Could Bob Ezrin Have Saved Muscle Of Love?

[pitkin88]

Muscle Of Love is arguably the weakest of the bands albums ( excluding Pretties and Easy Action )and a let down after Billion Dollar Babies. If Michael Bruce and Bob Ezrin could have patched up their differences could this have been a great album? I think Ezrin's touch is sorely missed on " Hard Hearted Alice " which could and should have been epic. It's a great song but seems to just fizzle out at the end. I also wonder if Ezrin would have told the band to go back to the drawing board on " Woman Machine " which is musically dull and " Crazy Little Child " which is not a song that fits in with the Cooper image.
Douglas does a great job on some tracks: Workin Up A Sweat
absolutely rocks and Teenage Lament is great but the band sound very stiff on a lot of the other tracks. What say you?

[Toronto Bob]

In a word - yes.

I actually like MoL alot but it has weaknesses. My main problem with the album is too much sweetener (the horns) and too much Liza. This album would of benefited if it had a heavier feel and horns and female back up singers kill heaviness. I agree that HHA could of been epic, Woman Machine and Big Apple Dreamin' should of really hi-lighted the cool guitar riffage and MWTGG could of been another Unfinish Sweet or Halo of Flies.

I like CLC - it gives the album a dynamic range and I always liked Alice doing a tune in a pseudo-jazz style (I'm the Coolest, Blue Turk) it's like a little surprise on a Rock album.

Not terrible but a bit of a missed opportunity. Coming off B$B, if MoL was just as big a monster maybe the momentum could of saved the band and entrenched them into Rock Royalty. Such a shame things went the way they did.

[scotty]

it reached number 10 in the charts,that ain't too bad.having said that,I think the band was done at that point even had it (MOL) done better anyway (glen,despite writing credits and photos on the album isn't even playing I don't believe.)
I think the real question is had alice not wanted to do such an upscale show,would the original band stayed together longer? (minus glen in all likliehood)

[Gunner]

With respect to the initial post:

Firstly, I don't personally really see MOL as a 'let down' after B$B, I think B$B was rather contrived and actually moving away from the band's roots musically. The question: 'If Michael Bruce and Bob Ezrin could have patched up their differences could this have been a great album?'; It depends how you perceive 'a great album', but 'patched up their differences' would have meant either a) Bob producing the group of songs that is MOL, OR b) Doing something that would be the expected next step after B$B (WTMN????). I think the fact that you consider 'patching up their differences' as Bob ripping MOL apart and putting it back together again makes this somewhat of an oxymoron, a paradox. Anyway, hypothetically speaking, I think 'a Bob' production of MOL would have been bigger, more polished and more orchestrated.

[A_MichaelUK]

>too much Liza.

She only sings background vocals on two tracks.

[Gunner]

>too much Liza.

She only sings background vocals on two tracks.

Exactly!

[TeresofBlood]

"Firstly, I don't personally really see MOL as a 'let down' after B$B, I think B$B was rather contrived and actually moving away from the band's roots musically."

I've actually come to feel the same way. B$B was the first Alice CD I ever bought, but it is NOT my favorite Alice Group disc. Killer and Love it to Death are miles ahead, because they showcase the true nature of the band. B$B almost feels as if Bob Ezrin said, "if you guys wanna do that on your own time, fine. But if you wanna be millionaires, we gotta do it like this." B$B is very glossy and poppy. I do think it is a fun album, but it leaves me feeling a bit empty by the end.

As far as MOL goes, I think it did need some help, but as the same time the album has a very unique sound for the band. Musically, Big Apple Dreaming and Woman Machine could pass for Deep Purple songs (if it weren't for Alice's voice). They are very heavy. I think Working up a Sweat, Never Been Sold Before, and Muscle of Love are the worst tracks.

I love B.A.D., Teenage Lament, Hard Hearted Alice, and Crazy Little Child (so different, yet so Alice).

[Gunner]

B$B and Trash are similar to me, in that are contrived and basically planned to 'cash in', neither of them to me represent a 'true' Alice record at all.

