30th anniversary of DaDa today

[Lazarus]

A great day to give this cult classic a spin. I remember stumbling across it in a record shop having had no idea that a new AC album was in the works. After the left turns of FTF, SF and ZCS, I was used to being surprised, but DaDa really caught me off guard. Even with the familiar touches of Ezrin and Wagner, the use of the Fairlight computer created a sound unique in the Cooper canon. And though there is plenty of humor sprinkled in, it includes some of the darkest material as well, from the twisted familial dysfunction of "Enough's Enough" to the devastating finale of "Pass the Gun Around".

I once had the opportunity to talk to Alice during the Constrictor tour, and I asked him why he abandoned the new direction of DaDa in favor of resurrecting his classic character.

"I think DaDa was a bit too cerebral," he replied.

Too cerebral to sell well, perhaps, but it's a quality that makes the album compelling even after all these years.

Give DaDa a spin today. Your brain will thank you.

[old school vet]

Hey Lazarus, great post. Dada is a Cooper Classic in every way. The great thing about Alice, is that you never know what direction you are going off In next I guess that keeps him and us on our toes.

[darkmenace]

Thanks for the info, it's a great album. I'll raise a glass of Stoli Vodka tonight to celebrate.

[Daggers & Contracts]

>"I think DaDa was a bit too cerebral," he replied.
Cerebral!! I find Zipper Catches Skin and DaDa the nadir of his career. Although each have a "Classic" or two, it's not enough. I know this will spark a lot of negativity. That is my opinion! If you have a problem with that PM me. I will not get into that on the board. I didn't buy anything else until Trash and although it catered to FM Radio - at the time it was his best effort in a long time. I retraced my missteps and found Raise Your Fist... and Constrictor to be fine Lp's
I especially like "Roses On White Lace"
Happy Birthday DaDa

[Rhapsody of Fire]

Maybe Dada was a little bit too cerebral, I guess... but I love the album. And it was not only this album that was too cerebral...

[mraliceone101]

great album......if dada came right after wtmn i believe it would have been a huge hit......i love america......i love a waitress who loves to......flirt.....

[pinkerton]

In recent years I have come to like ZCS and DADA a lot more. I think there's some good material on both albums. However, they are not with out their problems and songs that drag. I don't think I'd ever use the word "classic" to describe these albums. More like diamonds in the rough.

all the same, happy birthday.

[scotty]

I will always love this album..and the art work!!!!

[Crazy Little Child]

The best album produced after "From The Inside", imho. Trash is right, it's got lots of darkness. Although i wonder, of this whole era, how much was Alice & how much was his team (or was this after he sobered up, i can't remember)

[pinkerton]

I think he was still hitting the sauce pretty hard and after this album he collapsed and subsequently took a few years off.

[charlie2times]

i think alice bob and dick were all pretty messed up when they did this album.
I like it. always have, and find it much better than any recent output, barring W2MN

[Steven Lee Cooper]

Perhaps my favorite solo Alice album. I bought it in late 1988 if memory serves, and I loved it instantly. I always regretted he did not keep that direction and went heavy/hair metal instead.

And about "Da Da" being too 'cerebral', I think it's a bit exagerrated.... I mean, come on, that's not a Robert Wyatt nor a Brian Eno album ! A moody album, with subtles arrangements, but a theatrical album too - certainly not a 'sleeper' !

[Crazy Little Child]

Perhaps my favorite solo Alice album. I bought it in late 1988 if memory serves, and I loved it instantly. I always regretted he did not keep that direction and went heavy/hair metal instead.

And about "Da Da" being too 'cerebral', I think it's a bit exagerrated.... I mean, come on, that's not a Robert Wyatt nor a Brian Eno album ! A moody album, with subtles arrangements, but a theatrical album too - certainly not a 'sleeper' !

"Theatrical" is a good description. Several songs, like "Scarlet & Sheba" i would certainly describe as cinematic, with fully developed characters, etc. And "Pass The Gun Around" was always one of my favourite Alice songs, and it's given an epic arrangement.

[Voivod]

My favorite album by any artist of all time. Will never forget getting it for Christmas in 1985 at 11 years old. To me it is perfection.

[tuneylune]

Found this in a record store and was surprised as I had not heard anything about a new album by him. Liked it, but not played very often back then I find it one of those albums you need to revisit from time to time as it is pretty out there. Not one I'll play constantly, but considering his physical/mental state at the time, certainly not bad at all and I've grown quite fond of this little effort of his.

[The son of Don Quijote]

If you asked me right now what my favorite Alice Cooper album is Dada would be my answer. This album while being quite highly rated by long time fans is pretty much unknown outside die hard fan circles. This is very atmospheric album with great lyrics and just enough variety. It doesn't sound anywhere near as dated as his late 80's efforts. I like every song on this album even Dyslexia.

My relationship with Dada is pretty much opposite compared to Billion Dollar Babies. I hail Dada as a masterpiece and listen to it quite often despite it being less known and not highly regarded by mass audience. Billion Dollar Babies has always been a hugely popular and widely praised album but I don't listen to it that often and that album has always left me a bit cold.

[evil syd]

DADA IS A CLASSICK!

[RemarkablyInsincere]

While I like DADA, I don't categorize it the classic that many around here seem to. There are 4 songs I really like a lot... maybe one or two of them I'd consider a true classic in the Alice sense.

However, the drop off for the rest of the album is fairly steep with most of the other material being average at best. A very uneven album.

It's certainly nowhere close to as good as "From The Inside", a truly great album that wasn't nearly as successful as it should have been.

[Seriously]

I consider this the one and only avant-garde album by the great man. Having been a fan of Captain Beefheart for many years and who has produced some greats of similar ilk, DADA holds its own with any of these.

[Steven Lee Cooper]

I consider this the one and only avant-garde album by the great man. Having been a fan of Captain Beefheart for many years and who has produced some greats of similar ilk, DADA holds its own with any of these.

Mmm, a comparison with Beefheart - interesting. I wouldn't have thought of it. That said, I only know two of Beefheart albums, and not so well really. But yeah, "Da Da" could be considered somewhat of an avant-garde pop-rock album. To me, if fits perfectly ( because of its style, production, ideas, sounds etc) in the territory of the David Bowie/Kate Bush/Peter Gabriel albums of that time. I'd like Alice to do another album in that vein, with surprises in atmosphere and arrangements....