Dennis Dunaway's book "Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!: My Adventures with the Alice Cooper Band"

[Digney in Burnaby]

Found this morning on Dennis Dunaway's phasebook feed. I thought I recognized that mug and then recognized the name.

https://www.facebook.com/dunawaysro...808816779999/1837643496296514/?type=3&theater

Dennis, I realize I'm late to the party, but I just read your book, and I have to say, it's extraordinary. I've been a fan since hearing "I'm Eighteen" for the first time in 1971, when I was still 7 years away from being 18 myself. I've probably read a hundred biographies written by or about 60s and 70s rock stars, and I found most of them disappointing. I always want to hear more about what the early days were like, and man, you nailed that. Honestly, it's the best rock memoir I've ever read. Congratulations on a great book, congratulations on the reunion shows with Alice, Neal and Michael, and congratulations on being Dennis Dunaway.

Thanks. Michael Phillips
RIP Glen Buxton!

 

[d gray]

he looks so harmless in that picture.

 

[mjp]

Who knew people were watching Dennis Dunaway on Facebook.

I meant what I said about his book. In comparison to other rock star books, it's at the top of the pile. You could say that's damning with faint praise, but I liked it.

He didn't post the second part of my message to him:

Funny story, just last October I was visiting an old friend and halfway through dinner he started flipping through his phone, and finally he turned the screen toward me, showing me the picture from the back cover of "Love It To Death." He said, "Now tell me, is this the greatest fucking picture of a rock band ever, or what?" All I could say was, "Yes. Yes it is."

As for Dunaway, man, just listen to the bass on the School's Out album - or Killer, Love it to Death, Billion Dollar Babies, Muscle of Love...

All great music swings, and the (original) Alice Cooper rhythm section could swing, baby.

 

[d gray]

I heard billion dollar babies just this morning on WFMU before reading this post and had to crank it. Didn't know Donovan was on it till today.

 

[mjp]

I listened to those original Cooper group records yesterday (I hadn't heard most of those songs in 40 years) and they really hold up. The big five, anyway (mentioned above). The first one, Pretties For You, is just a gaggle of low-fi space/art rock psychedelia and is generally unlistenable, the second one, Easy Action, is better, but they didn't hit their stride until their third album, Love it to Death. Then they went on that streak of five great albums, which is quite a feat, considering most rock bands don't do much of anything after their first three records.

 

[PhillyDave]

Awesome. I love how School's Out has a pair of undies as the inner sleeve and the Billion Dollar Babies is like a wallet. Oh, yeah, and the music rocks AND rolls. That's the important thing, the swing you refer to aka the roll.

 

[mjp]

I love how School's Out has a pair of undies as the inner sleeve and the Billion Dollar Babies is like a wallet.

Those were the days of excess, and spending wheelbarrows full of (the band's) money on packaging.

Muscle of love came in a god damned cardboard box, with a picture sleeve on the record itself, a book cover, another page with pictures of the band members...it just went on and on. I remember one review from the time it came out, and whoever wrote it was talking about the packaging and said it looked like the band was just sitting around drunk, saying, "Hey, why don't we..."

One of the side effects of packaging the record in a cardboard box was every copy I ever had (or saw) was badly warped because the box was like half an inch thick, and the actual LP had too much room to flop around in there. I guess no one thought of that.

But Alice Cooper (the band, not the dude), pretty much invented the over the top theatricality that became commonplace in 70s arena-type groups. I think they're often dismissed by hard-core MUSIC elitists for that. But anyone who dismisses them is missing out on some of the best rock records of the 70s.

 

[d gray]

https://wfmu.org/2018/07/30/clay-pigeons-interview-dennis-dunaway/