In March of 1975, legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper made his big solo debut with the album Welcome to My Nightmare. While all of Cooper's previous albums had had his name as the band name as well, those albums had been as the band called Alice Cooper rather than Alice going and doing his own thing. This would be the start of a major change in Cooper's career which continues to this day except for the occasional reunion with one or more of his former bandmates.
Welcome to My Nightmare is a concept album that goes on a journey following the nightmares of a young boy named Steven. Music-wise it follows a variety of genres from hard rock to Broadway. Even horror legend Vincent Price made a guest appearance on the album doing voice acting parts on various tracks. The whole album is a big production and you can really feel like you're a part of something monumental when listening to it.
Welcome to My Nightmare is one hell of a title track for the album. Cooper's vocals are so smooth and cool in the intro and gradually gets more raucous as the band picks up more and bolsters gradually throughout the duration of the tune. In a way it almost sounds like he was trying to emulate Jim Morrison's vocal style in certain parts. However, it isn't long before his signature grit kicks in during the big horn backed parts. You can tell that this song was made to be bigger than just something on an album.
Cold Ethyl is one of my favorite tunes on the album and quite frankly I feel it's one of Alice's most under rated songs of all time. This one is more of a straight up rocker. No horns or backing orchestra. Just one down and dirty rock n' roll band making some blues tinged glam rock that was definitely appropriate given the era it came out in. It has a catchy chorus that will get you singing right along and guitar riffs that will get you dancing and grooving for a while to come.
Welcome to My Nightmare is a must have for fans of the Coops. You can tell he was giving it everything he could because he wanted to make a good impression on the masses as a solo artist. Needless to say, I think he did pretty darn well; especially given that he was in the midst of his alcohol addiction at the time. That said, pick it up. It's a fun album with good tunes and an interesting story to go along with.
Welcome to My Nightmare, by Alice Cooper, receives 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Track List:
1. Welcome to My Nightmare
2. Devil's Food
3. The Black Widow
4. Some Folks
5. Only Women Bleed
6. Department of Youth
7. Cold Ethyl
8. Years Ago
9. Steven
10. The Awakening
11. Escape
Buy the album on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Welcome-My-Nightmare-Alice-Cooper/dp/B008645YXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454659871&sr=8-1&keywords=Welcome+to+My+Nightmare
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