Billion Dollar Babies

Kind of like a very competent Halloween gag. Also, weirdly, I don't think I knew what Alice Cooper sounded like until this.

This owns. I always thought Alice Cooper was just a gothy joke, like Elvira.

Alice Cooper just seems a bit lame by today's standards. Like if Disney did Cradle of Filth

Way better than I had expected. Should’ve listened to this a long time ago

Wait....am I really into Alice Cooper????????? Loved "Elected" (maybe I'm too into GOTV right now) and "Hello Hooray." Generation Landslide stood out too. Mary Ann -- LOVE the pianoooo. Unexpected after some of the more shout-y songs. I loooooove the transition from Sick Things into Mary Ann. The piano at the beginning. Really made me appreciate the art of an album and listening to songs in the intended order and with the intended context an artist wants you to listen to them. Did not like I Love the Dead. Liked this enough that I kept listening to the live versions and the live version of Billionaire dollar Babies SLAPPPPS. The guitar riffs!!! And how the drums intermingles with them. Am I really gonna give him five stars???? Honestly overall the live versions are super worth listening to for the extra passion in the delivery of the lyrics & the musicianship of all the extra riffs. And the original album version of raped & freezin (don't love the title or the lyrics?) didn't do anything for me but the live version made me take notice in a good way. No More Mr. Nice Guy was great live too. Not that shocked now that I like his sound - I love Ace Frehley's "Back in the New York Groove" and Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take it" and his sound reminds me of it. VERYYY different sound (kinda Elvis?) but was into Model-T too. Damn this guy has range. Edit: I listened to this full album 3x through in 24 hours after never hearing any of the songs before. Big fan.

Alright, look. I'm a huge Alice Cooper fan, and so I am going to make a strong attempt to be as objective as possible in this review. And it is from the perspective of that objective lens that I am here to tell you that this album 100% deserves to be on this project. Alice Cooper brought shock rock out of its prototypal obscurity and perfected it. That didn’t happen without its fair bit of experimentation. But it was on this sixth studio album that Alice Cooper's efforts reached a point of stars aligning and coming together. Billion Dollar Babies brings together the best of the band's work thus far in the areas of glam, metal, horror, and shock. The album is consistent and cohesive throughout, with interesting lyrics and vocals, dark horror-inspired topics, excellent riffs, and hard hitting rock. The band went through a significant polishing phase during this album, even down to Alice Cooper himself honing in on his signature look, a look that he is still ultimately known for today. The success of this album was a culmination that led to the also incredibly successful Billion Dollar Babies Tour, a true shock rock theatrical spectacle that included drills, guillotines, body parts, blood, whips, and thousands of other pounds of miscellaneous horror paraphernalia. (Seriously, if you care about shock rock, watch the tour recording, "Good To See You Again, Mr. Cooper" and witness history in the making.) This album and its tour undeniably shaped and changed the course of shock rock, and was undoubtedly an inspiration for other shock rock legends such as Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson. The impact just can’t be overstated. Honestly, this album just slays.

5 star. Was going to give 4.5 but fuck it - A masterpiece by Alice and the band. One of my favorites when I was in high school, mostly for the shock rock value. But now now I see it has artistic value beyond that

One of the revelations I’ve had doing this list is that Alice Cooper in the 70’s was so much cooler than the campy glam metal stereotype I have of them from the 80’s. “I Love the Dead” is a bit much, though.

One of my favourite albums, full stop. Grew up with this being played in the house and know every word. Although Coop himself is (rightfully) seen as a godfather of shock rock, the original Alice Cooper band were so much more. For a start, their songwriting eschewed the usual themes and consequently the albums always had a peculiar, left-field feel to them. This impression is only heightened by the music. How to describe it? A kind of progressive garage rock I suppose. The ACB took rock 'n' roll to some odd places, untroubled as they were with traditional song structures. It's all here on Billion Dollar Babies, either their best or second-best album depending on my mood. Great instrumentalists, too. Dennis Dunaway might be my favourite bassist.

