The original Alice Cooper band was one of the finest hard-rock units of the early '70s. <em>Billion Dollar Babies</em> may not be the Cooper band's best album, but it was the final release of a quartet of extraordinary Bob Ezrin-produced hard-rock records (rounded out by <em>Love It to Death</em>, <em>Killer</em>, and <em>School's Out</em>), and it captures the moment when the band was at its peak. Including three hit singles in "Hello Hooray," "Elected," and "No More Mr. Nice Guy," the album--from Donovan's exciting cameo on the title track to the closing "I Love the Dead" (probably the prettiest ode to necrophilia ever recorded)--still sounds terrific. And the packaging, production, music, and imagery has inspired followers as diverse as the Sex Pistols, Marilyn Manson, and Hole.