Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper

*Billion Dollar Babies* is both an indictment of early ’70s American life and a celebration of it. This deceptively smart, glitter-heavy concoction is pure rock ’n’ roll theater too, from opener “Hello Hooray” to creepy closer “I Love the Dead.” And there’s no escaping Alice Cooper’s clever lyrical narratives—or the downright Yardbirds/Stones riff-outs—of “No More Mister Nice Guy,” “Raped and Freezin’,” and “Generation Landslide.” The anthem “Elected” and the stomping title song (featuring Donovan on vocals) are purposely rich with self-parody.

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With Billion Dollar Babies, Alice Cooper refined the raw grit of their earlier work in favor of a slightly more polished sound (courtesy of super-producer Bob Ezrin), resulting in a mega-hit album that reached the top of the U.S. album charts.