Battle Axe

Alice Cooper co-founder and Hall Of Fame inductee Dennis Dunaway answers your questions!

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Saint&Sinner » Mon Mar 15, 2021 5:24 am

Google Cherry Red Records.
whoops. may have accidently slipped and ordered that bad boy! thank you all!

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by pitkin88 » Wed Mar 17, 2021 5:55 pm

Was Mick Mashbir ever considered for Billion Dollar Babies? Also did Glen ever voice any opinions on the band? Did he feel slighted about not being asked to join?

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Dreary » Wed Mar 17, 2021 10:38 pm

During the Billion Dollar Babies Tour, the Alice Cooper group had gone to a club in Rochester, New York. A band played and their hot rod guitar player was on fire that night, so we called on him. I can't recall what happened with Mick.
During the Battle Axe rehearsals, Glen had sarcastic comments about it. But Glen had always had sarcastic comments so it was difficult to tell what his true feelings were. Despite that, we would go to each others house to jam with the understanding that I would bring the beer and we would just play for the sheer fun of it.

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Saint&Sinner » Tue Mar 23, 2021 2:35 am

Well I got the album (thanks for the heads up again) I cannot say it blows me away, I don't feel the vocals are strong enough and it had a very middle of the road feel to it that was ok but it seemed to lack the bite and spark of the ACG at its best. Seemed to lean more on muscle of love than killer , you know?
How do you feel about it DD? Do you have a top track on the album? If this was to be the final alice album would the songs have changed a lot do you think? (maybe by alice or bob or both?)

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by ericc2000 » Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:36 pm

Is the Cherry Red version of Battle Axe sourced from the master tapes, or was it sourced from vinyl? If I remember correctly, the first CD version was sourced from an LP.

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Ted Sallis » Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:56 pm

ericc2000 wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:36 pm
Is the Cherry Red version of Battle Axe sourced from the master tapes, or was it sourced from vinyl? If I remember correctly, the first CD version was sourced from an LP.
I have the Complete Battle Axe 3CD release on New Millennium Records; it was stated in the CD booklet that the original BA album on CD 1 of the release was mastered from a mint sealed LP due to the master tapes for the album having been 'lost or misplaced.'

Btw, I think re-recording the BA album w/Alice on vocals could potentially be the pinnacle of Alice's (and the ACG's) entire career. Of course as Dennis stated, it would be up to Alice and Shep.

Ted

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Daggers & Contracts » Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:08 pm

Ted Sallis wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:56 pm
ericc2000 wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:36 pm
Is the Cherry Red version of Battle Axe sourced from the master tapes, or was it sourced from vinyl? If I remember correctly, the first CD version was sourced from an LP.
I have the Complete Battle Axe 3CD release on New Millennium Records; it was stated in the CD booklet that the original BA album on CD 1 of the release was mastered from a mint sealed LP due to the master tapes for the album having been 'lost or misplaced.'

Btw, I think re-recording the BA album w/Alice on vocals could potentially be the pinnacle of Alice's (and the ACG's) entire career. Of course as Dennis stated, it would be up to Alice and Shep.

Ted
With the Vampires tour cancelled & the "Next Lp" being worked on this could be a great opportunity!
Are Ezrin, Shep & AC paying attention? Calling Cereal Kyler!!!
I've Got The Answers To All Of Your Questions...

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Ted Sallis » Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:44 pm

Daggers & Contracts wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:08 pm
Ted Sallis wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:56 pm
Btw, I think re-recording the BA album w/Alice on vocals could potentially be the pinnacle of Alice's (and the ACG's) entire career. Of course as Dennis stated, it would be up to Alice and Shep.

Ted
With the Vampires tour cancelled & the "Next Lp" being worked on this could be a great opportunity!
Are Ezrin, Shep & AC paying attention? Calling Cereal Kyler!!!
Alice has been stating in very recent interviews that he is working on THREE new albums. Unfortunately I find it highly unlikely that any of them will take shape as anything resembling a new ACG studio album.

