On most days Muscle Of Love is my favorite ALICE COOPER album. It was the last of the original band, being released near the end of 1973. It was the follow up to the band’s biggest album, and massive – Billion Dollar Babies, released earlier in that same year! While Muscle Of Love didn’t sell as well as it’s predecessor, it did go Gold and hit the Top 10 in the US, while making it to #4 in Canada (RPM). It didn’t boast as many hit singles as Billion Dollar Babies, the hit singles being “Teenage Lament ’74” and “Muscle of Love”, but it did feature a number of classic Cooper tracks such as the lead off “Big Apple Dreamin”, “Never Been Sold Before”, the ballad “Hard Hearted Alice”, and cool closing cut “Woman Machine”. A bit less theatrical than the string of classic albums leading up to this, but this is just a great rock n roll album! Perhaps it was a bit rushed at the time(?) and with Bob Ezrin not producing it, nor guitarist Glen Buxton playing much of a role on it, and a good portion of this album never played live, Muscle Of Love did not get a fair shake compared to those leading up to it!? Either way, I love this album. It’s got 9 memorable AC songs and is a fantastic listen beginning to end. So I am extremely excited for this release – the last of America’s Greatest rock n roll band!
Check out the press info, clips, and ordering link below.
The definitive version of the band’s seventh and final full-length offering encompasses 11 previously unreleased tracks, spanning recently unearthed Early Versions and Alternate Mixes of staple songs. Additionally, the liner notes feature an in-depth and immersive track-by-track account of the story behind MUSCLE OF LOVE, as told to renowned music journalist Jaan Uhelszki. She spoke extensively to Cooper, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith, and additional guitarist Mick Mashbir to compile the most comprehensive discourse on this record ever published thus far.
MUSCLE OF LOVE saw the band double down on their rock ‘n’ roll roots, delivering an uncompromising body of work buoyed by impeccable playing, massive hooks, and good old-fashioned Detroit grit. Produced by Jack Richardson and Jack Douglas, it cracked the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and scored a Gold certification from the RIAA. This uncompromising body of work includes the famed title track “Muscle of Love” as well as “Teenage Lament ’74,” “Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo),” and “Hard Hearted Alice.” It would also be the final album recorded by the original band, and they definitely went out with a bang, to say the least.
LP 1 A1. Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo) A2. Never Been Sold Before A3. Hard Hearted Alice A4. Crazy Little Child B1. Working Up A Sweat B2. Muscle Of Love B3. Man With The Golden Gun B4. Teenage Lament ’74 B5. Woman Machine
LP 2 C1. Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo) (Early Version) C2. Never Been Sold Before (Early Version) C3. Hard Hearted Alice (Alternate Mix) C4. Crazy Little Child (Early Version) D1. Working Up A Sweat (Alternate Mix) D2. Muscle Of Love (Alternate Mix) D3. Man With The Golden Gun (Early Version) D4. Teenage Lament ’74 (Acoustic Diversion) D5. Woman Machine (Alternate Mix)
The CD version adds:
BluRay Disc Featuring The Quad Mixes 1. Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo) 2. Never Been Sold Before 3. Hard Hearted Alice 4. Crazy Little Child 5. Working Up A Sweat 6. Muscle Of Love 7. Man With The Golden Gun 8. Teenage Lament ’74 9. Woman Machine
LEE AARON’s new album Tattoo Me is out. It consists of 11 covers of varying classic tunes. I’ve said it before – I am not usually a fan of such albums, unless there’s something unique or very different about them, or they have a purpose or a theme. Tattoo Me has a great selection of songs spanning a number of decades; it also features Lee’s distinctive voice, and songs aren’t presented as note for note covers — so that gives it all a different and fresh approach/feel….There’s a few songs here I’ve never heard before, such as opener “Tattoo” (originally by California band The 77s), cool song, suits Lee and her band perfectly (and since I don’t know the original, well… it’s all new to me). Other favorites here are “Go Your Own Way” (Fleetwood Mac) with Sean Kelly doing an awesome job of re-visiting Lindsay Buckingham’s legendary guitar work, “Even It Up” (Heart) – which is a bit slowed down and rockier, Elton John’s “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”, and Alice Cooper’s “Is It My Body” – a bit of a twist, and Lee gives it attitude (as required with AC songs). Lots of different stuff here that Lee Aaron and band pull off like it all belongs together. A fun Canadian rock album just in time for summer! *Check out the press info and links below…
Eighteen albums into her career, AARON has written, recorded, and produced music achieving gold and multi-platinum sales. Recognized as one of Canada’s top rock vocalists, she’s also made forays into jazz, blues, and even opera, receiving numerous awards and accolades and, most recently, a 2023 induction into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
“Songs are like tattoos” – the famous first line of Joni Mitchell’s Blue – is a sentiment that has always resonated deeply for Canadian rocker LEE AARON.
“The one thing I’d never done was a full covers album,” says AARON. “It seemed like a really cool and super-fun project to tackle at this point…”
Taking a nostalgic journey, Tattoo Me pays homage to musical trailblazers who helped shape her own artistic path. As a reflection of her eclectic taste, yet in keeping with a profound respect for the greats, these 11 dynamic tracks are a unique tapestry of influences that transcend era and genre.
“It started out as a heartfelt nod to artists we’d been influenced by in our youth, but the truth is, we didn’t stop being influenced or being fans at 18, so the list kept evolving. It covers a few decades and a few unconventional choices, but it was incredibly rewarding to make!” she states.
Each track is a labor of love, infused with AARON and her band’s signature rock ’n’ roll swagger, yet in keeping with a sense of reverence for the originals.
The album was produced by AARON in her Vancouver studio and mixed by multi-media genius Frank Gryner (Rob Zombie, L7, Def Leppard, Larkin Poe, Ian Hunter, and more).
