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Billion Dollar Babies

 
Album Review: Billion Dollar Babies
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Albums

Billion Dollar Babies

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Similar Albums:

Tyranny and Mutation, Sladest, New York Dolls, Aladdin Sane, Black Sabbath, Vol. 4
  • Artist: Alice Cooper
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1973
  • Total Time: 40:51
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

With Billion Dollar Babies, Alice Cooper refined the raw grit of their earlier work in favor of a slightly more polished sound (courtesy of super-producer Bob Ezrin), resulting in a mega-hit album that reached the top of the U.S. album charts. Song for song, Billion Dollar Babies is probably the original Alice Cooper group's finest and strongest. Such tracks as "Hello Hooray," the lethal stomp of the title track, the defiant "Elected" (a rewrite of an earlier song, "Reflected"), and the poison-laced pop candy of "No More Mr. Nice Guy" remain among Cooper's greatest achievements. Also included are a pair of perennial concert standards -- the disturbing necrophilia ditty "I Love the Dead" and the chilling macabre of "Sick Things" -- as well as such strong, lesser-known selections as "Raped and Freezin'," "Unfinished Sweet," and perhaps Cooper's most overlooked gem, "Generation Landslide." Nothing seemed like it could stop this great hard rock band from overtaking the universe, but tensions between the members behind the scenes would force the stellar original AC band to split up after just one more album. Not only is Billion Dollar Babies one of Cooper's very best; it remains one of rock's all-time, quintessential classics. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Hello Hooray (Lyrics) Rolf Kempf Alice Cooper (4:14)
Raped and Freezin' (Lyrics) Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce Alice Cooper (3:15)
Elected (Lyrics) Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith Alice Cooper (4:05)
Billion Dollar Babies (Lyrics) Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith Alice Cooper (3:39)
Unfinished Sweet Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith Alice Cooper (6:17)
No More Mr. Nice Guy (Lyrics) Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce Alice Cooper (3:05)
Generation Landslide (Lyrics) Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith Alice Cooper (4:31)
Sick Things (Lyrics) Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Bob Ezrin Alice Cooper (4:18)
Mary Ann (Lyrics) Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce Alice Cooper (2:19)
I Love the Dead (Lyrics) Alice Cooper, Bob Ezrin Alice Cooper (5:08)

Credits

Alice Cooper (Vocals), Alice Cooper (Main Performer), Donovan (Guitar), Steve Hunter (Guitar), Michael Bruce (Guitar), Michael Bruce (Guitar (Rhythm)), Michael Bruce (Keyboards), Michael Bruce (Vocals (Background)), Greg Allen (Art Direction), Greg Allen (Design), David P. Bailey (Photography), David P. Bailey (Cover Photo), Robin Black (Engineer), Hugh Brown (Art Direction), Glen Buxton (Guitar), Bob Dolin (Keyboards), Jack Douglas (Engineer), Dennis Dunaway (Bass), Dennis Dunaway (Vocals (Background)), Bob Ezrin (Producer), Bob Ezrin (Original Album Producer), Lynn Goldsmith (Photography), Dan Hersch (Remastering), Frank Hubach (Engineer), Bill Inglot (Reissue Producer), Bill Inglot (Editing), Bill Inglot (Remixing), Bill Inglot (Remastering), Bill Inglot (Release Production), Dave Libert (Vocals), Mick Mashbir (Guitar), David McLees (Reissue Producer), David McLees (Release Production), Brian Nelson (Reissue Producer), Brian Nelson (Release Production), Neal Smith (Drums), Neal Smith (Vocals (Background)), Ed Sprigg (Engineer), Dick Wagner (Guitar), Shelly Yakus (Engineer), Neal Preston (Photography), Norma Edwards (Editorial Research), Vanessa Atkins (Editorial Supervision), Steve Woolard (Project Coordinator), Brian Kehew (Editing), Brian Kehew (Remixing), Lynn Godsmith (Photography), Pacific Eye & Ear (Design), E.A.R. (Design), E.A.R. (Concept), Shawn Amos (Editorial Coordinator), Peter Flanagan (Engineer), Charlie Watts (Mastering), Randy Perry (Project Assistant), Jo Motta (Project Coordinator)
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Artist: The Billion Dollar Babies
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Mott the Hoople, Kiss, Grand Funk Railroad, Blue Öyster Cult, Bad Company, Angels, AC/DC

