Manassas - Down The Road (1973)

"Down The Road" is the second and last album by Stephen Stills' band Manassas. It was released in 1973.

Unfortunately this was the last gasp for Manassas as Stephen Stills was again moving on. In retrospect he should have realized that this band was a keeper.

All the musicians from the classic first release were back. Drummer Dallas Taylor, guitarist Chris Hillman, percussionist Joe Lala, pianist Al Perkins, bassist Fuzzy Samuels, and steel guitarist Al Perkins formed a tight and talented unit. They were also a notable live band. Stills, Hillman, and Taylor shared production chores for the second album in a row.

Members of the group wrote or co-wrote five of the ten tracks with Stills. That means Stills took a solo writing credit for the other five, which was a much smaller percentage than the first album and may say something about his overall commitment. There is a lot of listenable material here. “Isn’t It About Time” is a hard edged rocker with Joe Walsh bringing his guitar virtuosity to the mix. “Down The Road” is another competent rock tune. Even Chris Hillman gets into the rock ‘n’ roll act on “Lies” with his lyrics about superficial love. “Rollin’ The Stone” is the final track and it sends Manassas rocking into the night. To truly appreciate this track you need to turn your stereo system up to near sonic levels, sit back, and hang on to something.

One of the favorite track may be “Pensamiento” which is a nice Latin influenced rock fusion piece with Stills providing some stellar piano work.

"Down The Road" remains very representative of early seventies rock. It was also a farewell to one of the better bands of its time.

Track listing

01.  Isn't It About Time (Stills)  - 3:02

02.  Lies (Hillman)  - 2:55

03.  Pensamiento (Escoto, Stills)  - 2:36

04.  So Many Times (Hillman, Stills)  - 3:30

05.  Business on the Street (Stills)  - 2:55

06.  Do You Remember the Americans (Stills)  - 2:05

07.  Down the Road (Stills)  - 3:16

08.  City Junkies (Stills)  - 2:50

09.  Guaguancó de Veró (Lala, Stills)  - 2:51

10.  Rollin' My Stone (Samuel, Stills)  - 4:50

Personnel

Stephen Stills - guitar, piano, bass, vocals

Dallas Taylor - drums

Chris Hillman - guitar, bass, mandolin, vocals

Joe Lala - percussion, vocals

Al Perkins - guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo

Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuel - bass, vocals

Paul Harris - piano

Joe Walsh - slide guitar

Bobby Whitlock - keyboards

Sydney George - flute

Jerry Aiello - organ

Charlie Grimes - guitar

Guille Garcia - percussion

Lachy Espinol - percussion

Pat Arnold - vocals

Notes
Released:  April 23, 1973

Genre:   Country Rock

Length:  30:50

Label:  Atlantic

Producer:  Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor

Leonard Cohen - Live Songs (1973)

"Live Songs" is Leonard Cohen's first live album, released during the three-year silence between "Songs of Love and Hate" and "New Skin for the Old Ceremony". It consists of recordings from concerts performed mostly in Europe in 1970 and 1972. Cohen is backed by a medium-sized, country-influenced group, which includes guitarist/fiddler Charlie Daniels and vocalist "Jennifer Warren", who would soon become famous as Jennifer Warnes, among other things a popular interpreter of Cohen's songs.

The album consists mostly of reinterpretations (often with additional or significantly altered lyrics) of songs from Cohen's second album, Songs From a Room ("Nancy" is a version of "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy", and "Improvisation" is an extended instrumental guitar trio version of the vamp from "You Know Who I Am", which is also featured). Neither Songs of Leonard Cohen nor the then-recent Songs of Love and Hate (which featured a live track, "Let's Sing Another Song, Boys", culled from the same tour as the 1970 recordings here) are represented. The other tracks are a cover of the folk standard "Passing Through", and two new compositions: "Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace)" (a thirteen-minute singalong recorded in 1970) and "Minute Prologue". A "bonus" track, "Queen Victoria", was recorded by Cohen alone in his Tennessee hotel room in 1972.

At the beginning of a Paris, France performance of "Bird on the Wire", Cohen recites the first verse of a French translation of the song's lyric.