“One of the positive things that came out of the pandemic was that we all upgraded our home studios and got very good at engineering and recording ourselves. No one was under the pressure of a studio clock, so the performances are as genuine as they’re gonna get.”
From the sizzling blues-rock of 1960’s Nina Simone’s “The Pusher,” to the rebellious energy of 1972 Alice Cooper’s “Is it My Body,” AARON growls, purrs, whispers, and wails, sounding like she’s having an absolute blast infusing these songs with her own fiery spirit. Her voice is as versatile and powerful as ever.
Standout tracks include a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “What is and What Should Never Be,” Heart’s “Even it Up,” and Hole’s “Malibu.” Stellar performances by AARON’s long-term band – Sean Kelly (guitar), Dave Reimer (bass), and John Cody (drums) – effortlessly channel these ’70s and ’80s rock giants and seem to capture the original magic of each of the tunes.
Another gem is AARON’s take on Elton John’s “Someone Saved My Life Tonight.” Kelly’s gorgeous acoustic guitars create the soundscape, then strings and lush harmonies support her stirring vocal performance. The tribute is passionate and heartfelt. She reflects, “I spent hours and hours laying on my basement floor with headphones listening to ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ on repeat. I desperately wanted someone to save me from my boring life when I was a teenager…music ended up being that for me.”
The album also takes some unexpected turns, with delightful interpretations of songs from a diverse range of artists, including mid ’90s BritPop band Elastica, California’s 77’s, and the Undertones. Each track echoes the vibe of the era while seamlessly fitting into the lineage of AARON’s own storied career.
Tattoo Me is a sonic time capsule, bridging the decades. Once again, cementing her status as a rock ’n’ roll chameleon, AARON blends the old and the new, proving not only that the transcendent power of music never stops, but that she herself isn’t ready to anytime soon.
LINE UP: Lee Aaron – lead vocals Sean Kelly – guitars Dave Reimer – bass John Cody – drum
TRACKLIST: 1. Tattoo 2. Are You Gonna Be My Girl 3. Even It Up 4. What Is And What Should Never Be 5. Is it My Body 6. Go Your Own Way 7. The Pusher 8. Malibu 9. Someone Saved My Life Tonight 10. Connection 11. Teenage Kicks
Now available on CD, including bonus tracks: Breadcrumbs by Alice Cooper, the release that initiated the success of the album Detroit Stories
Inspired by the rebellious energy of the late ’60s and early ’70s punk scene, Alice Cooper returns to his roots and the unpolished garage sound that his fans love so much. Previously only available as a limited and now out-of-print 10″ vinyl, this gem is now finally being released as a nice price CD edition.
The release contains the six tracks from the original 10″ vinyl, which showcase Cooper’s raw and energetic interpretation of classic Detroit songs: “Your Mama Won’t Like Me” by Suzi Quatro; Bob Seger’s “East Side Story”; MC5’s “Sister Anne”; Shorty Long’s “Devil With A Blue Dress On”; and The Dirtbombs’ “Chains of Love.” All are performed in the popular and well-known Alice Cooper style. In addition, this release includes the two bonus tracks “Don’t Give Up,” Cooper’s message of hope and appeal to the perseverance of his fans dur. ing the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a live version of “Go Man Go” from his electrifying set at Hellfest 2022.
BREADCRUMBS TRACK LISTING: “Detroit City 2020” “Go Man Go” “East Side Story” “Your Mama Won’t Like Me” “Devil With A Blue Dress On” + “Chains Of Love” “Sister Anne” “Don’t Give Up” (Bonus Track) “Go Man Go (Live At Hellfest 2022)” (Bonus Track)
The 50th Anniversary reissue of ALICE COOPER‘s biggest album – Billion Dollar Babies was recently released (a year late). Like the classic AC albums Killer and School’s Out (which came out last year) – this comes in a 3-LP edition (2CD), with bonus tracks, and an entire live show – All remastered, with lengthy sleeve notes inside, and other goodies! In this recent interview with drummer Neal Smith. Neal discusses these anniversary releases, the band live, the outtakes, Easy Action, and the band’s success in Canada! *Check it out and drop a note if you have the new B$Bs release.
How did these things (3LP sets) actually come about as far as who initiated the plan to get these out with the bonus material and particularly the live shows?
Well pretty much Warner Brothers puts these packages together, and the only thing that we’re involved in is, I know there’s an eight-page booklet that’s included in this Billion Dollar Babies Deluxe 50th Anniversary set, and Jaan Uhelszki. She’s an amazing writer, she used to work at Cream Magazine. So, we were all involved in those interviews, and I read the one that she did for the Killer 50th Anniversary album, she did a phenomenal job, I have a copy here, right in front of me, I haven’t opened it yet. When we did the Talk Shop Live interview – Alice, Mike Bruce, myself, and Dennis Dunaway, we opened it for the first time, and so I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, but we were involved in that. But as far as the recordings, they did these things up from the archives, and it pretty much is… and even the photographs on the inside that are new, that a lot of people haven’t seen before, they’re in total control of it, and that’s really how it comes together. And with COVID and the way things have been slow for the last couple of years, this album should have been out last year, obviously, in 1973 to 2023, but it’s like everything else, just a little back in its release date, so that’s why it’s out now. It’s a phenomenal package, and of course, there was a version that after it was released (where) we were asked to autograph some 12 by 12 flats that were included in some of the albums, and the only unfortunate thing about the whole process is that so far – and I know they’re working on correcting it, trying to make it work, but they’re not sending the albums to Canada or internationally, to the UK or Australia, but I understand they’re trying to figure out a way to work that out, and some very creative fans do have friends in the United States that they’re sending it to, and getting it to them. But at any rate, I think it came out great. I haven’t even listened to it, but I’ve seen the list of the songs, I guess on the vinyl side number three, of course I remember that really well, it was live in Texas, in Houston, Texas on April 28th, 1973, and that was when we were shooting scenes and recording for the movie, Good to See You Again Alice Cooper, and I know it’s been released before, but apparently they’ve just totally remastered it, remixed it, and it’s supposed to sound pretty amazing, so I’m excited to listen to that.