Ted

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Dreary » Mon Mar 29, 2021 5:34 pm

Daggers & Contracts wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:08 pm
Ted Sallis wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:56 pm
ericc2000 wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:36 pm
Is the Cherry Red version of Battle Axe sourced from the master tapes, or was it sourced from vinyl? If I remember correctly, the first CD version was sourced from an LP.
I have the Complete Battle Axe 3CD release on New Millennium Records; it was stated in the CD booklet that the original BA album on CD 1 of the release was mastered from a mint sealed LP due to the master tapes for the album having been 'lost or misplaced.'

Btw, I think re-recording the BA album w/Alice on vocals could potentially be the pinnacle of Alice's (and the ACG's) entire career. Of course as Dennis stated, it would be up to Alice and Shep.

Ted
With the Vampires tour cancelled & the "Next Lp" being worked on this could be a great opportunity!
Are Ezrin, Shep & AC paying attention? Calling Cereal Kyler!!!
The record companies are the ones that need to be convinced that the original group could still sell records. And the promoters would need to be convinced that we have draw-power. I've been doing my part but you're the ones they'll listen to. Make "Social Debris" and "I Hate You" go viral, my sickthingsUK friends.

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by patrick » Tue May 25, 2021 6:51 am

I bought the complete Battle Axe 3cd years ago, the first and only time I saw it in "my" cdshop. At first I was not convinced this could have been an ACG cd, but listening to it again several times now ,it really has good songs !
And the second cd with the demo's is really good !
It was said this was to be the next ACG album, but did Alice write lyrics for it with MB and you, was he involved , for none of the songs mentions Alice as co-writer or were they left out after (and because ) Alice left.. ) ?
did he ever comment on this music ?
thanks Dennis.
you really wouldn't understand..

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by pitkin88 » Tue May 25, 2021 8:17 am

patrick wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 6:51 am
I bought the complete Battle Axe 3cd years ago, the first and only time I saw it in "my" cdshop. At first I was not convinced this could have been an ACG cd, but listening to it again several times now ,it really has good songs !
And the second cd with the demo's is really good !
It was said this was to be the next ACG album, but did Alice write lyrics for it with MB and you, was he involved , for none of the songs mentions Alice as co-writer or were they left out after (and because ) Alice left.. ) ?
did he ever comment on this music ?
thanks Dennis.

Are you being serious? Too funny!

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by patrick » Tue May 25, 2021 2:54 pm

the underlying question is : was Battle Axe meant to be the next album by the entire ACG, did everyone think alike and thus was Alice involved in the writing, or was it just the idea of the ACG minus Alice ..
every time Alice talks about the split he always mentions - and I never heard the words "bad blood" so many times before - that there was no bad blood between the groupmembers. They did send songs, at least later on...
you really wouldn't understand..

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Ted Sallis » Tue May 25, 2021 3:16 pm

patrick wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 2:54 pm
the underlying question is : was Battle Axe meant to be the next album by the entire ACG, did everyone think alike and thus was Alice involved in the writing, or was it just the idea of the ACG minus Alice ..
every time Alice talks about the split he always mentions - and I never heard the words "bad blood" so many times before - that there was no bad blood between the groupmembers. They did send songs, at least later on...
When I bought the Complete Battle Axe 3 CD set not long after it's release, I read in the interview w/Michael Bruce in the CD booklet that the BA album was supposed to be the final ACG album/a 'farewell' album. The 3 CD release wasn't completely official, and there were no songwriting credits nor other album info. (i.e. producer, etc.) within, but the original BA album had that info. and Alice was not included in the songwriting credits nor was there any indication that he had any involvement with the album/the BDB Group.

I've also read that Alice was asked but refused to be involved in making the BA album. Therefore what may have been intended as a final album by the Original Group turned into the 1st and only album by a brand new and sadly short-lived Group.