Tracklist

Side 1 (Recorded in 1972)

01.  Minute Prologue  (Cohen)  - 1:12 (London)

02.  Passing Through  (Blakeslee, Cohen)  - 4:05 (London)

03.  You Know Who I Am  (Cohen)  - 5:22 (Brussels)

04.  Bird on the Wire  (Cohen)  - 4:27 (Paris)

05.  Nancy  (Cohen)  - 3:48 (London)

06.  Improvisation  (Cohen)  - 3:17 (Paris)

Side 2 (Recorded in 1970 and 1972)

01.  Story of Isaac  (Cohen)  - 3:56 (Berlin)

02.  Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace)  (Cohen)  - 13:00 (London)

03.  Tonight Will Be Fine  (Cohen)  - 6:06 (Isle of Wight)

04.  Queen Victoria  (Cohen)  - 3:28 (Tennessee)

Personnel

Leonard Cohen - vocals, acoustic guitar

Jennifer Warren - vocals

Corlynn Hanney - vocals

Donna Washburn - vocals

Ron Cornelius - acoustic guitar, electric guitar

David O'Connor - acoustic guitar

Charlie Daniels - fiddle, electric bass

Bob Johnston - harmonica, organ

Notes

Released:  May 1973

Recorded:  1970, 1972 in London, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Isle Of Wight, Tennessee

Genre:  Folk, Live

Length:  49:10

Label:  Columbia

Producer:  Bob Johnston

Paul McCartgney & Wings - Red Rose Speedway (1973)

"Red Rose Speedway" is the second album by Paul McCartney & Wings and was released in 1973 after the relatively weak commercial performance of the band's debut "Wild Life", which had been credited only to the then-unknown Wings.

Paul McCartney made a record with his wife and a record with his pickup band where democracy is allegedly the conceit even if it never sounds that way, so he returns to a solo effort, making the most disjointed album he ever cut. There's a certain fascination to its fragmented nature, not just because it's decidedly on the softer side of things, but because his desire for homegrown eccentricity has been fused with his inclination for bombastic art rock à la Abbey Road. Consequently, "Red Rose Speedway" winds up being a really strange record, one that veers toward the schmaltzy AOR MOR (especially on the hit single "My Love"), yet is thoroughly twisted in its own desire toward domestic art. Yes, the greatest songs here are slight "Big Barn Bed," "One More Kiss," and "When the Night"  but this is a deliberately slight record. Work your way into the inner circle, and McCartney's little flourishes are intoxicating  not just the melodies, but the facile production and offhand invention.

Tracklist

01.  Big Barn Bed   - 3:48

02.  My Love   - 4:07

03.  Get on the Right Thing  - 4:17

04.  One More Kiss  - 2:28

05.  Little Lamb Dragonfly  - 6:20

06.  Single Pigeon  - 1:52

07.  When the Night  - 3:38

08.  Loup (1st Indian on the Moon)  - 4:23

09.  Medley: Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands of Love/Power Cut  - 11:14

Personnel

Paul McCartney - vocals, piano, bass, guitar, mellotron, electric piano, celeste, Moog synthesizer

Linda McCartney - vocals, electric piano, organ, harpsichord, percussion

Denny Laine - vocals, guitar, bass, harmonica

Henry McCullough - guitar, backing vocals, percussion

Denny Seiwell - drums, backing vocals, percussion, bass on "Single Pigeon"

Hugh McCracken - electric guitar

David Spinozza - electric guitar

Alan Parsons - recording engineer

Notes
Released:  30 April 1973

Recorded:  in Los Angeles and at Olympic Studios, London

Genre:  Pop, Rock

Length:  42:13

Label:  Apple

Producer:  Paul McCartney

All songs written and composed by:  Paul and Linda McCartney

The Eagles - Desperado (1973)

Desperado" is the second studio album by the American rock band Eagles. "Desperado" is a concept album, based on the Dalton gang and the Old West.

