, then you are the ones missing out.

For the record, I never said anything like that. "From The Inside" as an album is a separate entity from the subject of Alice's performance of "Strange Case" of course and I judge them both on their own merits.

While Heaven Wept · Post by **While Heaven Wept** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:50 am

A_MichaelUK wrote:>I've seen some fantastic footage from the FTF period

Like what?

>I'd also love to see tours from the RYFAY

There's some rehearsal footage on the "Prime Cuts" DVD (double disc version), if you don't have it.

>and Last Temptation eras released as these have been somewhat overlooked.

Do you mean the 1995 South American shows?

Oh yeah, sorry, i meant to say from the Special Forces period. My bad

As for the rehearsal footage, it's good but i'd prefer to see something proper (with an audience). Was the performance at Reading Festival (or Donnington/whatever it was called!) ever filmed?

And yeah, the South American Last Temptation shows, i have a bootleg cd of the chile show and it's fantastic!

A_MichaelUK · Post by **A_MichaelUK** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:06 pm

Was the performance at Reading Festival (or Donnington/whatever it was called!)

Reading.

>ever filmed?

Not professionally. Two different versions shot by audience members exist.

>And yeah, the South American Last Temptation shows, i have a bootleg cd of the chile show and it's fantastic!

There is television footage from three of those shows, including the one which you mention.

While Heaven Wept · Post by **While Heaven Wept** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:05 am

A_MichaelUK wrote:
>ever filmed?

Not professionally. Two different versions shot by audience members exist.

Wow, what a shame. From the reviews and photos i've seen it looked awesome.