Alice Cooper is one of those artists you might overlook because you don't think there is any substance behind that massive persona. I know I did for years. But, man, is this guy brilliant. What a big, elegantly crafted sound, so much better than it has any right or expectation to be. But it's also incredibly catchy and engaging, music that's really easy to just play endlessly on repeat. Cooper consistently surrounds himself with stellar musicians. His musical sensibilities cover everything from the prog to glam to pure pop and early rock and roll. And he makes it all work so effortlessly. His lyrics are smart, darkly funny, whimsically creepy, even surprisingly heartfelt. And they're probably all written with a big, wry smile. On top of all that, Cooper just rocks. He's so much fun to listen to. Not only is Billion Dollar Babies Alice Cooper's greatest album, it's one of the best albums of the 1970s. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): No More Mr. Nice Guy, Billion Dollar Babies, Mary Ann, I Love the Dead, Hello Hooray, Raped and Freezin', Elected, Generation Landslide, Unfinished Sweet, Sick Things

I was very surprised at how much I actually enjoyed this. With the exception of a few of the last tracks I loved it. Gets a five because of how much I was taken back.

-An absolutely fantastic album -"Hello Hooray" is a great anthemic-esque track -"Elected" is a fun take on politics, and a total jam -"Billion Dollar Babies" is an incredible track. Great guitar riffs throughout, some great bass slides, catchy lyrics, and basically anything else you could want -"No More Mr. Nice Guy" sits with "School's Out" as the 2 Alice Cooper tracks I expect literally anyone to have heard -"I Love The Dead" is classic macabre Alice Cooper. Great imagery, easy to sing along chorus, some crazy breathing sound effects, and lots of fancy instrumentation, as well as a nice bit of a jam in the middle

Love the dark, gritty themes of this album over the loud, anthemic, hard rock guitars. Cooper's got a killer voice. Standout Tracks: Hello Hooray, Elected, Billion Dollar Babies, Mary Ann, I Love the Dead

Pretty fun, with some misses (what the fuck was “I Love the Dead”??). A little too campy to listen to on a regular basis, but I wouldn’t turn it off if I heard it again.

We are not worthy!

Kinda sucks lol

An absolute joy from start to finish. Great tunes, fab musicianship and a sense of humour. Brilliant. I played this album constantly when I was 13-14 but had forgotten how good it was. It's better than I remembdr it because now I understand and appreciate the humour as well as the music.

i must preface this review with saying alice cooper is my favorite artist. i cannot manage to be unbiased in my review and i'm glad to use this as an excuse to listen to a fantastic album. billion dollar babies is AMAZING. it showcases the alice cooper band's shock rock sound. the band definitely hit their stride in this album--i think it's their best (band-wise). a lot of what the band does here they were already doing: they were writing witty lyrics like what's in "elected," creating creepy songs like "unfinished sweet" dating back a few years, and writing amazing guitar, bass, and drum melodies (that drum intro on "billion dollar babies"? WOW). but there's something amazing about this album that makes it different from their previous albums. not every song was released as a single, but every song is so *good* and so unique. the lyrics are top notch. the group balances well between clever and scary. and if the lyrics aren't enough for you, listening to the piano solo in "mary ann" will cause actual chills to go up your spine! "i love the dead" is horror-esque by its title alone, but the guitar takes the listener on such a journey that you viscerally feel it. i couldn't say enough wonderful things about this album. well deserved on this list. i wouldn't dare change a single lyric or note.

Alice Cooper’s magnus opus. An outstanding compilation of songs that does not disappoint the listener. The histrionic Hello Hurray starts the fantastic trip impeccably, several bangers follow, finally closing with the I Love The Dead (one of my favorite in the record) This is a seminal record that made history, not only in the glam rock, but in the 70s scene

I love Alice Cooper & this entire album. I would argue that Unfinished Sweet is the best dentist song of all time & they absolutely ARE aching to get me.