If Don Henley was the sole member of the Eagles underrepresented on their debut album, "Eagles", with only two lead vocals and one co-songwriting credit, he made up for it on their follow-up, the "concept" album "Desperado". The concept had to do with Old West outlaws, but it had no specific narrative. On "Eagles", the group had already begun to marry itself to a Southwest sound and lyrical references, from the Indian-style introduction of "Witchy Woman" to the Winslow, AZ, address in "Take It Easy." All of this became more overt on "Desperado", and it may be that Henley, who hailed from Northeast Texas, had the greatest affinity for the subject matter. In any case, he had co-writing credits on eight of the 11 selections and sang such key tracks as "Doolin-Dalton" and the title song. What would become recognizable as Henley's lyrical touch was apparent on those songs, which bore a serious, world-weary tone. Henley had begun co-writing with Glenn Frey, and they contributed the album's strongest material, which included the first single, "Tequila Sunrise," and "Desperado" (strangely never released as a single). But where Eagles seemed deliberately to balance the band's many musical styles and the talents of the band's members, "Desperado", despite its overarching theme, often seemed a collection of disparate tracks  "Out of Control" was a raucous rocker, while "Desperado" was a painfully slow ballad backed by strings  with other bandmembers' contributions tacked on rather than integrated. Randy Meisner was down to two co-writing credits and one lead vocal ("Certain Kind of Fool"), while Bernie Leadon's two songs, "Twenty-One" and "Bitter Creek," seemed to come from a different record entirely. The result was an album that was simultaneously more ambitious and serious-minded than its predecessor and also slighter and less consistent.

Tracklist

01.  "Doolin-Dalton"  (Glenn Frey, J. D. Souther, Don Henley, Jackson Browne)  - 3:26

02.  "Twenty-One"  (Bernie Leadon)  - 2:11

03.  "Out of Control"  (Henley, Frey, Tom Nexon)  - 3:04

04.  "Tequila Sunrise"  (Henley, Frey)  - 2:52

05.  "Desperado"  (Henley, Frey)  - 3:36

06.  "Certain Kind of Fool"  (Randy Meisner, Henley, Frey)  - 3:02

07.  "Doolin-Dalton (Instrumental)"  (Frey, Souther, Henley, Browne)  - 0:48

08.  "Outlaw Man"  (David Blue)  - 3:34

09.  "Saturday Night"  (Meisner, Henley, Frey, Leadon)  - 3:20

10.  "Bitter Creek"  (Leadon)  - 5:00

11.  "Doolin-Dalton / Desperado (Reprise)"  (Frey, Souther, Henley, Browne)  - 4:50

Personnel

Glenn Frey - guitars, keyboards, piano, harmonica, vocals

Don Henley - drums, percussion, vocals

Randy Meisner - bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals

Bernie Leadon - guitars, mandolin, banjo, vocals

Notes

Released:  April 17, 1973

Recorded at:  Island Studios, London, England

Genre:  Country Rock

Length:  35:40

Label:  Asylum

Producer:  Glyn Johns

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane (1973)

"Aladdin Sane" is the sixth album by David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 173. It was the first album Bowie wrote and released as a bona fide rock star.

"Ziggy Stardust" wrote the blueprint for David Bowie's hard-rocking glam, and "Aladdin Sane" essentially follows the pattern, for both better and worse. A lighter affair than "Ziggy Stardust", "Aladdin Sane" is actually a stranger album than its predecessor, buoyed by bizarre lounge-jazz flourishes from pianist Mick Garson and a handful of winding, vaguely experimental songs. Bowie abandons his futuristic obsessions to concentrate on the detached cool of New York and London hipsters, as on the compressed rockers "Watch That Man," "Cracked Actor," and "The Jean Genie." Bowie follows the hard stuff with the jazzy, dissonant sprawls of "Lady Grinning Soul," "Aladdin Sane," and "Time," all of which manage to be both campy and avant-garde simultaneously, while the sweepingly cinematic "Drive-In Saturday" is a soaring fusion of sci-fi doo wop and melodramatic teenage glam. He lets his paranoia slip through in the clenched rhythms of "Panic in Detroit," as well as on his oddly clueless cover of "Let's Spend the Night Together."

