Alice Cooper: Welcome 2 My Nightmare
Universal Music, 2011
Alice Cooper for President!
Alice has been at the heart of horror rock since he founded it in 1968; at its heart with a knife, that is. Cooper’s showmanship made his name an unforgettable, unforgivable part of American culture from the youth anthems “I’m Eighteen” and “School’s Out” to the trip through insanity from the concept album Welcome to My Nightmare; from guest appearances and soundtrack recordings in slasher movies like Friday the Thirteenth: Jason Lives and Price of Darkness, to a graphic novel companion to The Last Temptation and a slew of tribute albums featuring covers by time tested masters of the field.
I must admit, The last few albums have not been exciting for me. Alice has never really been heavy metal, though he puts on a good show of it. I think From the Inside was the last of the original Alice Cooper. With the albums Flush the Fashion through Zipper Catches Skin, a pop sound kind of creeps in. Much of it is very good and quite unique (like “Asprin Damage”) but it just was not MY Alice.
Constrictor was his comeback to his classic horror image, and it marked the move to what they called heavy metal. “The Nightmare Returns” was the name of that tour, but the latest album really deserves the title.
In my mind blood drops look like roses on white lace
Straight from the heart!
So dead upon the bed… Still searching for your head!
Every album since has had at least one great “Alice Cooper” song. Constrictor had “Teenage Frankenstein,” Raise Your Fist and Yell had the creepy “Roses on White Lace,” and the refrains of “This House is Haunted” from The Eyes of Alice Cooper leaves one with a warm and safe feeling …in the “I see dead people” sort of way that Alice has mastered so well.
It goes from some glorious opening right into some song that can only be Alice Cooper, right into a train wreck, into a Tom Waits type of song…
What would Alice’s Nightmares look like 35 years later…?
1. I Am Made of You: A good song for driving through the city at night. In that way it reminds me of the Ozzy album The Ultimate Sin. Cooper applies synth to his voice a la “The Cher Effect,” that works well to set the mood. It notably includes the piano theme that precedes Steven on Welcome to My Nightmare, the theme that will carry us through till dawn, I hope.
2. Caffeine: A little speed is all I need! Hearkens back to the Zipper catches skin era. It breaks into really catchy harder rock that is unmistakably Alice.
3. The Nightmare Returns: A quick interlude where we find ourselves back in Alice’s head (or is it Steven’s?), visiting awful places he doesn’t want to go…
4. A Runaway Train: Almost rockabilly, this upbeat tune finds Alice screamin’ out of control! More classic Alice Cooper Rock and Roll, and this one features guest guitarist Vince Gill!
5. Last Man On Earth: Song & Dance, reminiscent of Jesus Christ Superstar, when Alice sang Herod’s Song. This must be the Tom Waits type song Alice talks about. I had to replay this three times on the first listen, just because I liked it so much. The Vaudevillian showman returns!
6. The Congregation: This is the song that Sgt. Pepper’s missed. Maybe it was the devilish base undertones. Welcome to the congregation of freaks and outcasts!
7. I’ll Bite Your Face Off: Classic rock that was the foundation of Alice, and a bit of an anthem as well.
8. Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever: Back to Flush the Fashion period again, but this includes an unprecedented Alice-rap to the march of the Wicked Witch of the West. As silly as this is… it’s kind of catchy. Only Alice could make tongue-in-cheek horror classy.
9. Ghouls Gone Wild: Alice does the Ramones! Blue Cheer-like summer fun for flesh eaters. More zany splatter, what Alice can always do well.
10. Something To Remember Me By: This is the album’s romantic ballad. In the original Nightmare it was “Only Women Bleed.” This song sounds like it might have come off From the Inside. It’s a serious song in a jugular vein.
11. When Hell Comes Home: OK, The tongue-in-cheek is gone and the bass-line returns in a song that brings home the really scary side to an abusive, alcoholic father. And revenge. Great stuff.
12. What Baby Wants: “She feeds on flesh and blood…” Guest singer Ke$ha makes this one sound like it fell out of a Nickelodeon channel teen show, but it grows on you after a few listenings.
When I met her, I had an idea for a song. I needed a character to play the devil. In the song, she finally has enough, and its time for Alice to pay her with his soul. We decided to call it ‘What Baby Wants Baby Gets’ because in the song he tries to say, ‘Hey, that wasn’t part of the deal’ and she says, ‘No, no, no, you don’t understand, what baby wants, baby gets!’ For me, it was a perfect line for her to say.”
13. I Gotta Get Outta Here: Vince Gill returns in this country song, and does a great, if short, solo. This number was meant to parallel the original Nightmare’s “Escape,” but I’m not sure it achieves this because we never really sink down into the depths of madness that we did the first time around. But as a stand-alone ride, this one hearkens back to the classic era of “Be My Lover” or “Desperado.”
What part of “Death” don’t you get?
…I just signed on for a Nightmare…
14. The Underture: Funny how a small series of riffs like this can evoke a subliminal suggestion, pulling you right back into a state of self-hypnosis, and deep, deep, utter… madness.
Welcome to My Nightmare 2 is a true return to Alice’s creativity (not like Brutal Planet was hyped as being.) It tries to do a little of everything, giving fans a taste of all the genres Alice has mastered over the years. The “Steven Theme” still reminds me of the original– which is truly a timeless piece which has lost none of its poignancy. Alice can still entertain in the theatre of the Gran Guignol, drawing us in and losing us in his call to help from the center of insanity.
