darkmenace wrote:mr.barlow wrote:
Alice knows and understands that his character is larger than life and knows that when people expect you to be larger than life you have to give them what they want.
I wish this was true, but Alice's tall tales are of a different nature. For decades Alice has been telling people how "boring" he is playing golf and how he's the opposite of his character in real life. This was the beginning of much of his downfall in the 70s and Dennis rightfully says this killed the character and mystique. Alice took a larger-than-life character and systematically reduced it to a showbiz gimmick.
Alice's tall tales, like how the band was signed with the help of Jimi Hendrix or that Frank Sinatra sang "You and Me" serve a different purpose. I think in his own mind they serve to legitimize him and his career. The lies about the chicken are more obvious. If you admit you brought the chicken to the show and threw it to the crowd knowing it would be killed, then you really are a chicken killer, whether the audience does the dirty deed or not. You can no longer claim horror or ignorance.
He killed the character? That is ridiculous! Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the character is currently on tour and getting great reviews.
I would agree that Alice changed the original dark aspects of the character and took it more mainstream but that is the exact reason the he and the character become iconic. He made it more accessible to the masses. By the way, this all started with Billion Dollar Babies--as with that album the WHOLE band was laughing at it all--it was THAT moment that Alice was no longer threatening. They were the biggest pop stars on the planet at that time!
Alice saw the potential, or more so--the need--to go mainstream. The success of Welcome To My Nightmare proves it. The campy tv special aimed at kids and teens and the larger than life tour. Alice and Shep were proven correct.
Now, with that being said, Alice then overplayed his hand and took it too far. I'm certain there were various business reasons behind these changes and most of them did not work out too well. They rolled the dice and lost.
Alice's always reverted to the classic character when his other forays did not work out. He did not kill it as you say, but the classic character saved his career more than once.
Trust me, Alice does not feel the need to validate himself by dropping names. The reason it's done is to create a myth and take an otherwise boring truthful account and make it interesting. Also, I think he is having a great laugh doing it. To see how much people will actually believe. It's something he's been doing since day one--taking things as far as he can and seeing how much people will actually swallow. People are gullible and will believe almost anything----Alice knows this and feeds off of it. He is having fun.
Alice is not one who is concerned about an accurate historical account of his career as he's been very clear since the beginning that it's all been like a big joke that went over very well. I don't think he cares and would rather have fun doing what he's been doing. It's always been show business--he knows it as he is one of the last examples left of a true showman who learned from the greatest legends in the business. His storytelling and embellishments are a cornerstone of show business.
Some fans may not like it, but if you've been fans for a long time then why would you expect anything different? Why would you expect him to change now and become a boring historian concerned with getting "the truth" out to the masses before he eventually passes away.
Also, the truth is readily available. All you have to do is connect the dots and take into account the what others have said. It's all there--and frankly--for the most part--it's boring or at best--typical of what goes on in the industry. It may be historically correct but it makes for an average story.
And...Alice is anything but average.