Tracklist

01.  "Watch That Man"  (Bowie)  - 4:30

02.  "Aladdin Sane" (1913-1938-197?)  (Bowie)  - 5:07

03.  "Drive-In Saturday"  (Bowie)  - 4:36

04.  "Panic in Detroit"  (Bowie)  - 4:27

05.  "Cracked Actor"  (Bowie)  - 3:01

06.  "Time"  (Bowie)  - 5:14

07.  "The Prettiest Star"  (Bowie)  - 3:31

08.  "Let's Spend the Night Together"  (Jagger, Richards)  - 3:10

09.  "The Jean Genie"  (Bowie)  - 4:06

10.  "Lady Grinning Soul"  (Bowie)  - 3:52

 

Personnel

David Bowie - guitar, harmonica, keyboards, saxophone, vocals

Mick Ronson - guitar, piano, vocals

Trevor Bolder - bass

Mick "Woody" Woodmansey - drums

Mike Garson - piano

Ken Fordham - saxophone

Brian "Bux" Wilshaw - saxophone, flute

Linda Lewis - backing vocals

Juanita "Honey" Franklin - backing vocals

G.A. MacCormack - backing vocals

Notes

Released:  13 April 1973

Recorded at:  Trident Studios, London; and RCA Studios, New York and Nashville

Genre:  Glam Rock

Length:  40:47

Label:  RCA

Producer:  Ken Scott, David Bowie

(18) The Byrds - Byrds (1973)

"Byrds" is the 12th album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in March 1973 on Asylum Records. It was recorded as the centerpiece of a reunion between the five original members of The Byrds: Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke. The last time that all five members had worked together as The Byrds was in 1966, prior to Gene Clark's departure from the band. During the reunion, the current, latter-day line-up of the band continued to make live appearances until February 1973, with McGuinn being the only member common to both versions of the group.
However, if most of the participants meant for this to be anything more than a one-shot get-together, you couldn't tell from listening to the resulting album; Byrds never sounds much like a Byrds album, absent McGuinn's chiming 12-string guitar and the group's striking harmonies (the Byrds' twin aural calling cards). Much of the original material, especially David Crosby's, sounds like cast-offs from their other projects. And what sort of a Byrds album features two Neil Young covers and not a single Bob Dylan tune? In all fairness, Byrds has its moments: Gene Clark's "Full Circle" and "Changing Heart" are great songs from the group's least-appreciated member, and McGuinn's "Born to Rock 'n' Roll" is a top-notch rock anthem. But for the most part, Byrds sounds like a competent but unexciting country-rock band going through their paces, rather than the work of one of the best and most innovative American bands of the 1960s.

Tracklist

01.  Full Circle  (Gene Clark)  - 2:43
02.  Sweet Mary  (Roger McGuinn, Jacques Levy)  - 2:55
03.  Changing Heart  (Gene Clark)  - 2:42
04.  For Free  (Joni Mitchell)  - 3:50
05.  Born to Rock 'n' Roll  (Roger McGuinn)  - 3:12
06.  Things Will Be Better  (Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor)  - 2:13
07.  Cowgirl in the Sand  (Neil Young)  - 3:24
08.  Long Live the King  (David Crosby)  - 2:17
09.  Borrowing Time  (Chris Hillman, Joe Lala)  - 2:00
10.  Laughing  (David Crosby)  - 5:38
11.  (See the Sky) About to Rain  (Neil Young)  - 3:49

Released:  March 7, 1973
Recorded:  Wally Heider Studios, Hollywood, CA
Genre:  Country Rock
Length:  34:54
Label:  Asylum
Producer:  David Crosby

Personnel
Roger McGuinn – guitar, banjo, Moog synthesizer, vocals
Gene Clark - guitar, harmonica, tambourine, vocals
David Crosby - guitar, vocals
Chris Hillman – electric bass, guitar, mandolin, vocals
Michael Clarke – drums, congas, percussion
Wilton Felder - electric bass on "Cowgirl in the Sand"
Johnny Barbata - drums on "Cowgirl in the Sand"
Dallas Taylor - congas, tambourine

(15) The Three Degrees - The Three Degrees (1973)