Formal Connection With:

Alice Cooper
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "Complete Battle Axe," "Battle Axe"

Biography

In 1977, three of Alice Cooper's former sidemen recorded a little known album without the influential shock rocker and called themselves the Billion Dollar Babies. That year, ex-Cooper employees Mike Bruce (guitar, vocals), Dennis Dunaway (bass) and Neal Smith (drums) teamed up with keyboardist Bob Dolin and guitarist/ singer Mike Marconi and named themselves after Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies album of 1973, which was among his biggest sellers. Offering competent but unremarkable hard rock and arena rock that wasn't nearly as distinctive or as interesting as Cooper's own music, the Billion Dollar Babies recorded Battle Axe for Polydor in 1977. The LP bombed commercially, and the Billion Dollar Babies never recorded a second album. Battle Axe has been out of print since the late 1970s and is unlikely to ever be reissued on CD, although Tendolar (a bootleg label) swiped three of its selections (&"Too Young," &"Need Your Love" and &"Dance With Me") in the 1990s for the Cooper bootleg Camelback Kids. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Wikipedia: Billion Dollar Babies
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Billion Dollar Babies
Studio album by Alice Cooper
Released February 25, 1973
Recorded August 1972-January 1973 at The Cooper mansion, Greenwich, CT
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 40:51
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Bob Ezrin
Professional reviews
Alice Cooper chronology
School's Out
(1972)		 Billion Dollar Babies
(1973)		 Muscle of Love
(1973)

Billion Dollar Babies is an album by American hard rock band Alice Cooper, released in February 1973. It is widely praised as one of the best Alice Cooper albums, and showcased the group at their artistic and commercial peak. Many songs from it remain staples of Alice Cooper's live act to this day: in particular, "I Love the Dead" is usually associated with Cooper's mock-execution, while "Elected" is often used as an encore.

'Billion Dollar Babies' was also the name of the band founded by Michael Bruce, Mike Marconi, Dennis Dunaway, Bob Dolin, and Neal Smith after they split from Alice Cooper in 1974. This band was embroiled in a legal suit over the usage of the name. They only released one album, 1977's 'Battleaxe', before disbanding.[1]

Billion Dollar Babies peaked at #1 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. Four singles were released from the album: "Elected" (which peaked at #26 on the Pop Singles chart); "Hello, Hooray" (#35); "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (US #25); and the song "Billion Dollar Babies" (#57).

The original vinyl album came with a full-sized "Billion Dollar Bill" featuring the band members on the front and a political cartoon on the back.

The title track is a duet between Alice Cooper and Donovan. Years later, the song would be featured in the Xbox 360 version of the video game Guitar Hero II, although it was misidentified in the manual as "Million Dollar Babies".

"Hello, Hooray," written by Canadian singer/songwriter Rolf Kempf in 1968, originally appeared on Judy Collins' 1968 album Who Knows Where the Time Goes.

Megadeth covered the song "No More Mr. Nice Guy" for the movie Shocker.

The Quadraphonic LP has unique mixes and song versions not available anywhere else. Differences are longer song fades and endings, different lyrics (Raped And Freezin': "Alone with a bloody nose" on the last verse, vs. "Alone down in mexico" on the Stereo LP and CD versions, for example), and fades replaced by segues into following tracks ('Generation Landslide' into 'Sick Things').

