Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!: My Adventures in The Alice Cooper Group

I’ve been a huge fan of the Alice Cooper Group since their first album Pretties For You came out back in the day. I’ve read Michael Bruce’s book and when I heard about Dennis’s book, Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs! My Adventures In The Alice Cooper Group, I couldn’t wait to read it. The thing is, I wasn’t aware it had come out so long ago! Since I discovered Dennis’s Facebook page, I became aware of this autobiography and as a devoted fan, I had to check it out.Despite my built-in bias, I must say that this book is by far, the best autobiography I’ve ever read by anyone. Considering that I’ve read a few in my time, and some good ones, that says a lot.The writing was outstanding with quality prose throughout. No major typos or grammatical errors, plus unlike some I’ve read, he didn’t repeat himself over and over again. The story was laid out in a logical and chronological order which made reading it a breeze. The major point being that the writing didn’t get in the way of the story.As for the story, Dennis has a way of telling it like it is. He’s blunt, funny, profane, and despite having every reason to be bitter, he never goes there except in very small doses. This is not a diatribe about how he lost out on the big dream. It’s as much a love letter to the great times he had with his four best friends for a very exciting time when the band were struggling right up to their inevitable implosion.I found I was able to relate to so much of the story, not only being just a few years shy in age of the members of the band, but also being a failed musician myself and having had experienced many of the trials and tribulations they did. The big difference is that they kept going and grabbed their golden ring, and I never did.This is a man that tells a fascinating tale of a bunch of high school buddies who formed a band and through a bunch of freaky ideas, created a movement that resonated and shook the world of music and theater and spawned countless imitators. This effort ended up creating a monster that turned around and bit most of the musicians right back, but for a while it was a glory ride.I was particularly touched with his tribute to the late great Glen Buxton, one of my top guitar heroes. The eccentricities and demons that at once made him such a unique guitar player yet also destroyed him, showed how it also ate away at the other band members, and Dennis in particular. This book is as much a loving tribute to his deceased bandmate as the rest of the band.I couldn’t have asked for a more fascinating and absorbing autobiography and felt I was living it as I read it. In a way I was. Things Dennis said sparked memories for me, especially from the early days when I first bought Pretties For You, then Easy Action (one of my top ten albums of all time), then saw them in mid 1970 right after the album came out. That show at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino in California was one of the freakiest and best concerts I’ve ever seen, and I can still vividly recall most details, 50 years later. It was the only time I ever got to see them live, but I have treasured that performance all my life.This book is killer, and if you’re a fan, you can’t pass it up. Highly recommended.

Alice Copper Band is far one of the greatest Bands ever.

I've been a fan of Alice Cooper, both the group and solo performer, since 1986 when I heard Constrictor in sixth grade. I read Me, Alice in high school, just a few years later, checked out from my local library. Those were the days, indeed. Even though that's been over twenty years ago, the stories of that book stuck with me; the talent show, the Jim Morrison seance, waking Frank Zappa up at dawn, The Cheetah, Alice's coffin, Alice Cookies, and so on. And it was nice to read those same stories from someone else, if for no other reason than to affirm their veracity. Now, while I can't attest to Mr. Dunaway's claim to near-perfect recall, I feel I can safely agree with his claim that his former, sometimes current, bandmate, has a strong penchant for the dramatic in everything he does. That's apparent from interviews alone. Based on that observation, I give Mr. Dunaway the benefit of a doubt and feel safe in assuming his telling to be the most accurate history of the band available. This is also a hell of a lot cheaper than obtaining a copy of Me, Alice, but I digress.What else does Mr. Dunaway have to say about Mr. Cooper? Mostly really nice things. In fact, my favorite thing about this book is that he doesn't take this platform as a way of venting his spleen. He gets his point across several times as to how he feels about his and his bandmates treatment, and how he feels about the name Alice Cooper, itself, but he never does it venomously. He states himself clearly, tactfully, and with a hell of a lot of class. Something that is seriously lacking in Me, Alice.The one fault in the book is that Mr. Dunaway contradicts himself, or at least come across as unclear when talking about the direction of the Alice Cooper group near the end. He states clearly that he and his bandmates were not down with doing a Vaudeville routine, but at the same time he dismisses the idea that they weren't up for the heavier emphasis on theatrics that Mr. Cooper seemingly wanted. There's an obvious breakdown here, because what Alice did with Alice Cooper was make in shinier, slicker and more in line with a Broadway musical than with a hard rock concert. I don't think this is what Mr. Dunaway and his friends had in mind for their band. I might be wrong, but maybe I misread it.That being said, it's an excellent read. I imagine most heavy fans have already purchased and read it, but if you're just discovering the group, or for any reason haven't read it, do. Do it now. I have a much deeper respect for all the members, their music and their journey than I did before I read it. It's funny, inspiring, and entertaining. I love it to death. Just saying.