The divas of Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International stable, the Three Degrees debuted their self-titled album for the label in 1973 before they hit the mainstream with MFSB and "TSOP" the following year. And, although they are so often piggybacked on that glory, it's important to remember that this remarkable trio was already established as one of the country's premier female vocal groups. With successful sides for Roulette already under their belt, The Three Degrees found them combining their already tried and true R&B style with Gamble & Huff's trademark orchestral, instrumental flourish. It was a heavenly marriage that easily, and obviously, brought the band into the Top 40. With the lion's share of "good" material crowded on side one, the set is highlighted by the opening "Dirty Ol' Man," which brought the band's harmonies cascading over the opening strings before they descended into edgier waters. Following apace is a wonderful version of "A Woman Needs a Good Man," before closing with "When Will I See you Again" the gorgeous, breathless ballad that nearly topped the charts in 1974. Elsewhere, the band tempers the obvious and silly "I Like Being a Woman" with the overlooked gem "If and When." The song, one of several written by Philly International bigwig Bunny Sigler, is a rough-and-tumble ballad that heats up by merging classic '70s rock elements with the Three Degrees' girl group ethics. Although it's ultimately patchy in places, The Three Degrees was a fine introduction for the partnership between the band and the label that would put them on the map. A fine bridge between sugar soul and the sexy disco strings lurking in the band's future.

Tracklist

1.  Dirty Ol' Man  (Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff)  - 4:33
2.  Can't You See What You're Doing To Me  (Bruce Hawes, J.B. Jefferson)  - 2:31
3.  A Woman Needs a Good Man  (Bunny Sigler, Marvin E. Jackson, Mikki Farrow)  - 4:19
4.  When Will I See You Again  (Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff)  - 2:58
5.  I Didn't Know  (Bunny Sigler, Jean-Pierre Lang)  - 2:50
6.  I Like Being a Woman  (Bruce Hawes, J.B. Jefferson)  - 3:56
7.  If and When  (Bruce Hawes, J.B. Jefferson)  - 7:07
8.  Year of Decision  (Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff)  - 2:42

Released:  1973
Recorded at:  Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre:  Soul
Length:  31:26
Label:  Philadelphia International Records
Producer:  Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff
Engineer [Recording]:  Joe Tarsia

Personnel
Sheila Ferguson - vocals
Valerie Holiday - vocals
Fayette Pinkney - vocals
Music By – MFSB

(07) Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)

"The Dark Side Of The Moon" is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure in 1968 of founding member, principal composer and lyricist, Syd Barrett. The Dark Side of the Moon's themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett's deteriorating mental state.
The suite was developed during live performances and was premiered several months before studio recording began. The new material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London. The group used some of the most advanced recording techniques of the time, including multitrack recording and tape loops. Analogue synthesisers were given prominence in several tracks, and a series of recorded interviews with the band's road crew and others provided the philosophical quotations used throughout. Engineer Alan Parsons was directly responsible for some of the most notable sonic aspects of the album, and the recruitment of non-lexical performer Clare Torry. The album's iconic sleeve features a prism that represents the band's stage lighting, the record's lyrical themes, and keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design.
By condensing the sonic explorations of "Meddle" to actual songs and adding a lush, immaculate production to their trippiest instrumental sections, Pink Floyd inadvertently designed their commercial breakthrough with "Dark Side of the Moon". The primary revelation of "Dark Side of the Moon" is what a little focus does for the band. Roger Waters wrote a series of songs about mundane, everyday details which aren't that impressive by themselves, but when given the sonic backdrop of Floyd's slow, atmospheric soundscapes and carefully placed sound effects, they achieve an emotional resonance. But what gives the album true power is the subtly textured music, which evolves from ponderous, neo-psychedelic art rock to jazz fusion and blues-rock before turning back to psychedelia. It's dense with detail, but leisurely paced, creating its own dark, haunting world.