The live recordings, so do you keep any of those yourself, or does somebody have an archive of them, or is it just Warner Brothers that would have it?
Yeah, well the movie was released I think with Penthouse Magazine, I think they were the company that released Good to See You Again Alice Cooper, so whoever has the rights to it…. Bands never end up with their own, the record label actually owns the masters to all the music, now of course this wasn’t an official album because it was a soundtrack to Good to See You Again Alice Cooper, so I’m not really quite sure who owns it, but I’m sure that Warner Brothers and Rhino Records now have the rights to it of course for this album, and there’s a lot of outtakes as well.
Were you much of a collector of that stuff as far as keeping the band stuff yourself, like keeping tapes and stuff?
I mean I have quite a few copies of all of our original albums, the only thing that was out of the normal, I have one of the acetate test pressings for ‘Elected’, which is on about a 78 size record, which is almost like a 12 inch record, and that’s the only unusual one that I have that was played – those are test pressings that they play after they mix and master the music, and other than that, like I said all the tapes are owned by the record company, the record labels.
In the day you guys never released an actual live album, so I mean it’s kind of a plus for us fans that now with each of these releases there’s pretty much a live album attached to it.
Yeah, that’s right, there were a lot of live recordings back in the day, but for some reason even the Mar y Sol Festival, which I think there were some tracks on …well probably the Killer album, and I never realized that that was being recorded, so there are some of the very… I think there was one, the Medicine Ball tour show that was in Washington D.C., there was some live recordings there too. But you have to remember our stage show was pretty crazy, and if there were microphones, I mean even the microphones that were normally there, a lot of them got trashed, so that would be a little bit of an inconvenience, and the problem with recording all the tracks, especially around the drums, if they accept too many microphones, but there always, like I said, were microphones for the sound systems in the venue or a stadium wherever we played, but it’s really amazing, you’re absolutely right, that there weren’t more live recordings of those.
There were some, I actually have a cassette of one of our last shows that we did, the Billion Dollar Babies show at the Madison Square Garden in New York, after the original spring and summer tour, 1973, I have a cassette that is actually flipped over, I think through unfinished suite and is recorded on the other side, and it’s actually a great version, even though it’s just a mix of the board, so there are a few things that were around at the time, and again, that was just recorded by the sound engineers, so they would have a record of the sound and listen to it if they need to make some corrections or what have you, so there were very, very few things that were recorded for us, and that’s unfortunate, but like you say, it’s a great thing for the fans that there’s some live recordings on it. And they’ve been updated, because I gotta tell you, when we did the Houston, I think it was Dallas, or when things were done at the Houston in Texas in April of 73 there was a mobile unit, of course, that came to the Coliseum wherever we recorded that, and I was one of the first people in the band to go backstage and listen to the tracks, and boy did they sound like shit (haha), and I speak basically of the drums, and they were just raw coming off the session and live, but there’s so much they can do to make them sound great, and apparently, what I have heard of some of those tracks, even that have been released prior to this, they did a phenomenal job in getting the sound quality back, however they did it, and again, that’s a great thing, because that’s all I really care about when I hear these, because I know the energy’s going to be there, and it makes it sound more like what we’re used to hearing while we’re live on stage.
I was listening to the Billion Dollar Babies show, the live show earlier, and every time I hear like ’18’, it sounds very not stuck by the book, like obviously Alice adlibs some of the lyrics and all sorts of things. It sounds very spontaneous, so I’m curious, how much difference and changes and spontaneity went into your shows, as opposed to keeping everything exactly to the word and to the minute?
You have to remember that we started as a live band, we were getting standing ovations from our crazy finale, with the songs that we were doing off of Pretties For You, Easy Action, and these big shows like Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, and we did an awful lot live. So even in Vancouver, the big festival that was in the late 60s – early 70s, that we had played, and we could get standing ovations, and we didn’t have hit songs, but we wrote our songs for a live show. And recording an album is one thing, and playing songs in a live show is a totally other thing, and you have to remember that ‘I’m 18’ started off as an eight-minute song that we did live, back in the late 60s, before Bob Ezrin, with Nimbus Nine out of Toronto. Bob Ezrin produced it and cut it down to a three minute single, so we would take the dynamic of that, even when we played in the UK in 2017, and did five shows, the original band came out with Alice and did five shows over there – we changed, we actually made ‘I’m 18′ the opener of the set that we did, but it was elongated and a lot more dramatic for live, and we look at live totally different than in the studio, in the studio you’re trying to make a concise statement with one song, there can be album cuts of course, but still try to keep them between three minutes, three and a half minutes long, but you have the occasional really long album songs too, but live we really stretch everything out, almost every song we’ve ever done, to accommodate the fact that we just don’t go up there and play ’18’ for three minutes, even thinking about that just doesn’t make any sense to me, we knew how to use, and Michael Bruce was brilliant at this (and still is), of taking a song with the dynamics and changes and building it to a crescendo, and then boom, then we start the beginning of I’m 18, like a minute, minute and a half intro, so yes, we did change them, and that’s why it’s great to have some of these live songs. And we were also doing a lot of theatrics with the songs, so we needed more time to do the theatrics on stage, I always say that at the time we had costume changes, sometimes we would play tapes of the music, like we did Night On Bald Mountain when we were doing the, on the Billion Dollar Babies tour, when we went into what we call the dark part of the set, when there was, we all changed clothes into black from white outfits, and then we did ‘Sick Things’, ‘I Love the Dead’, and we did ‘Dead Babies’, so that was the dark side of the band live, and it has to be dramatic, we need time to, it’s very, it’s like Broadway, songs on Broadway are, you’ve gotta fit the theatrics in, and it’s all timing, and we did the same thing with our acts, so that’s why it’s great to have some of these songs that were actually recorded and now available for the fans to listen to.
