When it comes to absolutely classic killer Alice Cooper there is no doubt that the most important period was when that was the name of the band and not just the person. The drummer on all those albums was of course Neal Smith, with the introduction to “Billion Dollar Babies” surely one of the most recognisable drum fills in rock. In the 80’s he was inspired by Phil Collins and moved in a different direction, and “Secret Eyes” helped land a record deal for a new band he formed called Deadringer which also featured ex-Alice Cooper bandmate Dennis Dunaway, Joe Bouchard of Blue Öyster Cult, Charlie Hune (Ted Nugent) and lead guitarist Jay Jesse Johnson. Even after that band broke up, he continued writing and recording songs with Johnson in the same fashion, and this collection features the original 3 demo songs (only “Secret Eyes” made it onto the Deadringer album) with 8 from the later period which all feature programmed drums.

This is one of those albums which is going to have a very limited market, namely those people who are avid Cooper fans and simply must have anything which the original guys were involved with, as while Smith and Collins were both originally drummers in incredibly important bands, that is pretty much where the relationship ends. It is an easy argument to make that while Smith had not had significant success away from Alice, Collins ran a successful dual career for a number of years before finally leaving Genesis and going purely solo. The reason for that is not only is Collins an amazing drummer, but he has a clear and powerful vocal style and a real knack for writing hit songs with catchy hooks in a multitude of styles. This album sounds like a collection of demos which need filling out by a full band and should have been undertaken by a singer with a wider range – they also need to have been under the watchful eye of a producer who could have assisted in the arrangements and made suggestions as to what songs not to put on an album at all. While there are a few songs which do show promise, such as “I Wanna Be Good”, for the most part the drumming is pedestrian, the keyboards are basic at best, there isn’t enough guitar, the singing is limited in style and range, and where all the hooks? For collector’s only.

Rating: 4/10

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