Favs: Billion Dollar Babies, I Love the Dead, Hello Hooray, No More Mr. Nice Guy Mehs: I don't really think this one has "mehs." But Raped and Freezin' is my least favorite. Great stuff. Essential rock. Alice Cooper! \m/(>.<)\m/

THE BEST!

I mean, as far as an album with a song about necrophilia, it was pretty decent. 3.4 stars

I didn't dislike this as much as I expected to, but I still thought it was pretty bad. For so-called "shock rock" this is so boring! Maybe the live shows would make it better, because this sounds like a soundtrack to a campy musical more than an actual album. The fact that this scared and horrified parents is bizarre. It's laughably tame, so much so that "I Love the Dead" actually made me laugh out loud.

Ah, shock rock. I'm always a bit skeptical of beat combos that have the "ooh a bit edgy" reputation as it makes up for a lack of tunes. This does little for me and especially not keen on the fun tracks about rape and necrophilia. Production socks too.

corny theatrical (which is maybe good idk in terms of being different) but at the same time they seem to lack lustre or passion?! Perhaps it’s just cos idk the guy , repetitive at points to no effect, trying too hard for a shock factor but ig that’s his brand, 3/10

Again not a massive fan but not offensive

I've been unapologetically enjoying this album all day. It's a true delight in rock music, where Alice really goes all out—especially in terms of production, thanks to Bob Ezrin. This album is phenomenal, filled with only strong songs and sound effects that enhance the listening experience, like the cheers in "Elected" and the drill sounds in "Unfinished Sweet." It's also clever how he addresses some pretty unusual topics. I still believe this is his best album, and it’s definitely much stronger than the other one on this list.

Great

This album is just filled to the brim with excellent riffs, fills, songs, moods, solos. Fucking incredible. There's a reason Alice Cooper is who I've seen in concert the most of any artist. Puts on a damn good show in person and in the studio. Love the theatrical quality to this record

One of the only things me and my older brother agree on is that early Alice Cooper is genius And this is one of his best albums

Great album! I knew a gre songs already but never heard the album all the way through. Will for sure listen again. Reminds me of my older brother while we were growing up.

Well this was a blast from the past. My mum used to play this when I was little. It's interesting hearing it again decades later. Alice is nowhere near as campy as I remember. Great musicianship from the band and lyrics that are more clever than you expect. These are songs that get stuck in your head and beg you to sing along.

Great shock rock album

A sometimes fruity, sometimes progy and all the time campy vampryic opera for the damned. You can practically hear the eye liner. Although not the amazingly mind-blowing life-changing will-never-hear music-the-same-again album to finish this project on, I'm very pleased to have finished on something interesting, engaging and perfectly listenable. I decided to listen to album number 1084 on a Sunday walk through my local bushland and am now sitting on a bench reflecting on how incredible the last 3.5 years of eye opening musical exposure has been. It has without doubt exponentially influenced my music taste and knowledge. It's also an incredible motivator to continue deep diving into the thousands of rich, complex and beautiful musical rabbit holes that exist throughout culture and history. That's enough. Thank you Slidegunner for making this incredible website. DONE.

classic LP, played this record a lot in the old days

Excellent old rock album

So sweet. I think this is kind of the quintessential Alice Cooper album with all of the vaudeville and horror imagery that it entails.

Not sure if I've ever listened to all this before. I really enjoyed it.