There is a couple outtakes obviously that have been heard before, like ‘Slick Black Limousine’ and ‘Coal Model T’, were you guys much of a band that did extra stuff in the studio, or did you just do what was going to be on the album and that was it?
No, we would do the album and that was it, and there’s very, I mean that’s where there’s outtakes, I mean of course were in there, we did a lot of takes of songs, and all we were looking for was originally, I mean it was a whole different way to record that, the only instrument that had to be played correctly all the way through from the beginning to end on all seven or eight albums that we did, were the drums, everything else could be overdubbed and put out, but the drums had to be perfect from the beginning to end before we had an actual take, so that was a big part of it, and we spent a lot of time in pre-production outside of the studio, unlike other bands that would run up humongous bills in the studio while they’re writing the album, while they’re writing the song, and recording songs, we did all of our pre-production work out of the studio – Love It To Death and Killer at the Farm in Pontiac, Michigan, Bob Ezrin will come down, and then when we did School’s Out and Billion Dollar Babies, he came to our home and the mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, so we didn’t really do any extra songs, we went in the studio for ‘Slick Black Limousine’, and (I think) ‘Nobody Likes Me’, and those were the only two extra songs that we ever did, but they weren’t done in a session, they were done by themselves, intentionally as an extra to be available, whatever the hell we wanted to use it for at the time, but I think ‘Slick Black Limousine’, ‘Coal Black Model T’, whatever, there were two versions of it, and that was a progression, because sometimes we were, I mean Alice was always changing lyrics to songs, and that’s why even when we weren’t on stage live, Alice would ad lib and do different lyrics, lyrics also change as we did play things live, so that’s, to answer your question, no we did not, we went in to do six, seven, eight songs on the album, that’s what we did.
Now you’re up to, well three of these repackaged (albums) now, is there a plan to go back and possibly do Love to Death, or Muscle of Love?
Right now, I have not heard any plans to do that, that could change, but I know that they (Warner Brothers) were especially interested in Killer, School’s Out, and Billion Dollar Babies – three of our biggest albums. Although Muscle of Love is still, from my standpoint of playing it, and loving the album, I mean, the song ‘Muscle of Love’ is still one of my favorite songs, and we did it on the UK tour, and that’s a killer when we play it live on stage., And Love to Death of course was our breakthrough album, so I don’t know, you never know, I mean, these are all the 50th anniversary, I don’t know, maybe they’ll do a 55th anniversary, I hope I’m around for the 100th, but I doubt it, but I’m just happy that they have done these three.
Yeah, I just think it being the first in that series that kind of kicked off things, I wanted to ask briefly about Easy Action, because it didn’t dawn on me until recently that that album sold worse than Pretties For You, that didn’t even chart.
Yeah, Pretties For You I think broke on it 199 or 198 on the Top 200 album by Billboard, and Easy Action I don’t believe even got on the charts.
Is there anything memorable about Easy Action for you, like I look at a song like ‘Shoe Salesman’ and I wonder if anybody ever played that on the radio.
Well, I mean, the production of course was a little bit better, and anything we ever recorded we thought was gonna be a hit album, and we had David Briggs I guess who you know who worked with Neil Young, and so, but he was just hired, it wasn’t somebody that we searched for and really wanted him to record the album. I don’t even know how David Briggs got involved in producing the album, but obviously if you’re doing Neil Young in one session and Alice Cooper in the other, he really didn’t give a rat’s ass about our music.
Matter of fact, on the song ‘Lay Down And Die, Goodbye,’ he said “Oh well we’ll put on this psychedelic shit now.” So you know, he wasn’t enthusiastic or cared about it from the standpoint of it was just a gig for him to get through, record it, get it down, and get on with his life. So from that standpoint there was not chemistry in the production of it, although there was still some great music, great songs, we did them live, I mean I think ‘Return Of The Spiders’ is one of the songs to me that stands out other than ‘Lay Down And Die Goodbye’, but there was ‘Beautiful Flyaway’, I think Michael sang that song and played it on the album as well. But it was, you know there were some standout pieces that were, as our writing was changing from Pretties For You, but as always I agree 100% of the guys in the band have said that Pretties For You and Easy Action were just an extension of the band and Nazz, and as we became more Alice Cooper, the name Alice Cooper, the image Alice Cooper, what we were all about, even though we were, there were some signs of it in Pretties For You and Easy Action – ‘Fields Of Regret’, ‘Lay Down And Die Goodbye’, like I mentioned, you know the darker side of Alice Cooper didn’t really come out until along with the new songwriting, everybody was writing it a little more commercially, myself included and Dennis and Michael, the three of us that wrote most of the music to the songs, and then of course with the help of the amazing Bob Ezrin coming in and just solidifying those songs and making them happen.
But again, Easy Action was a great album, it was my idea to stand backwards because I had the longest hair in the band for the album cover, and so every band has a front picture of it. We always try to do something different obviously as any fan knows for our album covers, but with that one, I said let’s just turn around and Zappa liked the idea and so we went with that one. But you know, it certainly was produced by, like I said, the Pretties For You, it’s a stepping stone to Love It To Death, but it was good to have it, it didn’t. Commercially I think it sold probably about half as many copies as Pretties For You across the whole country, but it certainly was even establishing our reputation and the name Alice Cooper deeper in the underground world of rock and roll in North America.
Well, like I said, I like ‘Shoe Salesman’ and I love the packaging on that album, those black and white pictures on the inside, the gatefold…
Oh, on Easy Action, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. The packaging was great and we always, even on Pretties For You, we always wanted the double gatefold, that was, without a question, that was what the band wanted. Obviously, the record companies always wanted to do a single sleeve, but we wanted the gatefold and it also was good, as you say, to build the image of the band with more photos of the band.