Ted

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Dreary » Sun May 30, 2021 4:54 am

patrick wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 6:51 am
I bought the complete Battle Axe 3cd years ago, the first and only time I saw it in "my" cdshop. At first I was not convinced this could have been an ACG cd, but listening to it again several times now ,it really has good songs !
And the second cd with the demo's is really good !
It was said this was to be the next ACG album, but did Alice write lyrics for it with MB and you, was he involved , for none of the songs mentions Alice as co-writer or were they left out after (and because ) Alice left.. ) ?
did he ever comment on this music ?
thanks Dennis.
Alice, Michael, Neal, Glen, and I agreed to make another album as soon as Michael got his solo album out of his system. But, secretly, Alice legally changed his name to the band's name and negotiated a record deal with our name that no longer included all five people that shared and spent decades building that name.
If Battle Axe was revisited, it would most likely be improved, especially with Alice's vocals. But I doubt if that would match the magic of an Alice Cooper group album because that was born from pioneering uncharted territories.
If we ever did do a new album, it would, by far, be best if it was all new material.

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by mr.barlow » Tue Jun 01, 2021 3:13 pm

I have a question regarding Alice taking the name and getting a record contract without the others.

Was this the one-off with Atlantic for "Welcome To My Nightmare" or did he renegotiate the WB contract also without the rest of the band?

The one-off with Atlantic sullied relations with Alice and Shep with the power-that-be at the label and I would make the argument hindered Alice and this ability to hit the upper-echelon as a solo artist. It seems that WB "lost" interest in him after Shep exploited the loophole and basically then let him wither on the vine until the contract expired. The only promotion and singles pushed by WB were the ballads--a safe bet to get some return on investment for each album.

Or did WB let Alice continue to record under the terms of the original band's contract and if so, how did they compensate the remaining members? Was there a buy out or did you just get screwed?

Also, were there any plans made if any of the solo members achieved success with their solo projects--namely MB. If Alice's project flopped and MB succeeded was he planning to return to the group or was he going to go it alone? Also, was GB preparing to work on a solo album even though he was basically "tuned out" at the time. Also, were they any names thrown out as backing musicians to play on each member's solo albums?

I've read on here were it was mentioned that Battle Axe was going to be a "farewell album" by the group if it was made with Alice which leads me to think that even if Alice returned to the group that it would have only been for one more album. Also, if it was a farewell album, how would WB reacted to the band not fulfilling it's contractual agreement. Were the solo albums going to be released by WB and counted towards the albums required by the band under the contract. Also, were the remaining members of the band covered by the contact for the band and if they chose to release albums, WB would be required to release them or at the very least shelve them and by doing so this would have cut into Alice's album release count.

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Dreary » Tue Jun 01, 2021 5:12 pm

mr.barlow wrote:
Tue Jun 01, 2021 3:13 pm
I have a question regarding Alice taking the name and getting a record contract without the others.

Was this the one-off with Atlantic for "Welcome To My Nightmare" or did he renegotiate the WB contract also without the rest of the band?

The one-off with Atlantic sullied relations with Alice and Shep with the power-that-be at the label and I would make the argument hindered Alice and this ability to hit the upper-echelon as a solo artist. It seems that WB "lost" interest in him after Shep exploited the loophole and basically then let him wither on the vine until the contract expired. The only promotion and singles pushed by WB were the ballads--a safe bet to get some return on investment for each album.

Or did WB let Alice continue to record under the terms of the original band's contract and if so, how did they compensate the remaining members? Was there a buy out or did you just get screwed?

Also, were there any plans made if any of the solo members achieved success with their solo projects--namely MB. If Alice's project flopped and MB succeeded was he planning to return to the group or was he going to go it alone? Also, was GB preparing to work on a solo album even though he was basically "tuned out" at the time. Also, were they any names thrown out as backing musicians to play on each member's solo albums?