Great book about the beginnings of the original Alice Cooper band , written by Dennis Dunaway, The original bass player and co-founder of the band.

This a very comprehensive biog of the early Alice Cooper group - but written with some grudge about how the band were treated in 1973/4. On many pages Dennis reminds us that Alice Cooper was a group and how the rest of the band members were sidelined once fame hit. He boasts of his great memory and indeed he does seem to have amazing recall. There is perhaps too much about the very early days but the progress from the early school band to superstars is very interesting. The era from Love It To Death doesn't begin until half way through the book. The last few chapters of post Alice Cooper group are also interesting. But the lasting image of this book is of a man who feels that his contribution to the band was not appreciated enough and it's bugged him ever since.

Finally the mystery of Dennis Dunaway has been brought into the light. I've been obsessed by DD's enigmatic role in the Alice Cooper Group ever since hearing Looney Tune on the B-Side of the Elected 45 my uncle gave me when I was in my early teens, and when the internet became accessible in the UK i'd try to find stuff out about him to no avail. Up until a few years back it seemed like he'd disappeared into obscurity. I heard he owned a video store in Connecticut (I still don't know if that was true or not), but other than that - nothing. This book contains vivid stories of the Alice Cooper Group, stories that have never been told by Alice Cooper (who always vehemently denied use of illegal substances, saying that they were a good, all American, beer drinking band - which was always kind of hard to believe, given the era we're talking about!!!). Some beautiful stories about the wonderfully talented and underrated Glen Buxton, who until reading this I just knew as the guy that always had a flick knife on him, when in fact without him there would be no Alice Cooper. There's a fantastic part in the book featuring Jim Morrison. I could go on and on...JUST BUY THIS BOOK!!!! Honestly, you won't be able to put it down until it's finished.

A fantastically written book by the original Alice Cooper band bass player. I've loved pretty much of of Alice from the start, through the classic recordings with the band, then his solo work. It was with Glen, Dennis, Michael and Neal that Alice took the world by storm and these 5 changed the face of music. Honest and witty, this book tells the story of a group of kids forming a band to impress the girls and becoming the biggest band on the planet at the time. Of course, it all ended, but not until there were enough stories to fill this terrific read. It was particularly interesting, as a fan, to get an insight into how some of the songs came to fruition

A very enjoyable read. Dennis Dunaway has refreshing honesty and writes with an enthusiasm that takes you along with the band from their early gigs scraping a living to global stardom.Along the way he recounts tales of encounters with notorious groupies, Frank Zappa, The Doors and Pink Floyd to name but a few. Unlike some biographies Dunaway doesn’t use the book to settle scores. He comes over as genuine likeable muso who got lucky with a bunch of like minded souls.

There's something truly nourishing and deeply friendly about the writing in this book, which is replete with fascinating details. Dennis has a remarkable ability to viscerally paint the atmosphere of time and the events in succinctly put words. It makes yer feel yer in some bar somewhere with him waxing lyrical about this fascinating band during it's rise and to the peak of its success, Great stuff & most recommended, not just for fans, but for anyone who appreciates quality factual story telling,