5/5

Somehow, I think I’m at a 5. I can’t really explain why – I just enjoyed the hell out of this. At the first track, I was trying so hard to place what the vocals reminded me of, and it took until I Love The Dead to realize that Alice Cooper sounds like Weird Al for parts of this album; maybe that’s just a subconscious thing that added to my enjoyment of this album. Even without that connection, I think the album just sounds fantastic. It’s got such a good variance of styles, from the sort of rock arena anthem that is Hello Hooray, to the James Bond vibes of Unfinished Sweet, to the sort of jovial and Elton John-esque No More Mr. Nice Guy, and to the blatantly obvious Bob Dylan homage that is Generation Landslide. There’s just a lot of fun to be had on this album. It does sort of falter by the last 3 tracks, where it tries to take a sort of moodier approach (but they're still fine), but I think the strength of those first 7 tracks and the fun I had with them just gets me to a 5. I enjoyed it that much; great instrumentation, fun vocals, good vibes, awesome album. Definitely deserves to be on the list.

Alice Cooper is an under appreciated artist. This album like most of his work is masterfully crafted and has a lot of bangers. Had the pleasure of seeing him live a few years ago. For a dude in his 70s he put on one hell of a show. All energy for over 2 hours. Giving some of these newer acts a run for their money. At any rate, don't sleep on this album! Stand out Tracks: Hello Hooray, Billion Dollar Babies, No More Mr. Nice Guy

Probably my favourite Alice Cooper album, so many great tracks, "Hello Hooray", "Elected", "No More Mr. Nice Guy", "I Love the Dead", the title track "Billion Dollar Babies", dental nighmare, "Unfinished Sweet", and my favourite "Sick Things".

- Kind of surprising that I am giving this 5 stars. But I have found myself listening to the album multiple times in the past 24 hours, so my rating should reflect that. - I like Alice Cooper's style; on this particular album he is giving me shades of "Paul McCartney's evil twin"? This was most reflected in "Mary Ann." - Was not expecting there to be so much variation in these tracks, particularly with the often odd backing elements and distortions. All of these songs are bangers. They are all fun, raucous, mesmerizing, disturbing, affecting, or some combination of the above. Personally love "Hello Hooray." - "Sick Things" and "I Love the Dead" are both incredibly dark and macabre, but both kept me hooked in.

Man this album is entertaining as all hell. Way better than it has any right to be.

I think this is Alice's Dark Side of the Moon. His albums leading up to it were rock classics, but this is when he put it all together - hard rock, clever lyrics, with his gender bending social commentary. The song Billion Dollar Babies has a great duet with Donavan, an iconic guitar solo, and some of Alice's best vocals imo. Would listen again.

What a great record! How did I not know that Donovan did vocals on the title track?! I love how theatrical this whole album is, and I love that they never tried to transform themselves from shock rock. Smart lyrics and great musicianship. So good.

After doubling down on the experimentation aspect of their music with the excellent School’s Out, Alice Cooper’s next album Billion Dollar Babies is a relatively straightforward affair. By which I mean there are no horn sections of quotations from Musicals. Billion Dollar Babies is bombastic and complex, often employing string sections and multi-layered arrangements of electric and acoustic guitars, but it does it without ever becoming overbearing. It’s complex and arranged, but also loud and funny, and because of the shock value lyrics never loses the edge that put them at the forefront of the American Glam movement. Also it was Chris Cornell’s favourite album apparently, so that’s enough for me. God do I love Alice Cooper

The beginning of the king of shock rock. I will always been a fan.

Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!!

Perfect. Non-stop great rock songs. I go with the consensus view on this album. The opening song must be the best cover song ever. Billion Dollar Babies might be my favourite Alice Cooper song etc etc. Clearly, AC's best record and one of the best albums from the 70s. Score: 10/10

Wow, outstanding bum. I had only really ever heard a couple Alice Cooper things in like commercials, and I think Billion Dollar Babies was in Rock Band or something, but this grabbed me immediately with Hello Hooray. This was an incredible album.

It rocks. It glams. It’s theatrical. It’s Alice Cooper. Filled with fascinating instrumentation, this is Alice Cooper at his best. Honestly, it’s theatric rock at its best.

I had two 👍s on this album. Pretty fun album. Way better than what I thought I’d get from AC.