Tracklist

01.  Speak to Me  (Mason)  - 1:07
02.  Breathe (In the Air)  (Gilmour, Waters, Wright)  - 2:49
03.  On the Run  (Gilmour, Waters)  - 3:45
04.  Time  (Gilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright)  - 6:53
05.  The Great Gig in the Sky  (Torry, Wright)  - 4:44
06.  Money  (Waters)  - 6:23
07.  Us and Them  (Waters, Wright)  - 7:49
08.  Any Colour You Like  (Gilmour, Mason, Wright)  - 3:26
09.  Brain Damage  (Waters)  - 3:46
10.  Eclipse  (Waters)  - 2:12

Released:  1 March 1973
Recorded:  at Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre:  Progressive Rock
Length:  42:59
Label:  Harvest
Producer:  Pink Floyd
Engineering:  Alan Parsons

Personnel
David Gilmour – vocals, guitar, synthesisers
Nick Mason – percussion, tape effects
Roger Waters – bass guitar, vocals, synthesisers, tape effects
Richard Wright – keyboards, vocals, synthesisers
Dick Parry – saxophone on "Money" and "Us and Them"
Clare Torry – vocals on "The Great Gig in the Sky", background vocals
Lesley Duncan – background vocals
Barry St. John – background vocals
Liza Strike – background vocals
Doris Troy – background vocals

(05) Soundtrack - Turks Fruit (1973)

Turks fruit is een film uit 1973 van Paul Verhoeven met in de hoofdrollen Rutger Hauer en Monique van de Ven, naar de roman Turks fruit van Jan Wolkers.
De muziek in de film werd verzorgd door componist en dirigent Rogier van Otterloo die met "Turks Fruit" debuteerde als filmmuziekcomponist. Aanwezig zijn de klanken van Toots Thielemans' mondharmonica. De elpee met de muziek (waaraan ook het trio Louis van Dijk een bijdrage leverde), verkocht goed en stond ruim vier maanden in de albumlijsten. Echter, Verhoeven gaf later toe dat het nooit zijn favoriete filmmuziek is geworden en dat hij zich aan de "drummetjes met van dat veeggedoe" ergerde: "Toen ik het voor het eerst hoorde, was ik erg gedeprimeerd.
De hit "Meisjes Met Rode Haren" van Arne Jansen uit 1972 kwam ook voor in de film.

Tracklist

01.  Dat Mistige Rooie Beest  - 6:31
02.  Na De Val  - 3:00
03.  Requiem Voor Een Dooie Mus  - 1:34
04.  Variatie Op "Dat Mistige Rooie Beest"  - 4:31
05.  Heksencentrale  - 0:36
06.  Moord Met Geduld  - 2:17
07.  Een Hoofd Met Een Deurtje  - 1:44
08.  Turks Fruit  - 3:54
09.  Niets Aan Te Doen  - 2:38
10.  Rosa Turbinata  - 3:52
11.  Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose  - 3:41
12.  Wat Zonde  - 1:59

Release:  1973
Recorded at:  Soundpush Studio
Label:  CBS
Genre:  Soundtrack
Length:  36:23
Producer:  Ruud Jacobs
Conductor, Composed By:  Rogier van Otterloo
Engineer:  Jan Audier

Personnel
Letty de Jong - Vocals
Jacques Schols - Bass [Trio Louis Van Dyke]
Rob Langereis - Bass Guitar
Louis Debij - Drums
John Engels - Drums [Trio Louis Van Dyke]
Rob Franken - Electric Piano
Ary Jongman - Flute, Flute [Bass]
Peter Nieuwerf Guitar
Jean "Toots" Thielemans - Harmonica [Mondharmonica], Guitar
Jonny Kroon - Leader [Strings]
Gerard Soeteman - Liner Notes
Nils Walen - Oboe, English Horn
Louis van Dyke - Piano [Trio Louis Van Dyke]

(01) Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies (1973)

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.

Tracklist

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

Released:  February 25, 1973
Recorded:  The Galecie Estate, Greenwich, CT, The Record Plant, NY, and Morgan Studios in London,
Genre:  Hard rock, heavy metal
Length:  40:51
Label:  Warner Bros.
Producer:  Bob Ezrin

Personnel
Alice Cooper – vocals
Glen Buxton – guitar
Michael Bruce – rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Dennis Dunaway – bass, backing vocals
Neal Smith – drums
Donovan – vocals
Steve "Deacon" Hunter – guitar
Mick Mashbir – guitar
Dick Wagner – guitar
Bob Dolin – keyboards
David Libert – backing vocals