Quad LP/Tape Poll Cooper, Alice: Billion Dollar Babies [CD-4/Q8]

[EMB]

Warner Bros. BS4-2685, stereo edition released 1973, quad 1974.

Side 1:

Hello Hurray
Raped and Freezin'
Elected
Billion Dollar Babies
Unfinished Sweet

Side 2:

No More Mr. Nice Guy
Generation Landslide
Sick Things
Mary Ann
I Love the Dead


ED

 

[Quad Linda]

7. Not something I bought back in the day. Santana, Miles, Loggins & Messina, Lightfoot, Dylan, Chicago and Weather Report were more what I listened to when this was done in Quad. No More Mr. Nice Guy is a killer track. Good mix in Quad and later on DVD-A.

 

[EMB]

Not quite "School's Out" in quality, but hard to argue with the best here, most of all "Elected" (given who was elected back in '72, we woulda been better off with Alice). "Hello Hurray" was a very droll choice, given that it had been previously recorded by Judy Collins (!). "I Love the Dead" brought back echoes of the band's past.

ED

 

[Cyber 1]

Some great moments on this album, Raped and Freezin', Generation Landslide and with a nice inner sleeve, bill type poster a perforated cards to trade with friends and family, I loved this album when it came out, well Killer was killer too and it was always great to get a pair of panties with your copy of schools out. As best I can remember the CD-4 album has a couple of different versions of a few songs unlike the DVD-A. I'll have to pull my CD-4 copy out and give it a spin as it's been 15 years or so then I'll vote

 

[JonUrban]

"Back when I was in the Navy....." my roommate at electronics school in Memphis (well, Millington), played this album endlessly in our barracks room. Got to know it well. Repeated listening tends to make music you may not find yourself drawn to more pleasing. Consequently, I tend to like this album, have the CD-4 and the DVD-A, but haven't played either in a while. Time for some memory refreshing!

 

[Q8]

I haven't heard the quad mix yet. But I have the CD-4 on the way in the mail. For me, when I started diving headfirst into quad, this was one of the first things to find its way onto my "need" list (I would still like to have the Q8 of this title as well). While I listen to everything under the sun, I started my education with Hard Rock and Metal, so albums like this still tend to move me more than anything else. Billion Dollar Babies is a favorite for me, maybe even possibly my favorite AC title. As Jon's roomate did, I have went through times where I have listened to this title over and over.

The music for me is a solid 9. If the quad mix is anywhere as rivoting as the music, this will probably end up getting a 9.

"Sick things in cartridge tapes, my stars,
Sick things, pretty things, play things, my things"

 

[neil wilkes]

I dug this one out again the other day after seeing the Johnny Depp film "Dark Shadows" which features Alice singing "No More Mr Nice Guy" in the big ball scene, and initially loaded up the DVDA version but was so disappointed with the "surround" mix I scrapped playback & loaded up the Quad - which to my ears is streets ahead of the remix.
The quad is nicely aggressive and in the main very well done (the DVDA has mainly reverb in the rears and, as cartman would say, "sucks balls") and puts the listener right in the middle of the band.
Not everybody's cup of tea but certainly right up my street, and if you never did get the DVDA but do have the Quad then I do not think you are missing much as this is so much better.

A solid 9

 

[fredblue]

never warmed to either of the Alice Cooper DVD-A surround mixes and never heard the quads

guess I need to start fishin' for those quads!

 

[kap'n krunch]

I dug this one out again the other day after seeing the Johnny Depp film "Dark Shadows" which features Alice singing "No More Mr Nice Guy" in the big ball scene, and initially loaded up the DVDA version but was so disappointed with the "surround" mix I scrapped playback & loaded up the Quad - which to my ears is streets ahead of the remix.
The quad is nicely aggressive and in the main very well done (the DVDA has mainly reverb in the rears and, as cartman would say, "sucks balls") and puts the listener right in the middle of the band.
Not everybody's cup of tea but certainly right up my street, and if you never did get the DVDA but do have the Quad then I do not think you are missing much as this is so much better.

A solid 9

Curious...the other day we saw a bit of "Dark Shadows" (the movie) on TV and decided to get it on DVD(used and cheap)...great movie, love Johnny (and Eva!!!!!). great music...

..."ugliest woman I've ever seen!"...

 

[cupboy]

I'm still annoyed this never came out on quad reel. I tried to talk Magtec into it but they were totally opposed to it. Don't remember why. Any ex-Magtec employees on this forum?

 

[fredblue]

I'm still annoyed this never came out on quad reel. I tried to talk Magtec into it but they were totally opposed to it. Don't remember why. Any ex-Magtec employees on this forum?

fascinating.. so how was a Warner quad turning up on reel decided upon? (Stampede's on a reel..!) was it on a release-by-release basis? would Magtec have licensed the material from WB?

 

[Quad Linda]

I'd expect that it was based on Magtec's assessment of marketability. Likely they thought that Cooper was targeted to teens who couldn't afford a Q4 deck. Perhaps they also looked at sales figures of previous releases of Q4's by that artist to determine whether to do subsequent releases.

And then, there's always the blindfold dartboard method...

fascinating.. so how was a Warner quad turning up on reel decided upon? (Stampede's on a reel..!) was it on a release-by-release basis? would Magtec have licensed the material from WB?

 

[cupboy]

They did put out that horrible Muscle Of Love on quad reel. Perhaps not too many sales on that one. I bought it but didn't play it very often.

 

[Cyber 1]

I've had 3 copies of the CD-4 and no were very good sound wise, never had the Q8, is a good Q8 better then the CD-4?

 

[neil wilkes]

In terms of pure fidelity, the DVDA will be better, but as far as the mix goes the Quad smokes the DVDA for me.
My copy is a DTS-CD of unknown origin (sounds like CD-4 but might not be) but in terms of aggressiveness give me the quad.
The DVDA is big stereo.....

 

[Cyber 1]

Ya I have the DVD-A too, need to track done a well done Q8

 

[jaypfunk]

This a review of the Q8 provided by Oxford Dixie at DSQA II.

This is another one I have burned into my head from 40 years of listening to the stereo LP.
Finally got a chance to listen last nite and WOW WOW WOW!! The way the layered vocals and multiple guitar parts are spread around the 4 speakers brings a whole new life to this. This is a great example of how to use the rears properly in a QUAD mix. You can def hear things that are either buried or totally mixed out in the stereo version.
Amazing album, amazing QUAD mix. A 10 all around.

I do have the DVD-A also and this totally blows it away.

 

[Q8]

I finally got to listen to the CD-4, this is awesome. I give it a 9.

 

[JonUrban]

They did put out that horrible Muscle Of Love on quad reel. Perhaps not too many sales on that one. I bought it but didn't play it very often.

I remember "back in the day" it used to drive me crazy that the sub-par title would get the reel release ('Muscle of Love' over 'Billion Dollar Babies', 'Hotcakes' over 'On the Border', 'Colors of the Day' over 'Late for the Sky', etc.) Who made these decisions? Similar to when the quad release would come AFTER the hit album release ('Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys' over 'Hobo's Lullaby')

Danger! Old guy ranting!