I've read on here were it was mentioned that Battle Axe was going to be a "farewell album" by the group if it was made with Alice which leads me to think that even if Alice returned to the group that it would have only been for one more album. Also, if it was a farewell album, how would WB reacted to the band not fulfilling it's contractual agreement. Were the solo albums going to be released by WB and counted towards the albums required by the band under the contract. Also, were the remaining members of the band covered by the contact for the band and if they chose to release albums, WB would be required to release them or at the very least shelve them and by doing so this would have cut into Alice's album release count.
It was time for Alice Cooper to renew our contract with WB, or go to another label. With brilliant foresight, Joe Greenberg and Shep Gordon had negotiated the "soundtrack clause" into our original contract on behalf of the group. It allowed us to record a soundtrack on another label. The plan was to save it until the end of our contract with WB, and then prove to them that we could go to another label and sell albums, which would give us more clout in negotiating a new contract with WB or any other label.
I wasn't around to know if it soured Shep's relations with WB, especially since Atlantic had become part of WB at that time. I do know that every time the original group went back into the studio to record an album (Killer, School's Out, Billion Dollar Babies, Muscle of Love), WB acted like we had had our run and were on our way out.
Other than that, we loved WB.
Joe and Shep managed Anne Murray, who's soft middle-of-the-road ballads seemed to be sure-fire radio hits. That's what most stations wanted at that time. So it's easy to see why they chose Alice's ballads for singles. Like you say, safe bet.
As for MB not coming back if his solo album had hit, again you're asking me questions that would require speculation on my part. At that time, it seemed like MB needed to record some of his songs without us roughing them up to fit into our image. We were working on the next AC album, which is what we agreed to do all along.
There were no names thrown out for backing musicians on solo albums. Michael chose his musicians, and Neal chose his, which included me. But we bailed as soon as it was time to start working on the next AC album. Neal didn't release Platinum God until decades later. WB had nothing to do with those albums.
I never heard anyone say that Battle Axe was to be a farewell album. It was intended to be the group's continuation. And I was looking forward to signing a new contract that would allow us to do even more elaborate shows without having to sink the vast majority of our money back into it.
I do believe that if WTMN hadn't been so easily accepted, the original would have continued. I think we were kept on hold just in case.
There was no buy out and our 20% split of the name ceased.
I'm not sure if I've answered every aspect of this marathon of questions but I've got to get back to writing songs.

mr.barlow

Re: Battle Axe

Post by mr.barlow » Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:23 pm

thank you dennis.
I had always mistakenly thought that the band was signed to a very long deal from the beginning and Alice continued under that original contract. I didn't know that the original deal was up at that time and Alice then got a new deal with WB.

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by pitkin88 » Wed Jun 02, 2021 1:08 am

Thank you for your responses Dennis. I wish there was a like button on the forum.

Would I be correct in saying that Mike and Neal's solo albums were self funded? Also I think Mike had a studio in Lake Tahoe. Did you ever visit it?

When Battle Axe was conceived and recorded where were the band members living. I'm guessing you and Neal were in Connecticut but what about Bob, Mike and Marconi?

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Re: Battle Axe

Post by Dreary » Wed Jun 02, 2021 1:55 am

pitkin88 wrote:
Wed Jun 02, 2021 1:08 am
Thank you for your responses Dennis. I wish there was a like button on the forum.

Would I be correct in saying that Mike and Neal's solo albums were self funded? Also I think Mike had a studio in Lake Tahoe. Did you ever visit it?

When Battle Axe was conceived and recorded where were the band members living. I'm guessing you and Neal were in Connecticut but what about Bob, Mike and Marconi?
Yes, Michael and Neal's albums were self funded.
I never saw Michael's Tahoe studio.
During the Battle Axe album, which, to our misfortune, also turned out to be self funded, Dolan was living with Michael in Hartsdale, New York. Marconi was living with Neal in Greenwich, Connecticut, and I was also in Connecticut.
We did pre-production at Neal's house and then Bearsville, New York. We recorded the album in New York City.
Due to Michael and Marconi being out sick for a couple of days, many of the bed tracks were done by Neal, Dolan, and I.

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