What we have here is a very acceptable cover of The Who's "Magic Bus" ruined by a misguided drum solo. Alice Cooper and his band groove along nicely, giving this Pete classic a bit of swagger. And then, it is sabotaged by some unnecessary showing off. The drum solo starts off okay, keeping in time and feel with the swing of the song, and it might have worked had someone/anyone said, "Okay, that's enough." But no. Damn drummers! No wonder we get no respect.
15 comments:
I don't want to hear it.
Alice is an old man needed time to get off stage and pee! Even on a studio track with fake applause.(Unless it really is a live track which I doubt).
Captain Al
Years ago, when I first started downloading rarities off the internet, I found Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings doing a live Barry Manilow song, apparently from some TV show he did that featured them. Manilow gave some blurb in the middle of the song, so I downloaded editing software, taught myself how to use it, and I'll be damned if I didn't do such a good job that you'd never know Mr. Manilow was anywhere near the song. I've not looked back since. This drum solo, which doesn't sound bad to these (non-drummer) ears, pitstops this fine rendition of Magic Bus, so I'll have it hop onboard the magic editing bus and get off at another station, as it were.
C in California
I get that the drum solo was probably meant as a tribute to Keith, but, still, leave it for the live show.
"Under a Raging Moon" has probably been the only non-live song I've ever liked with a drum solo(s) on it that I've liked to listen to more than once.
"Road", however, is hit-and-miss for me. There's a couple of solid tracks on it, but you can tell Alice's vocals are getting a bit more studio tricker as he's getting (much) older now. I give him props for continuing to rock hard, though!
So Alice puts out a concept album about the road and saves "Magic Bus" for the closer. Dumb. And then he closes "Bus" with an unnecessary minute-long drum bit before a short musical punctuation mark. Personally, I think the song should have never been used and left in the outtake pile.
Even the Pudding did a better job. You know who I wish would have covered it back ihe day? The Easybeats. That I'd like to hear.
I'm sure the new songs are a fun in concert. But I haven't cared for his stuff since he broke up the original band a half-century ago. I really think Alice Cooper, the band, was vastly underrated.
I know some of the people in his current band. They are good players but without nuance. They got being over the top down pat. I guess that's what Alice and his fans want. It's his schtick. A few of these "Road" songs are quite amusing, though. Ezrin's back, but I don't really like the production.
Sorta related-
Sal do you know how many different edits there are of the Who's original "Magic Bus."
VR
"Sal do you know how many different edits there are of the Who's original "Magic Bus."
I believe the correct answer is, a lot.
I like it at first, then, yeah man, it sounds like an entirely diff song duct-taped on suddenly.
(The original) Alice Cooper was my first rock n roll love, and I still have my Muscle Of Love cardboard box, School's Out desk with panties insert, Killer calendar, and Billion Dollar Babies 'snakeskin' wallet and bill. I agree with VR that that original band was great -- a unique combo of pop smarts and grit that's not been equalled. I don't agree with her assessment of AC's version of Magic Bus, as I dug its groove, and, as noted above, will dispense with the drum solo when I get to editing. While I didn't give much of a listen to AC after the original band ended, I did like Clones as a catchy li'l new wave song and thought the title track from DaDa very effective. But, yeah, two songs out of a load of albums isn't much to brag about....
C in California
Ouch.
Randy
I saw Alice and company do “Stroll On” at a sound check in 1973.
They did a pretty fair Yardbirds, FWIW.
Since we are talking Alice...
I think the comments along the lines of "everything after the original group isn't worth the time" -- are off-base.
Goes To Hell, From The Inside, Dada, Eyes/Dirty Diamonds, Nightmare 2 (yes, Nightmare is great, but Nightmare 2 -- was a great surprise) -- these are all very different albums from the original ACG, but I think they are fab.
There are certainly parts of his discography, I do not like (the "metal" albums or Brutal Planet/Dragontown, and "Along Came A Spider" is tuneless), but Alice/Ezrin will always get a listen from me.
I don't think I have ever heard a note of "Dada." But I second the praise for "Goes To Hell." And the first "Nightmare" is Top 5 for me.
I didn't listen to any Alice albums after "Billion Dollar Babies". "Killer" and "School's Out" were the creative peak. His alcoholism took over after that. He's still an entertainer, and I'm glad he's sober and having fun, but I don't think I need to hear any more.
DaDa is the last of his alcoholic blackout albums and the last real collaboration with Dick Wagner (and it's surprisingly synth-heavy so it's got a sound you may not expect.)
But the songs (and lyrics) are top notch for what was supposedly a contractual-obligation album -- both funny and serious (with "Pass The Gun Around" probably one of the more noticable lyrics about his relapse.
Yeah. For starters , Alice is sharp in this. It’s embarrassing
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