Convince Me! Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper

A Convince Me Sidetrax Episode

This week on Backwards Beats, we're on a mid-season break – but not really. Dan kicks off our first ever Convince Me Sidetrax episode by assigning Carl an album he’s never heard and would likely never seek out on his own: Alice Cooper’s 1973 shock rock epic Billion Dollar Babies. Known for theatrical excess, guillotines, and glam-goth energy, this album challenges Carl’s deep-rooted skepticism of makeup-wearing rockers. What unfolds is a surprising deep dive into a shockingly competent – and conceptually ambitious – hard rock record.

From dental drills to ragtime pianos, from outrageous lyrics to airtight musicianship, Billion Dollar Babies proves far more complex than its outrageous stage persona suggests. Carl, who comes in expecting clown makeup and chaos, walks away... kinda into it?

Key Points

• 🎭 Concept Album? – While not officially a concept album, Carl and Dan note the thematic cohesion across tracks. Songs like “Unfinished Sweet” and “Raped and Freezin’” paint vivid scenes and explore fame, vanity, and discomfort with theatrical flair.

• 🧠 Initial Skepticism – Carl admits a strong bias against Alice Cooper’s persona, comparing it to Kiss, Slipknot, and Guar. By the end, he calls parts of the record “brilliant” and confesses that it’s won him over more than expected.

• 🥁 Standout Track – “Billion Dollar Babies” (the song) is the breakout track for Carl. He describes the drumming as “a non-stop solo” and praises its tight arrangements and aggressive energy.

• 🤘 Skip Proof? – Carl says it’s not quite a no-skip record, but he’d happily own it on vinyl. Highlights outweigh the few misses (“I Love the Dead,” “Sick Things”).

  Music Referenced

• School's Out by Alice Cooper

• The Wall by Pink Floyd
• Destroyer by Kiss
• Alive by Kiss
• Music from 'The Elder' by Kiss
• Lou Reed
• Gwar
• Slipknot
• Rob Zombie
• Ministry
• Ozzy Osborne
• Iggy Pop
• Coheed and Cambria
• Tool
• Yes
• LP
• ELO
• David Bowie
• Krokus
• To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar

 

Next week, Dan gets surprised with LTJ Bukem’s Journey Inward in part two!