Well, I’m hoping there’s going to be more in the series. Is there any update on you guys doing anything with Alice as far as what’s going on there? Might be released?
Well, like I always say, you know, for the past almost 20 years now since the Hall of Fame, well not 20 years, since the year before the Hall of Fame, about 15 years now, we’ve always, well, since the band broke up we always share songs between each other. I mean, I’ve been coming out to Arizona since the early 90s and bring music with me, Alice and I get together, we play golf, hang out, and I hear what he’s doing, I’m always playing songs that I played for him and some of them ended up on the DeadRinger album in the late 80s and some of those songs ended up in different projects that Dennis and I have worked on over time.
And so, we’ve done that and it got even more productive and actually saw the light of day with the songs on Welcome 2 My Nightmare (the Sequel) and Paranormal and Detroit Stories, where ‘Social Debris’ was a song that Alice and I, that I actually started working on, that he and I started working on in 2016, a few years before Detroit Stories, and then we finished the song and it became one of the most played songs off of Detroit Stories, so we’ve been doing it for a long time. Dennis and Alice always create songs, Michael is out here, I’m in Arizona right now. And I come here for the winter, and it gives us an opportunity to write.
We’ve recorded, what, about eight or nine songs on those albums and we’ve done a couple of other recordings, so maybe someday we’ll have enough songs to put an album together, but right now we’re just working on the re-release of the 50th anniversary Billion Dollar Babies album and we’re always talking about doing more live shows, but we did the one in the UK, so we’re always thankful for that. We’re thankful for the chance that we’ve got, the original band, to play on Alice’s solo albums and get back together, just get that chemistry going again, because it’s always great. So we’ll keep our fingers crossed that one of these days we’ll have eight, nine, ten songs for an album and we’ll see what happens.
Well, hopefully there’ll be more. Like I said, I love, I think my favorite out of all those is that ‘Genuine American Girl’ from Paranormal I thought that was good.
Yeah, that was a song that I had written too. Yeah, that’s a great song. I mean, Bob Ezrin, again, did such an amazing job with the drums on that, all the instruments just sound fantastic. So that’s a great song, yeah, I agree with you 100%.
To me that was the standout song and it sounded like it could have easily fitted in that early Alice Cooper repertoire.
Yeah, yeah…
Lastly, everybody else has written a book. Are you planning on putting anything out of your own?
Well, I’ve been working on a book actually, it’s slowed down about the last ten years for me. I started it around 2000, 2001, and I’m up to about Love It To Death now.
But I’ve been traveling so much and then I retired from the real estate business and working on my Killsmith project. And to find out the updates on everything, my website – which is http://www.nealsmithrocks.com , and don’t forget I spell my name correctly – not like Neil Young (lol). I spell it N-E-A-L, so nealsmithrocks.com always has all my updated information on what’s going on.
And one of these days, I mean, I’m working on it, it’s just, when I come out to Arizona for the winter, I think ‘ Ah I’m gonna have plenty of time’. Then all of a sudden, I’ve been here three months and I’ve been so busy with the release of this. There’s always something busy going on with recording and like I say, I’m always working on my Killsmith projects as well.
I’m working on my next Killsmith album Hard In A Rock Place, which will be out later this year in 2024. So, I’m always keeping busy and when it comes out, believe me, everybody will know about it, but I am working on it. It’s a slow process, but I just, and everybody tells the stories a little bit differently.
And I’m coming from, obviously, a drummer’s perspective and it’s, the stories are out there. I mean, it’s amazing. We’re the band that should have never made it.
It’s kind of the whole thing, but there was an audience for a band like us. It was a huge audience, and we were like the kids that were shunned in school and all of a sudden, when they were younger, they just had no path. And even the emails to this day – 50 years after the band, people are just saying that that ‘You guys, you guys opened up a whole world for me that I never do realize in rock and roll’.
And many times, many cases, kids saying that we actually saved their lives. So I can understand that, but that’s what the internet, I think that’s the only thing I like about the internet is the fact that you hear all these stories that otherwise we would have never known about.
Thanks Neal, this has been great!
And my greetings to all the fans in Canada because Canada, from the first time we stepped on Canadian soil and played at the shows, especially at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, we were always treated like superstars. And Canada got it right away. and I don’t know why, but I’m very, very thankful.
I can’t tell you how, you know, I speak for the whole band, how grateful we were. And then to get Bob Ezrin, another Canadian, a huge person that also understood the band and was behind us 1000%. So, Canada and the fans mean a lot to me and to us and making Alice Cooper come alive and be successful. And we all are indebted to the Canadians up there. So, we love it… To death.
Symphonic rock trio EXIT EDEN have a new album out Femmes Fatales, featuring 6 covers. The covers are unique and interesting choices, and served up very different to the originals – Pet Shop Boys (It’s A Sin), Alice Cooper (Poison), Heart (Alone), Marillion (Kayleigh), Journey (Separate Ways), Mylène Farmer (Desanchantée). Billed as ‘the Queens of symphonic metal’, Femmes Fatales is their 2nd album, also featuring 6 of their own songs. Check out the clips & links below.
EXIT EDEN are: Clémentine Delauney Anna Brunner Marina La Torraca
KILLINGTON PIT consists of singer Terry LeRoi (Granny 4 Barrel), bassist Chuck Garric (Alice Cooper, Beasto Blanco), as well as guitarist Troy Mclawhorn and drummer Will Hunt (both of Evanescence) . The new band’s first single release was a cover of the 1983 Accept classic, “Balls to the Wall,” and they have a new single – a rendition of the Rainbow classic, “Kill the King”. This features guest guitarists Stef Burns (Alice Cooper, Y&T, Huey Lewis & The News) and Jeff Blando (Slaughter, LynchMob). *Chck out the videos and links below the band’s info and comments…
Terry LeRoi says, “Recording “Kill The King” was an incredible experience! We were fortunate enough to have 2 insanely talented special guests on this recording; Stef Burns and Jeff Blando! It really was a privilege working with everyone on this! I’ve always been a huge fan of the Blackmore/Dio “Rainbow” era and paying tribute to that band and those musicians is a true honor. “Kill The King” is a legendary track and was one of our first choices as we were assembling our collection of songs for the Killington Pit covers album. I had read some past articles where Ronnie explained the song was inspired by the game of chess. That inspired us to create a video that we hope Ronnie would’ve loved and the fans of Rainbow will truly enjoy!”