Contents

Track listing

  1. "Hello, Hooray" (Kempf) – 4:15
  2. "Raped and Freezin'" (Cooper, Michael Bruce) – 3:19
  3. "Elected" (Cooper, Glen Buxton, Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith) – 4:05
  4. "Billion Dollar Babies" (Cooper, Bruce, Reggie) – 3:43
  5. "Unfinished Sweet" (Cooper, Bruce, Smith) – 6:18
  6. "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (Cooper, Bruce) – 3:06
  7. "Generation Landslide" (Cooper, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway, Smith) – 4:31
  8. "Sick Things" (Cooper, Bruce, Bob Ezrin) – 4:18
  9. "Mary Ann" (Cooper, Bruce) – 2:21
  10. "I Love the Dead" (Cooper, Ezrin) – 5:09

Deluxe Edition CD bonus tracks

The 2001 CD reissue includes a bonus CD with the following tracks:

  1. "Hello, Hooray" (Live) (Kempf) - 3:04
  2. "Billion Dollar Babies" (Live) (Cooper, Bruce, Reggie) - 3:47
  3. "Elected" (Live) (Cooper, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway, Smith) - 2:28
  4. "I'm Eighteen" (Live) (Cooper, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway, Smith) - 4:50
  5. "Raped and Freezin'" (Live) (Cooper, Bruce) - 3:14
  6. "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (Live) (Cooper, Bruce) - 3:07
  7. "My Stars" (Live) (Cooper, Ezrin) - 7:32
  8. "Unfinished Sweet" (Live) (Cooper, Bruce, Smith) - 6:01
  9. "Sick Things" (Live) (Cooper, Bruce, Ezrin) - 3:16
  10. "Dead Babies" (Live) (Cooper, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway, Smith) - 2:58
  11. "I Love the Dead" (Live) (Cooper, Ezrin) - 4:48
  12. "Coal Black Model T" - 4:28
  13. "Son of Billion Dollar Babies" - 3:45
  14. "Slick Black Limousine" (Cooper, Dunaway) - 4:26
  • Track 1 to 11 are recorded live in Houston 1973, previously unreleased on CD
  • Track 12 is an early version of "Slick Black Limousine", previously unreleased
  • Track 13 is a "Generation Landslide" outtake, previously unreleased
  • Track 14 was previously released in the UK only in 1973 as a free Flexi disc in NME magazine

Personnel

Production

  • Bob Ezrin - producer
  • Jack Douglas - engineer
  • Robin Black - engineer
  • Frank Hubach - engineer
  • Ed Sprigg - engineer
  • Logan Jervis - engineer
  • Shelly Yakus - engineer
  • Peter Flanagan - engineer
  • Brian Kehew - editing, remixing
  • Pacific Eye & Ear - design concept
  • Greg Allen - art direction, design
  • Hugh Brown - art direction
  • David P. Bailey - photography, cover photo
  • Neal Preston - photography
  • Lynn Goldsmith - photography
  • Jo Motta - project coordinator
  • Steve Woolard - project coordinator
  • Randy Perry - project assistant
  • Vanessa Atkins - editorial supervision
  • Norma Edwards - editorial research
  • Shawn Amos - editorial coordinator

Chart positions

Album

Year Chart Position
1973 Billboard 200 1

Singles

Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1972 "Elected" Pop Singles 26
1973 "Hello, Hooray" Pop Singles 35
1973 "No More Mr. Nice Guy" Pop Singles 25
1973 "Billion Dollar Babies" Pop Singles 57

External links

Billion Dollar Babies at Allmusic

Preceded by
Lady Sings the Blues (soundtrack) by Diana Ross		 Billboard 200 number-one album
April 21 - April 27, 1973		 Succeeded by
The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
v • d • e
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper

Keri Kelli • Damon Johnson • Chuck Garric • Jimmy DeGrasso
See: Former members list
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
and box-sets
Videography
Singles
Related articles

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Billion Dollar Babies".  Read more