This is most likely the most memorable episode in NG history, for a variety of reasons, but mainly because it could pass for a classic Twilight Zone entry, too.
Maybe I missed it, but there should have been a documentary covering some of these bands that popped out of the Canadian progressive rock scene in the 70's - excluding Rush - like Max Webster, Saga, and Klaatu, which often blurred the line between prog and New Wave. But the strangest character by far had to be Nash the Slash, who was originally part of a group called FM. On his solo Children of the Night, it's a wild, conflicted, emotional ride which is best expressed through his singular interpretations of Peter and the Wolf (here titled "Wolf") and the Rolling Stones "19th Nervous Breakdown". Nash's own material is fairly enveloping, too. The album sleeve proclaimed "there are no guitars", but Nash's electric mandolin and violin playing sounds eerily similar, and yet there is a different sound he reaches. But sometimes it misses the mark, as "Dopes on the Water" and even "Dead Man's Curve" can attest to. The 2000 re-issue includes a number of bonus tracks, of which 3 out of the 6 are live. An added treat for fans and new listeners alike.
Billion Dollar Babies is the capper on a run of four albums from the Cooper band which established, for all intents and purposes, the foundation of the trash-rock style, and some say this is its defining statement. Certainly, of the four LP’s, it is the flashiest, most glam of them all – the Alice thing was at its’ peak of popularity, and it was time to cash in with the most grandiose record and live tour to match. Every one of the ten tracks on this CD we're calculated for maximum provocation, and this time Alice’s target was the rancid heart of American society along with shining a huge spotlight on those who indulged in its’ worst vices imaginable (and Alice was definitely not spared from making the latter case). But the trick was making something so grotesque sound more palatable than ever before – in fact, one of the things sorely missing from this record that is on earlier classics like Love It to Death and Killer is that hungry, gritty sound and the us-against-all-comers attitude. A very minor quibble - because really, as far as consistent, across-the-board highlights on an Alice Cooper album, Billion Dollar Babies will never be topped, and not surprising it turned out to be the last great statement Alice Cooper - as a band - would ever make.
There's not much to say here, other than this is the memorable "School's Out" flanked by 8 other songs which delve into the group's preoccupation with theatrics and musicials. Which they would explore to much better effect on the following album.