I’m not sure what I expect from an Alice Cooper album, but for some reason I was surprised at how theatrical it all is. Closer to Meat Loaf than Marilyn Manson… and that’s a good thing to me. This was a lot of fun to listen to… had lots of interesting messages and great performances. Really good stuff!

This is the biggest surprise album I’ve had yet I think. I was not at all interested in this, did not expect to like it at all, and ended up loving it. Multiple times I was listening to a song that felt “generic old rock”, but then just totally changed and got way more interesting (the end of “Raped and Freezin”, the horns in “Elected”, the harmonica on “Generation Landslide”). I could clearly hear The Velvet Underground influence, and at other times I got Queen vibes. It’s gritty, and in more of a horror movie way than a sex and drugs way like most of TVU stuff. Something about it works for me though. The sounds are unique, Cooper’s voice is great (though he oversings in a real ‘70s rock way at times, but it is what it is), and it stays interesting throughout. I could have had infinite guesses about who sings Mary Ann and I don’t think I ever would have guessed Alice Cooper. My biggest downside here is that there’s not that song or two that’s totally iconic. No More Mister Nice Guy is the closest one on here (and it’s probably the most tame and polished song too). Really feels like the whole is better than the sum of the parts overall though. Favorite song: Mary Ann Other: Raped and Freezin, Elected, Unfinished Sweet, No More Mister Nice Guy, I Love the Dead

Very nice album. Need to check other works.

This is surprisingly a great album. I always like some of Alice Cooper songs room to go to listen to this album all the way through, though I’m obviously heard several of these songs because they were hit singles all in all a great band… Even though the man Alice Cooper has terrible politics. He knows how to play a rock ‘n’ roll band and put one together.

Was really surprised by this one. I really liked it, and will be revisiting it. It reminded me of something like Bowie, but with sillier/darker lyrics. 4.5/5

Lots of cool stuff going on here. Very pioneering and influential for 73. First listen was a 3, second listen a 4 and found the time to bump it up to 5 with a 3rd spin. I bet the visual was pretty intense back then too.

Elected is a banger. The horns. Forgot I wanna be sedated is basically a rip off. No More Mr Nice Guy is a banger. Everything else is good. Not sure what Unfinished Sweet is meant to be.

cool

outstanding, top drawer

This one was a surprised I really had fun with this!

Not as macabre as later stuff. All good songs.

Classic Alice Cooper.

Wow… that was a surprise. I exhaled a little bit when this landed, and shame on me. What a belter of an album, and it’s exactly why I was excited to do this challenge. Ordinarily I would never have looked out for an Alice Cooper album and more fool me. As I was listening I was thinking… this is a three… actually maybe it’s a four. Then I asked myself, “what’s stopping me giving this a five?!” The answer: Nothing. Superb album. I especially love the title track, Unfinished Sweet and Generation Landslide.

'No More Mr. Nice Guy', 'Hello Hooray', 'Elected', 'Generation Landslide', 'I Love the Dead', 'Billion Dollar Babies'... This record is like a 'greatest hits' album of best hard rock in the 70s. All in one record. By just one artist

Detroit classic

Own this one! Especially side 1 is great.

Sometimes a little disjointed but always interesting and jarring. Mostly great music and creepy without being pastiche.

Fun and surprisingly tender!

this album has no more Mr nice guy.

Oh wow. I remember buying this at a car boot sale and I still absolutely adore it. It's pure over the top silly spectacle, a prototype for shock rock - Marilyn Manson did nothing that Alice Cooper hadn't already set in motion. Still put this on and rock out from time to time. It's interesting when you read about Alice Cooper's sound basically changed later on so that they could be more commercially successful - mind you, that doesn't mean that Trash and Hey Stoopid aren't also awesome.

Only knew Elected and had never actually heard the album before. Loved it. How much did i love this album ! Track 1, i think, is my new fav Alice Cooper tune. Really enjoyed...