Stef Burns – “Kill The King is killer!! It was super fun blasting out that classic Rainbow track with great players such as Will Hunt, Blando, and my Alice Cooper brother Chuck Garric! Terry sings his butt off! Of course I’m a longtime Blackmore fan so that made it extra fun.”
Jeff Blando – “What a blast it was rocking out with all these great and talented musicians. My partner in crime, William Hunt on drums, Power Vocals from Terry LeRoi, Wild Man Chuck Garric on bass and I’ve always wanted to jam with the Incredible Stef Burns on guitars. Getting to pay homage to one of my all-time favorite vocalist, Mr. Ronnie James Dio was an incredible fun and rocking experience. I hope everyone digs this track as much as I had fun being a part of it. ROCK ON!!!!”
Will Hunt – “I had a blast tracking this classic Rainbow tune Kill The King with the fellas. It was a great opportunity personally for me to pay homage to the legendary Cozy Powell who was taken from us way too soon. I wanted to copy a lot of what he did because it was so perfect for the song while adding some of my own flavor to it. I think the end result is pretty bombastic.”
Chuck Garric – “It’s an honor to pay homage to my mentor and my friend!…..To the King “Ronnie James Dio”
LeRoi adds – “Over the coming months we will be releasing our full length covers album with accompanying videos. 2024 will see us playing select shows worldwide and releasing original Killington Pit music. We’re looking forward to sharing this with all of the fans!”
Canadian singer Kami Van Halst has a new single, a tribute to Alice Cooper. The song “My Alice” includes parts of a few Alice songs put together in a new heavy tune. Featured guitarist on “My Alice” is Canadian guitarist Phil X formerly of Triumph, and currently of Bon Jovi. Check out the singles from Kami below, as well as the press info. Both tracks are also available on Spotify.
Canada’s KAMI VAN HALST Shares A Halloween Treat With New Singles“My Alice” ft. Phil X: A Fierce Ode to Alice Cooper& “Jack Sally’s Song” ft. Paul Woida: A Musical Journey to Halloween Town
The haunting new piece, “My Alice” is a sinister homage to the enigmatic Alice Cooper. In this electrifying tribute, Kami Van Halst delves into the dark, theatrical, and rebellious essence that defines Alice Cooper’s legacy. The song encapsulates the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, unleashing its wild and untamed energy for music lovers worldwide. “My Alice” is a powerful, head-banging masterpiece that bridges generations of rock enthusiasts.
“This has been a labor of devotion, nurtured in shadows for what feels like an eternity. What could be more fitting for this monstrous revelation than Halloween time? For too long, our band has harbored this dark symphony, yearning for the perfect moment. The torment of waiting has made it all the sweeter. I must extend my deepest gratitude to our producer, Arnold Lanni, who delved fearlessly into this odyssey, pushing the boundaries of my artistry. To my band, my brethren, who poured their souls into the writing and playing, enduring the agonizing wait for this release. Step right up, for the show is about to begin, and the mysteries of the night await you under the big top.” adds Kami.
As an added bonus for Halloween lovers and fans of the beloved movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Kami Van Halst and her husband, Paul Woida, bring to life the enchanting love story of Jack and Sally with their rendition of “Jack and Sally’s Song”. This hauntingly beautiful tribute to the iconic film captures the magic and melancholy of Halloween Town while blending Kami’s vocal prowess with Paul’s musical talents. The song is a heartfelt homage to the creativity and imagination of Tim Burton’s masterpiece and a perfect addition to any Halloween playlist. Experience the magic of Jack and Sally’s love story in a whole new way.
In addition Kami Van Halst is working on her metamorphosis into the enigmatic Jezebel Slade, a fierce and untamed force of nature. With an enthralling stage presence and a captivating aura, Jezebel Slade commands the spotlight like a true rock goddess. For mroe info on this, check out her website HERE.
Legendary rock drummer Neal Smith (Alice Cooper) released his latest album in the spring. Killsmith Goes West is the fourth album under the Killsmith name, and is different to past Killsmith releases with a somewhat country & western influence throughout many of the songs, and is perhaps, Smith’s finest and most album to date with songs like “Shaughnessy Highway”, ” Evil Wind”, and “Pull It Out Smokin”. *Check out the interview, as well as the links below!
What inspired this whole idea of putting together a country & western styled album?
