Why was there never a...

[Delusional B]

Art Asylum also made some great Alice "toys." There was a Jack n the box and a giant, fully-articulated 18" figure with rooted hair, cloth clothing, cane, and removable hat... in other words, like a giant Mego. He also had a sound-chip in him that would play "Welcome to My Nightmare." They even produced an Alice Minimate. Alice's collectible figures actually do pretty well on the secondary market. This seems like an ideal property for a company like Big Bang Pow! that already has a rock figure with Scott Ian from Anthrax. I'd love to see a ReMego of Alice. Perfect 70s synergy.

While we're at it, I'd also love to see some Bif Bang Pow! 8" Kiss "Megos."

[cjefferys]

I share your appreciation for that particular era, and I appreciate most of his work. However, I don't really see anything from 1969 through 1979 that can typify the character of Alice. Each album/tour had it's own direction (or misdirection) and personality. The Alice "image", IMO, is the sum of all of those pieces.

Pretties For You is completely incohesive compared to Easy Action which is worlds apart from Love It To Death which differs vastly from Killer which is a significantly separate mindset from School's Out which is an entirely different animal from Billion Dollar Babies which does not jive at all with Muscle of Love.

Then we're tossed into the darker conceptual full blown theatrical trip of Welcome To My Nightmare which led us directly into the more Broadwayesque surreal sequel attempt Goes To Hell which reared back into the more real world feel of Lace & Whiskey which ultimately crashed into From The Inside.

The departure from the tortured & conflicted character started with Flush The Fashion (hence the title) and continued through DaDa. Once truly sober and paving his way to a comeback (1985 ish), that is when Alice's image was solidified into a cohesive caricature drafted from some of his dalliances of the 70's. Up through 1984, Alice was all over the map and I enjoyed the entire journey.

Those are good points, I never really thought of it that way but I guess he really was all over the place until he solidified his image with Constrictor. "DaDa" is actually one of my favourite Alice albums, great stuff.

[Dark Shadow]

I have a great appreciation for DaDa too. If I had to pick one, I'd have to say that my favorite tune on the album would be Former Lee Warmer.

I find that some of the material stylistics on that album actually hearken back to what we first heard on Lace & Whiskey. The vocal stylings & musical melodies performed on songs like Scarlet & Sheba, Dyslexia, Fresh Blood & Pass The Gun Around sound very similar to my ears. It can't be a coincidence that both albums were recorded at the two most critical low points in his life (each recorded just before he had himself institutionalized).

Which is your favorite album recorded by the original band? Mine is Billion Dollar Babies...hands down, with Welcome To My Nightmare as my favorite solo effort. Everything else is really dependent on my mood and what I feel like hearing at the time, but those two I could listen to endlessly.

What I find interesting about Alice's work up through 1984, is that I cannot "compose" playlists comprised of personal picks. I start out trying to select out favorites, and end up saying things like, "I can't listen to these out of order". I always end up making playlists that are nothing more than several select albums back to back with each of their songs played in their original chronicalogical order. I do not have this problem with any other artists.

*******
I second the nomination for a ReMego Alice by BiffBangPow! So far, my 18" Alice by Art/Asylum is my favorite Cooper collectible, and I'm looking forward to the new 18" Frankenstein to keep him company.

[Dark Shadow]

I'd love an Alice "Mego".

I found Alice in the 80's, with "Flush The Fashion". That of course led to finding his earlier stuff which I also liked. But Flush The Fashion, Zipper Catches Skin, & Dada are three of my favorite Alice albums. Ever since I started collecting Megos, I've wanted to do a good Alice custom, but my custom skills just won't allow that. I keep hoping for an Alice Re-Mego.

Just curious, where does Special Forces fall within your list? Of the four albums from that period, I think I would list them in this order (It's hard to say for sure though):

Flush The Fashion
DaDa
Special Forces
Zipper Catches Skin

[cjefferys]

Which is your favorite album recorded by the original band? Mine is Billion Dollar Babies...hands down, with Welcome To My Nightmare as my favorite solo effort. Everything else is really dependent on my mood and what I feel like hearing at the time, but those two I could listen to endlessly.