Fantastic

Clássico.

Another one from my youth, Alice Cooper was an innovator and the start of shock rock

ovo san čekala!! top album al moran izdvojit basista, wow wow wow! vrhunski

Rock perfection

Visceral

schools out foreve!

Still brilliant

One of the high water marks for the classic lineup - excellent songs, great arrangements. Elected is particularly stellar - the rolling buildup of the bass at the start, the horns ....

I'm surprised that there are two Alice Cooper albums on this list. I didn't think he was that influential, and I didn't realize this work was early 70s. I would have thought it was late 70s or early 80s.

Obra maestra absoluta. Alice es uno de los grandes y este es su mejor trabajo. De ellos me gustan hasta sus andares, y es que disfruto mucho de sus discos más heavys, pero no hay nada como su rock más clásico cuando eran una banda.

Glam rock with a darkness around the edges. Billion Dollar Babies skips right past macabre to the novelty of shock rock, though it doesn’t quite hint at Alice’s sole focus on shock rock that’s to come. 3.9/5

listened twice 1st time better than 2nd time. Elected is a tune though

I had never heard this before, other than 'No More Mr Nice Guy', which is a classic. I was pleasantly surprised. Not a classic album by any stretch, but competent and fun.

“No more mister nice guy” is always a classic. Love Alice cooper and all he’s done for rock/hard rock

Adorned with grit and glitz, Billion Dollar Babies finds Alice Cooper within the peak of its powers and the height of their popularity. Surprising in its legacy (members of Soundgarden and Talking Heads count as fans) as much as its uncompromising approach towards lurid topics, the album crunches and strides with purpose; as though it is in the midst of a new start as opposed to the beginning of the end. Come for the green snakeskin wallet, stay for some of the best hard rock of its era. Favorites: Hello Hooray, Raped and Freezin', Billion Dollar Babies, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Generation Landslide, Sick Things, I Love the Dead.

In a period when the personas became marketed as ever more extreme it clearly worked and AC became very popular in the UK. A well played album at the time in the circle of friends. It captured a teenager's rebelliousness thoughts even if they had no intention of going there. A liberal scattering of some proper sing-along pop songs that still work well belted out today.

Surprised at how much I liked this one. A lot of different styles and had some Who-esque qualities

Hearing Alice’s influences throughout the album as well as the influences this album had on others. Good listenable album for “Hard” rock.

Classic Alice Cooper

Was very skeptical about this album, glad I gave it a go though as it really grew on me, proved to be surprisingly eclectic, and displays some interesting production. I hear Jagger/Richards, Townsend/Daltrey, and a bit of late Beatles/early solo McCartney in various places. Yeah, there’s some cheesy stuff there but an inspired pick for US election week!

I haven’t heard a lot from Alice Cooper, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect here. This was a fun time, i’m glad to report. There’s just this feel to it that’s great. The campy lyrics add more fun to the songs, however the campiness can be for better or for worse sometimes. Cooper’s energy here really carries that, Cooper’s performance gives these songs more of a soul in a way. There’s plenty of stand out songs as well. “No More Mr. Nice Guy” is iconic, it’s fun! The piano song “Mary Ann” was unexpected haha. That also goes for the big outro of “I Love The Dead.” There’s some good brass sections on that! The guitar solos on this are nice as well, I might prefer some more to others though. This review might be short, but I still had some fun while listening to this. It was pretty nice, good job Alice Cooper!

This is a really interesting album. I haven't listened to Alice Cooper before. I fall between neutral and like on all of the songs. I liked "Raped and Freezin'" (not a good name or topic), but it has good musical sections and great energy. The end sounds like he suddenly brought Paul Simon into the booth. I liked "Billion Dollar Babies", "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "I Love the Dead" a lot as well. Solid and interesting rock and roll. 7/10

8/10. Dope hard rock album!!! :)

Spooky Ziggy Stardust. I’m here for it