Billion Dollar Babies – First Ever Live Show – Flint 1977
Gonzo Multimedia
www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk

Rating: D+

Okay… here we go….

When Alice Cooper dumped his childhood friends and went off to become a mega star, his buddies were kinda butt hurt. And who could blame them. It was a mean move.  So…what did they do?  They went out and started a band of course!

They were called Billion Dollar Babies to capitalize off of the amazingly popular last album they did with Alice before being cast aside. They released the album Battle Axe and went on the road. 

This review gets tricky because the fact this recording survives is really bad-ass rock ‘n’ roll cool. The songs are good. The band are cool.  BUT...I am not in the habit of reviewing badly recorded bootleg type stuff.  If you are one of those then disregard everything I say and snap it up for the historical value alone. If you are looking for a good sounding album of this historical concert…this ain’t it. It just sounds really rough.  It takes away from the performance big time.

I was really excited to hear this but upon hearing it I wish I would not have heard it. It was really cool for ten seconds and then I was like….. “arrgggg this sounds too shitty!” That said… the band’s one album Battle Axe is a cool listen and you get to hear them live here.

Still….there is the historical stuff….

Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith were the founding members of The Alice Cooper Group. They are in the Hall of Fame. This was their ‘fuck you’ moment to their childhood friend. Historically….it is a real rock ‘n roll moment.  So…for that reason it is really groovy baby.

It is the coolest bad rating I have ever given in my life. In fact, this one belongs in my collection…I will just never listen to it again.

Tracks:
Miss You
Rock n Roll Radio
Love is Rather Blind
Rock Me Slowly
Alice Cooper Medley: No More Mr Nice Guy/Neal Smith solo/Elected/Eighteen/School's Out
Battle Axe Suite: Ego Mania
Battle Axe
Nights in Cracked Leather/Sudden Death/Winner
Too Young
Billion Dollar Babies

By Jeb “School’s Out” Wright