Yeah, I'd have to go with Billion Dollar Babies too. Although I do have a soft spot for School's Out, it's the first Alice album I ever heard in it's entirety back when I was a kid.

[TheBigToyAuction.com]

He was on the Muppet Show!

Surprisingly, *lots* of things from the Muppet Show gave me nightmares as a kid. For some reason, Jim Croce comes to mind.

[DocDrako]

Just curious, where does Special Forces fall within your list?...

I like Special Forces, but least of the four. I love "Skeletons In My Closet", "You Look Good In Rags", "You're A Movie", "Who Do You Think We Are", and "You Want It You Got It". I can listen to the rest, and often do, but I can take or leave them really.

Now that I think about it, it was my brother's best friend that gave me my first Alice cassette. He was giving my brother a bunch of tapes he had, and I, as the little brother, asked for one. He pulled out "Flush The Fashion" and said, "You'll probably like this." I went upstairs to listen to it and was immediately hooked. At that point I didn't even know what Alice Cooper looked like, or if he was even still alive. I think a couple years later "Constrictor" came out confirming that he was alive, but by then I had several cassettes of the original band, as well as a biography I found at a Salvation Army. (the bio was put out by Circus magazine, written by Steve Demorest)

Oddly enough, I had given away an LP of "Welcome To My Nightmare" out of my hand me downs (no sleeve, just the LP). An older cousin was looking through my LPs and said "Nightmare" was good, and I told her I didn't even know who she (meaning Alice) was. When she told me Alice was a man, I gave her the album (I had never listened to). I thought it was wrong that a man would have a woman's name and it felt taboo. Strangely, that same taboo made Alice even cooler years later when I got the "Flush" cassette. And that taboo also led me to David Bowie's androgynous "Ziggy Stardust" era, and my eventual love of Bowie's music as well.

Speaking of which, I need a Ziggy Stardust Re-Mego too. Okay, now it's an obsession. I need BBP to make Alice, Ziggy Stardust, and KISS. Hopefully they can get on that soon. I hope they're reading.



Edit - I'd take an Alice that looks much like the Spawn.com one shown in this thread, or even one in the sleeveless red union suit. Or just put him in a tuxedo like on the Nightmare cover, I don't care. Just make him.

Make the KISS ones just like Mego, only smaller.

I'd like this version of Ziggy Stardust


Thanks in advance, BBP!

(Hey I can dream, right?)

[Dark Shadow]

^Thanks Doc!

I had that same Circus bio paperback, interestingly enough I found mine at a thrift store too. I also remember checking out the Bob Greene bio, "Billion Dollar Baby" from my high school library, twice. Once in my freshman year, and the second in my senior.

I was tempted to "lose" it and pay the fine (mostly because no one had checked it out from the time I first read it and my second borrow), but my conscience wouldn't let me. I did ask outright if I could buy it, but the librarian said "no", so that was that.

[DocDrako]

^Thanks Doc!

I had that same Circus bio paperback, interestingly enough I found mine at a thrift store too. I also remember checking out the Bob Greene bio, "Billion Dollar Baby" from my high school library, twice. Once in my freshman year, and the second in my senior.

I was tempted to "lose" it and pay the fine (mostly because no one had checked it out from the time I first read it and my second borrow), but my conscience wouldn't let me. I did ask outright if I could buy it, but the librarian said "no", so that was that.

I actually checked out "Me, Alice" from the county library in my hometown and loved it so much I just decided to pay the lost book fine and keep it. Still have it, but it's in worn out shape from numerous readings. Unfortunately, my conscience wasn't powerful enough. My mania for Alice ruled supreme back then. I wonder where I put it? Now that I mention it, I haven't seen the book in some time. Probably stored somewhere.

[tmthor]

He was on the Muppet Show!