I do also think that MOL could have benfitted from a better, more slick production, but it does stand up as a sold hard rock record by the Alice Cooper group and I personally would plaay it before quite a lot of other Alice albums.

[A_MichaelUK]

>B$B and Trash are similar to me, in that are contrived and basically planned to 'cash in', neither of them to me represent a 'true' Alice record at all.

What was “Billion Dollar Babies” trying to “’cash in’” on? Do you mean it was trying to consolidate on the success that they already had achieved?

>I do also think that MOL could have benfitted from a better, more slick production,

But if that had happened, then for all we know, you would also accuse that album of trying to ‘”cash in’”, as well.

[jacknifejohnny]

I personally think that B$B's is too polished, great album but i prefer the edgier sound of Killer and L.I.T.D. I think the band tried to get back to this sound on M.O.L. and nearly succeeded.

[Luney Tune]

I don`t think there is nothing to save beacuse I think that MOL is a great R&R album and it don`t need to be saved. Highly underrated it is. Just listen to Big Apple Dreamin, Working Up a Sweat, Never been sold before etc. To me these are high standard Alice songs. Soundwise the album is one of the best ACG albums. Very good guitar sound on it too, much better than on LITD and Killer. Has probably also something to do with who`s playing. No offense to Glen Buxton.
Like always its a matter of opinion but for me MOL is a top five album.

[Mr. Skull]

Personaly I found WTMN a little bit too polished.
BdB sounds wonderfull and also does MOL.

[Luney Tune]

Personaly I found WTMN a little bit too polished.
BdB sounds wonderfull and also does MOL.

Totally agree, I like sound on MOL much better than WTMN.

[Toronto Bob]

>too much Liza.

She only sings background vocals on two tracks.

Exactly!

And that's three songs too many

[cooperrocks]

I am in the minority on this board, Muscle of Love is probably in my three or four least favorite Alice albums. To me, the songs just aren't there.

I agree what many of you have said about Billion Dollar Babies. There is no question it is an album full of some of Alice's more popular songs, but I will take LITD and Killer anyday of the week. However, BDB was a number one album, and many years later "Trash" put Alice back on the charts.

You could make an argument and I hate to use this word but Alice's "sellout" albums have been some of his biggest commercial successes though LITD and Killer did just fine.

[ThePainAddict]

I think Ezrin is a great producer, but he has let the production aspects get away from him. Rather than having a crisper album, he often tried to give a stage production to the albums which sometimes resulted in overlong songs with some very repetitive motifs (Black Juju, Grand Finale, Unfinished, & I Love the Dead - all great songs, but a drag due to such excesses). I think his real expertise with the Coopers was in honing the songwriting, although he left in filler material at times. I would have love to heard what he had done with MoL, but not sure if it would have been dramatically improved.

[Shoesalesman]

I like CLC - it gives the album a dynamic range and I always liked Alice doing a tune in a pseudo-jazz style (I'm the Coolest, Blue Turk) it's like a little surprise on a Rock album.

I agree. I consider Crazy Little Child to be Showtune Alice (hey, there's Ballad Alice, why not Showtune Alice? ). Some Folks and Detroit City, for example, are two songs that come to mind for me that have a broadway feel. I'm pleased that Alice uses a big-band approach to some of his songs. That's class.

I think this may have been posted before, but here's a not-so-good-quality version of CLC by a band called The Collect...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43KCcky4TUc

[Luney Tune]

>too much Liza.

She only sings background vocals on two tracks.

Exactly!

And that's three songs too many

Ronnie Spector is in there too and it sounds great !!!

[Baz]

Apart from Crazy Little Child and Man With The Golden Gun, I think MOL is a great album, and my fave song on the album is Hard Hearted Alice, a classic in my eyes.

Maybe Bob would have raised it to a higher level, but it suits me fine.

[moonshadow]

Apart from Crazy Little Child and Man With The Golden Gun, I think MOL is a great album, and my fave song on the album is Hard Hearted Alice, a classic in my eyes.

Maybe Bob would have raised it to a higher level, but it suits me fine.

Have to agree with you,Baz.