I’ve been writing songs since the original Alice Cooper group was together, and even before that – in other bands, so when you write songs sometimes the songs come out of nowhere, and they don’t really fit anything, any project that you’re working on, and you just set them aside, and over time I had them and they weren’t really in the style, the real heavy rock – that I would do, and then Killsmith came along, and that was real heavy metal, you know the first couple of Killsmith albums, and even the third one – The Green Fire Empire. And I just had the scope of songs, and I just wanted to try something a little bit different. There’s still some songs – “Pull It Out Smokin”, “Evil Wind” – that still have a real rough edge to them. I had written about 15 songs for this album, and then there were 5 that I pulled off because they were just over-the-top normal heavy rock, so I pulled those off and I wrote a few more and then I had a total of 10 new songs on the album. Some of the songs are brand new, and some of the songs are brand new in the last year or so. It took 3 years to record the album through the pandemic, but there’s one song on there “Coffee, Beer, and Borrowed Time” – that song was actually written in 1980. And that’s one of those songs that just sort of happened, and then there was no place for it. It has sort of a country vibe to it, and that along with the Killsmith normal vide of being edgy and heavier, I call it ‘outlaw rock’. And it does have more of a western feel to it than country. And all of a sudden the songs started taking on a mood of their own , and I followed that – we’re from Arizona, and Arizona is the 48th state, so it was really the last of the wild country. So, even the Alice Cooper we had a song like “Desperado”, and “Raped And Freezin” – a couple of songs that were influenced by the area of the United States that we were from. So this is sort of expanding on that idea, there’s references to Mexico, references to Townsend, Arizona, and New Mexico. It’s all about places I’ve lived, and even when I was growing up in the mid-west, in the Akron area of Ohio, central Ohio, part of my upbringing, my mother liked live music, and there was a place called Fixler’s Ballroom near Sharon Center, Ohio, where we used to go, and they had a live band. So, I was influenced not only by the rock of the late ’50s and early ’60s, but I was influenced by the big bands, like swing – because my mother loved the Glen Miller Band, and also the live country music. So I was exposed to that with live bands, so that’s all been part of what’s influenced me over the years – as a drummer, and a musician, and a songwriter. So these songs just came to me, I wanted to go that extra mile. What’s does that mean? That means A- I wanted to get a fantastic country guitar player – Arlen Roth, who has done many country albums over the years, and was gracious enough to play on 4 or 5 of the songs. Gary Oleyar who is a fiddle player also played great country and western fiddle on several songs – which gave it that extra push over the top for what I was looking for, and that mixed with what I already had, and storytelling – country and western always has a story with it to begin with , but I like the classic novelty 16 Tines, Big Bad John, Raw Hide, back in the 50s and 60s there was some songwriters like Johnny Cash, Frank Lane, Johnny Horton, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Hank Williams, – they were great storytellers as well as great songwriters. And I wanted to try and get that element into the music too, so it all came together, 10 songs that fans enjoy. And very different for me to try something like that. So far it’s been very successful.
Can you recall any other specific bands or albums, bands you might’ve seen or albums your mom might’ve had around the house!?
Well, even on Hee-Haw, some of the best guitarists that were ever in country (I can’t think of all the names right now), but man – Chet Atkins was on there occasionally, and they were just phenomenal guitar players. And I’m a big fan of Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, but I mean it’s all rock, blues, jazz, and country roots – that’s what all this music is. And Roy Clark was another amazing guitar player from that era, and (of course) Waylon Jennings, who was also from Phoenix. So a lot of these great players were from the south-west, where we were from and I was aware of them, and I saw them mostly, I didn’t really buy the music, but I’d hear them on the radio occasionally, those novelty western songs that stood out, but actually seeing them on TV – live on TV, some of the greatest guitar players – I mean Roy Clark, Glen Campbell, when these guys got up on stage and played (and it’s all over youtube, and thank goodness for youtube), that was all part of. And Rick Tedesco, a guitar player that I write and work with on the latest Killsmith albums, he’s sort of a soak-sponge, and he soaks this all in, and he as some really fine country & western licks that he plays on the album too. So that was something, a direction I was trying to go, but a little harder, so it’s got more of a country-outlaw kind of feel to it. So there was plenty to took at and watch and be inspired by back in the day, that’s for sure.
That’s interesting because some of the guys you mention like Johnny Cash and Glen Campbell were country stars, but they almost kind of cross over to a lot of rock fans as well.
Oh they did cross over, they had a lot of cross-over hits, but I went the other way – I went from rock over to more of that outlaw-country kind of feel to it, but with a harder edge and harder story lines on it, with a lot of the subject matter in the songs. that’s a good perspective.
Can you tell me what inspired some of the songs, some of the stories, because there’s lots of great song titles alone, which when you look at it, it makes it interesting to get started!?
There’s some songs that I thought of in the middle of the night, like “Shaughnessy Highway”, “Shaughnessy Highway” is about a guitar player, and it could’ve been about any of the guitar players we just talked about, but it’s a fantasy band and he’s a big superstar, his band’s superstars, and unfortunately this has happened a lot over time, people like Glenn Miller are lost to airplane crashes and other disasters, and the principal person in the story is killed in an airplane crash and he’s a guitar player in one of the biggest bands in the world, and his wife gives directions to her house, and if you park out front of her house she plays his music all the time keeping his music alive, because she’s kept alive and happy, though he’s gone, listening to his music. So it’s kind of a taboo subject to talk about, but Killsmith and Alice Cooper we always touched on subjects that normal people would think were a little taboo – like “Dead Babies” . Things that you really had to dig in and find out what that meant, it wasn’t anything other than child abuse and not protecting your baby against poison. So, that particular song I thought of in the middle of the night, “Sunsets Of Gold” is another I thought of in the middle of the night, it just kind of comes to you and pretty much the song writes itself . A song like “Evil Wind” was inspired not by the early spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood, but like Pale Rider , where it’s a mystery as to who this character really is. Is he alive? Is he a ghost? And “Evil Wind” that’s kinda inspired by those thoughts of the wild west. And “Tequila, Tamales & A Woman”, that’s another – like Hang ‘Em High, that’s another Clint Eastwood movie. That’s the inspiration, but the story is different, there’s a card game in Nogales, Arizona, and somebody cheats at cards, and the subject person shoots the person and kills him when the person draws a gun on him for calling him a cheat, but the hanging judge doesn’t look at it that way so he sentences the guy to be hung in the morning and he gives him a last wish, and his last wish is for tequila, tamales, and a woman. So he’ll die a happy man in the morning, but that’s his last wish. And again it’s from the late 1800s, and the wild west. So if you listen to any of the songs, I have one “Tattooed Cowgirl”, that’s kinda like a Thelma and Louise or somebody from Kevin Costner’s tv show Yellowstone, you know – a bad ass chick that you don’t want to mess with, but you’re drawn to. So, just things that are a little bit different for me to work with. And always an inspiration to go in a new direction, but always keep the attitude very strong and keep the subject matter very strong; always like paint a picture and tell a story.
