"They're all chickens..."

[Mr.Bluelegs]

A bold departure, Alice having some fun, or a serious misstep? You decide...

https://youtu.be/Ywa2H6JNhaQ

[Babysquid]

A bold departure, Alice having some fun, or a serious misstep? You decide...

https://youtu.be/Ywa2H6JNhaQ

Just like your dad's bad dancing at a party.

[Dannorama]

Ugh. Certainly a low point. Cool avatars aside, Si, I will always cringe at this - and I'm pretty sure that Alice does too.

I was there, in my parent's living room, waiting for this show. Those were the days when 13 year old me would scan the new TV Guide every week for the name. It was almost like I willed it to happen. "THE TONIGHT SHOW, Guests: Alice Cooper..." Bingo! Countdown begins...

I remember that it was a school night, and that I had promised to go to bed immediately following the show. It came and went in a flash. Afterwards, I remember being so excited at having seen him (and hearing his voice in regular conversation) that I couldn't sleep. But those chickens truly confused me. Was it funny? Not to me. Was it supposed to be scary? Not to me. Was it entertaining? Well, yeah, I guess. My memory from that night was more of the talk he'd had with Johnny than of the song. We didn't talk much about it at school the next day.

For those who don't remember, those were the days of little choice. You took what you were given, and you either liked it or not. I decided shortly thereafter that I didn't really like it. It was the beginning of my branching out into other music, and that appearance (along with the Muppet Show) had me lumping Alice in there with "kid stuff." And then he went disco with FTI....! Nope! I was ready to rock out to something more mature, and this was not it. Styx to the rescue.

Overall, I think that this was a tremendous misstep. For me, it took until 1985 for Alice to solidly find his feet again. That was when I first saw the Twisted Sister video.

[recoop]

Tragic imo.

Interesting comments Dannorama. I must admit I didn't see him as going disco with FTI (didn't see FTI as particularly disco, more soft rock)- Says Dance on ACGTH and No More Love on L and W are more disco I think and they came before FTI.

Is there a link to, or recording of, the interview between JC and AC?

[mestreech]

The worst part of Alice's career.
Managment should have stopped him.

[Toronto Bob]

I didn't mind the chickens per se but the album and the whole "softening" of the Alice Cooper image was a low point. Alice has tried to rationalize it by talking up the "irony" of the housewife needing to pick him on Hollywood Squares in order to win the washer/dryer, but he was done with being the bad boy of rock for the moment and chose a lame different path. Looked like he was sick of music but didn't have the chops to get himself an acting career.

[pitkin88]

The worst part of Alice's career.
Managment should have stopped him.

That and the Constrictor album with its dreadful lyrics and heavy metal noodlings. Other lows Trash and ACAS ( though that is a minor blip as no one really cares at this point ).

Alcohol and whatever had caught up with Alice in 77. He had become a joke and this was a huge mis step. LAW is a stale turd the result of his star **** ligging and the excess of the 70's. Inexcusable.

[mr.barlow]

The worst part of Alice's career.
Managment should have stopped him.

I'm quite certain it was management(Shep) that had more to do with leading him in this direction than Alice himself. They scored with "You & Me" but he was losing his devout fan base in droves because of this new approach.

Toronto Bob is right. This was the period in which they wanted to branch out into movies, televsion and other areas by completely mainstreaming Alice. They gambled and lost. It's my opinion that if Alice had been in better shape and with a few better strategic moves it may have worked. The thing is--had it worked I think Alice would have ended up like Elvis with a residency at a Las Vegas showroom (something they were exploring)and would have become a cheesy variety act and eventually would have dwindled into obscurity.

It's my opinion that it was the failure of this period that helped Alice and Shep stage the comeback in 1986. They knew their limits and if anyone noticed they have never strayed too far from the classic look and tone of the character since 1986.

[Mr.Bluelegs]

All of you brought up great points. Alice was ready for his close up, his transition to the mainstream. I'm sure Warner Brothers was extremely ready. $$ Very evident by the photo cover for the "You & Me " single. Alice looking like a heartthrob candidate for the pages of the teen magazines. Suspending his image for the Maurice Escargot character was a risk that unfortunately failed. He gained a huge top-ten hit but lost, I'm guessing, a good deal of his original following. For me, it was automatic to always buy whatever he put out, and I don't remember being too disappointed with it at the time. I didn't like it as much as his previous albums, but I didn't abandon him. I'm sure many of us would have instead preferred Alice battling futuristic roller derby characters with his band mates on the Battle Axe album in '77 instead of Lace & Whiskey.

[Daggers & Contracts]

It's my opinion that it was the failure of this period that helped Alice and Shep stage the comeback in 1986. They knew their limits and if anyone noticed they have never strayed too far from the classic look and tone of the character since 1986.

Mr. B. you are on the right track.
I might add that I played my L&W 8-Track to death in my car before I installed the cassette player. Also, I bought the Vinyl to add to my collection. That transfer resides on Cd now. L&W may be a transistional album but it still has its' merits. As for the chickens....

[patrick]

painfull to watch indeed. (muppet thing was closer to the Alice image in a way)
reminds me of the first time i saw the clip I want to break free(Queen).
I liked the image of the initial Queen very much, and then this..
I know it was supposed to be fun, (just like the chickens), but so glad Alice returned to the old image later on..

[Saint&Sinner]

Definitely a low point. When i was getting the back catalog and i hit L&W (watching videos, reading articles etc) i couldn't believe it was the same guy who did RYFAY, Killer and Welcome to my nightmare.
From the inside restored some faith but L&W was hard to reconcile.

[A_MichaelUK]

From recoop:
"recording of, the interview between JC and AC?"

Yes, it has been in circulation for decades but it isn't that interesting and really only works if you can see what is happening.

[TodayMueller]

Horrible, in the bad way...

The song ain't too bad, but the concept and show sucks.

[Ted Sallis]

I'm sure many of us would have instead preferred Alice battling futuristic roller derby characters with his band mates on the Battle Axe album in '77 instead of Lace & Whiskey.

Absolutely!

Ted

[VinceLeeRose]

I've seen an edited portion of the interview on iTunes.

[tuneylune]

I read a letter from a fan in CIRCUS who pretty much blasted Alice for this back in 1977. Saw it on a summer re-run in 1978 and while I like "Lace and Whiskey", thought the arrangement was pretty bad and the chickens just were not funny...quite a low point.
Good interview with Carson however and funny when Coop introduced his new snake .

[Si]

I LIKE the chickens!

[pitkin88]

I LIKE the chickens!

So predictable.

[Si]

I LIKE the chickens!

So predictable.

Touché