Easy Action - The Original Alice Cooper Band - by Martin Popoff

 

Of course, I have been a fan of the original Alice Cooper band since they burst onto the scene with their smash hit "Eighteen", but especially after seeing their incredible live show on TV's In Concert series. Whether it ever showed or not, few things have been as big of an influence on me as that footage. So, of course, I read whatever I can find on them and - once again - although I can't remember where I first heard about this, I had to pick it up when I got the chance.

Popoff's technique here is to basically tell the tale in the band member's own words, using (roughly) chronological interview segments mixed with a bit of his own commentary for continuity's sake, as well as adding a few other pop culture references (Screamin' Jay Hawkins' appearance, Blue Cheer's debut, sidemen like Dick Wagner's birth and bands, etc.).

While I dig hearing from the guys themselves, I do think that there could have been a bit more context placed in the story, as these snippets only provide so much, naturally. Of course, the early days have the really great stories, from hanging out with bands like Pink Floyd, the Yardbirds and Arthur Brown, to crashing festivals, to emptying halls to writing "Return of the Spiders" as a plea to the audience to "Stop, Look and Listen"! Funnily, the infamous "chicken episode" has vastly different recollections from the different band members, but such is life on the road when something unplanned becomes one of your most well-known escapades.

Of course, we go through the rise and inevitable fall of the fantastic, original Alice Cooper band - not the solo artist - from their meager start with Frank Zappa's Bizarre/Straight label, to Warner's for their surprise breakthrough with Love It To Death and the smash "(I'm) Eighteen", their work with Bob Ezrin, the following successes with Killer and School's Out before hitting number one with Billion Dollar Babies, which began their downward fall.

I do enjoy hearing from the men themselves, but this is all-too-brief in a mere 200-ish pages, and, as I said, the story obviously could have been fleshed out a lot more. Well worth reading, but as a secondary source, not the only telling of the tale. Dennis Dunaway's book is much more fulfilling, overall.