In preparing for this did you revisit some of that old music ?
No, not really, because songs just come to you. And I’ve listened to enough music in my 75 years here on this planet that I know what influenced me, and once I write the song – it’s basically done, so how do I put the sweetening on the song to give it more of a country, more of a western flare. I always listen to what the song wants, and the players that I have come in and add to, like the country and western guitar, or the harmonica where that’s needed, or fiddle – they pretty much are on their own’ I may give some slight direction, but it’s all about what is just very organic as the song grows, and natural for the song. And I think that’s the best way for me to do it, I found. So it’s not anything that I think about, it’s just listening to the song and saying ‘you know, this here this needs a little fiddle part, this needs a little country guitar part, just a little like d-tune.’ and that’s how it comes about. It sort of happens after the bed-tracks are laid down, the arrangement is there, just ‘what does the song need to finish it off’. It’s like the icing on the cake.
You mentioned Arlen Roth and Gary Oleyar. Can you tell me a bit about where you met those guys and if you’ve used them before?
No. Actually Rick Tedesco – the engineer and guitar player that I’ve worked with in his studios, Guitar Hangar Studio here in Connecticut; he found those 2 gentlemen and invited them to the studio. So he knew them. Rick is a great resource for me. He’s helped me – with Glen Buxton’s guitar from Love It To Death through School’s Out, the SG Custom that I found the body stripped down without a neck , he helped me rebuild it into an amazing guitar. It took about 2 years to rebuild it. So he has a lot of great resources. He has a great guitar store in the Danbury area of Connecticut called The GuitarHangar, and the studio called The Guitar Hangar. So he knows a lot of people, great guitar players, and he’s a great guitar player too. And Stu Daye, he’s an old friend of mine; he actually played on my Platinum God album. He played the slide guitar. He lives in London, and we sent the tracks to him and he polished them off and put the slide guitar on “Tattooed Cowgirl”. So, I had a lot of great guitar players that helped me out. And Stu is an old friend of mine, so that was through me, but Rick Tedesco found Arlen and Gary.
I remember Stu’s name from your Platinum God album, and you’d mentioned him previously. I actually picked up an album of his, he had done with Corky Lang from the early ’80s…
The band was The Mix, right!?
Yeah. And they did one of the Billion Dollar Babies’ (Battle Axe) songs.
Yeah, there was a song I was writing one time, and Stu was around, and he loved the song, and put it on one of his albums.
Do you plan on going out and playing any of this stuff live?
I have a couple of songs on YouTube right now, and I may do a video or 2, but right now I have no plans to tour. If I do anything it’ll be on youtube or on NealSmithRocks.com – that’s my website. This is also the 50th anniversary of the Billion Dollar Babies album, and they have a deluxe special edition that’ll be out next year. But this year you’ve probably already heard Killer deluxe edition or the School’s Out deluxe, which have come out. So there’s a lot of good stuff going on, and I’m excited about it. I have another, like I mentioned my next Killsmith project will be my fifth Killsmith album; there were songs I took off the Killsmith Goes West album – which I also thought was a great title because I do spend the winters in Arizona, You know the band got together there in the mid ’60s; I moved out there from the mid-west in the early ’60s. So I’ve been going out there every year for almost the last 50 years. So about 5 or 6 years ago I bought a winter home out there in Mesa, Arizona, so I love it out there. I go out and play golf. And of course, Alice and Michael Bruce are out there and I get together with them a lot, and a lot of the writing that I do, and a lot of the writing that has been on Alice’s last 3 albums we’ve written out there.
Do you think that doing something so different this time around with Killsmith that it kinda gives you the opportunity to do something further afield, or something you haven’t done before?
Yeah, I don’t know. Like I said, the songs that I had on there they kinda fit, they were a little more hard-rock. But because I have some ideas for the next title, and it’s not going to be Killsmith Goes West 2, that’s for sure , but I do find something very creative about that, and also it’s a testimonial to our roots, which are in Phoenix, Arizona, and the south-west, and that’s a good thing. Too many people don’t look at their..- especially in rock, they have roots; I mean with the Alice Cooper group, we were very different – our roots were in horror movies, horror films, and movies from the past. But you never know where your inspiration is going to come from. But no matter what I do I want to feel excited about it, I want to feel refreshed. But what I really want to do is to do all I can to get as many people as possible to listen to it, I’m very very happy about the album, and very happy about the feedback I’m getting. And a lot of solid rock fans were turned off by the idea but it’s not a country record by any sense of the imagination; it’s definitely a Killsmith album, but it has, as I said – like on the Killer album we had “Desperado”, and on the Billion Dollar Babies album we had “Raped And Freezin”, and these are those songs that talk a little bit about the south-west, where we’re from geographically, but Goes West is a little more – it was like our influences on steroids. I took it a little further. And that will always be around. I may have one of those songs that I took off the album to keep it at 10 songs that really fit well. But let’s see what happens. I’m pretty happy. Some of the songs I went back and listened to them, and I’m always doing tributes to… like Billion Dollar Babies 2023, that’s a big deal, and I wrote a song for the next album called “Party Never Ending” – That’s the Alice Cooper group! And it’s like people have said over the years about the band breaking up, well the band never really broke up, we took a year off, everybody stayed friends, and encouraged each other on solo projects, and that was a big deal. In no way, I mean we were best friends and we weren’t going to get in any bog lawsuits about Alice going out solo. Anybody coudd’ve gone out solo, but he was very fortunate, and he did a great job. And I’m proud of everybody in the band, you know – Michael Bruce and Dennis Dunaway, they have great solo projects – they’re great songwriters; Glen Buxton, unfortunately we lost him way too soon in 1997, But the ghost of GB is always around, he will always be a part of no matter what we do. So I’m excited to do new music, and keep writing as long as I can.
Outsider Rock 