Subway -> Runaway Train

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

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nurserozetta
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Subway -> Runaway Train

Post by nurserozetta » Mon Oct 04, 2021 8:27 am

Hi Dennis , I'm interested in how your song Subway morphed into Runaway Train.

Did you present it to Alice or was he aware of the track - how did it get from A to B ?

How did Alice decide he wanted it as part of his nightmare ?

I've said it before and I'll say it again Bones from the Yard is an excellent album

Thanks

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Dreary
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Re: Subway -> Runaway Train

Post by Dreary » Mon Oct 04, 2021 7:09 pm

I had sent a copy of Bones From The Yard to Alice and "Subway" was his favorite track. He played it on his Nights With Alice Cooper show. He said the rhythmic groove reminded him of the Yardbirds.
He decided it should be on the Paranormal album. The new melody and lyrics were all his.
The recording session was in New York City. "When Hell Comes Home" and "I'll Bite Your Face Off" went down as expected but surprisingly to me, because "A Runaway Train" required an unusual grip on the bass, it was the first time I ever got a blister from recording a bass track.
Bob Ezrin wanted to record the bass direct plus through an SVT cranked very loud. Unfortunately, the volume caused things to fall off the shelves in the studio and the bass leaked through Neal's drum microphones. So I recorded along with Michael and Neal direct without an amp. After we got the takes we secured all of the potential falling objects and I rerecorded my parts through the loud amp.
The irony is that I wrote "Subway" thinking that would be different than a train song.
It's not that I have anything against train songs. After that, I wrote "Train of Thought" for Blue Coupe's Million Miles More album.

nurserozetta
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Posts: 251
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2005 4:18 am
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Re: Subway -> Runaway Train

Post by nurserozetta » Mon Oct 04, 2021 9:27 pm

Awesome answer

thanks Dennis

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