Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies [Warner/Rhino 180g LP; Mastered by Bernie Grundman] 24-bit/96kHz & CD-compatible

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Not only is Billion Dollar Babies one of Cooper's very best; it remains one of rock's all-time, quintessential classics. - Greg Prato/AMG

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Billion Dollar Babies is an album by American hard rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1973. The album became the best selling Alice Cooper record at the time of its release, hit number one on the album charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and went on to be certified by platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album was heavily praised by such critics as Robert Christgau, Greg Prato of allmusic, and Jason Thompson of popmatters, but only given two and a half stars by Rolling Stone.

Songs from the album were recorded in both the state of Connecticut and London, England. Lyrics on the album cover topics and themes such as necrophilia, the fear of dentists, horror, and a comedic take on sexual harassment.

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Review by Greg Prato 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.

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Track listing

Side A
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, Smith, Vinson 3:43
5. "Unfinished Sweet" Cooper, Bruce, Smith 6:18

Side B
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

Personnel

* Alice Cooper - vocals
* Glen Buxton - guitar
* Michael Bruce - rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
* Dennis Dunaway - bass, backing vocals
* Neal Smith - drums
* Donovan - vocals on the song "Billion Dollar Babies"
* Steve "Deacon" Hunter - guitar
* Mick Mashbir - guitar
* Dick Wagner - guitar
* Bob Dolin - keyboards
* David Libert - vocals
* Bob Ezrin - producer

Personal Note

With my vinyl rips I try to catch the whole beauty of records. Therefore I don't use any post-processing or any sound improver. What you get is a clear and flat transfer.
For getting a clear sound I'll do an extended washing of each record with my RCM, which can take up to 30 minutes brushing for each side. Resistant ticks and clicks I try to remove as good as possible, but the priority is not to loose any musical information.
Surface noises, as long they are not to high, are left in place. Only on bad pressings or on records recorded with extremly low level I do a fade in-/-out. As John Peel said, 'Life is full of surface noises'.
In some cases this means I have to do a compromise... The result has to pass my personal quality criteria which is IMO quite high.