Customer Reviews

Welcome To My Nightmare (Expanded & Remastered)

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The sound of this remaster is gorgeous! I usually ho-hum at remasters, and can't tell much difference, but this is an exception. The sounds are sharper, crisper. Little sounds and lost instrumentation have been brought up from the background. and some of the weird noises have been given more prominence. I listened to both CD versions back to back, and I could hear major differences. The original CD seems to have been designed to suit more classic rock tastes, but this one seems to have been mastered to suit the tastes of Alice fans.

This reissue was produced by Brian Nelson and David McLees. Sound was produced by Bill Inglot. It was remastered by Dan Hersch at Digiprep-not by Bob Ezrin as the editorial review incorrectly states (check the liner notes before reviewing!)

It comes with a ten page booklet with some nice archive photos (that made me wish there were more photos and that they were larger!) from the "Welcome To My Nightmare" tour and a text piece by Jeffery Morgan-which basically praises Alice to death and doesn't tell fans anything they didn't already know-but it's still nice to read.

The three alternate songs were taken from Alice's ABC TV Special, "The Nightmare," co-starring Vincent Price, which was first broadcast 4/25/75. This is not the "Welcome To My Nightmare" concert video-this is a series of vignettes acted out by Cooper and Price that is nearly impossible to find by conventional means. Maybe this CD will generate interest and they will re-release it. In any case, they do not detract from the album at all...in fact, they add a little closure to it.

"Devil's Food" has alternate lyrics-probably mandated by television executives, but in my opinion the lyrics are even more potentially offensive! Leave it to Alice to pull that off. The music is different as well, trippier, more far out. The end of "Devil's Food" is played out without the Vincent Price monologue. "Cold Ethyl" is much the same with perhaps a more enthusiastic performance from Alice, he really gets into the "ooooooh so cold" bit. "The Awakening" has radically altered lyrics that fit just as well...it is a sweeter, more innocent alternate ending to the nightmare closed out by Vincent Price's lovely voice telling Alice the nightmare is never over.

Now as to the original tracks on the album: The title song begins the album with a whispery invitation to sample some of the disturbing images in Alice's haunted toy box. The song features creepy guitar work by Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter and ends with a rousing fanfare of horns welcoming you into the nightmare. The bizarre guitar work is really brought out in the remaster, up to the level of the horns, it gives it a much weirder sound.

Next up is "Devil's Food," a song about the Devil getting ready for a hot date or maybe a hot meal. As the song winds down Alice treats us to a monologue by Vincent Price, a full eight years before Mr. Jackson would do the same on his "Thriller" album. He portrays a museum curator with an obsession with spiders. This leads us right into "The Black Widow," Alice's Spider King who demands that we love him or be devoured. The little sounds are really brought out here and Alice's vocals sound more distinct. The two guitars are more clearly separated.

The next three songs are fun tunes that add musical diversity to the album. "Only Women Bleed" was Alice's first ballad and would mark the beginning of a string of melancholy hits throughout the rest of the seventies. "Some Folks" is a Broadway kick-line number about anger, violence, lust and pain. "Department of Youth" is a pre-teen anthem about kids running the world-the scariest thought on the album! All of them sound crisper and more precise. The violins on "Only Women Bleed" are much more prominent.

The chilling mood returns with "Cold Ethyl," the most upbeat song about necrophilia ever written. "One thing I miss is Cold Ethyl and her skeleton kiss...We met last night making love by the refrigerator light." There is a woman moaning excitedly under the music in this song-which is really brought out in this remaster. I like the extra edge it gives the song.

"Long Ago," "Stephen" and "The Awakening" form a story about a little boy (or is he a great big man?) with some sort of multiple personality disorder who can't figure out why all his friends are gone, all his toys are broken and people keep dying, until...well, buy the album and see for yourself. "The Awakening" is one of the coolest punch-lines to an album I've ever heard. The eerie tone of these songs is served well by the sharp ultra clear remastering of this CD. The creepy sounds, hidden voices, and far off calling of Stephen's mother are all more prominent in the mix of sounds. It made the listening experience all the more chilling.

"Escape" closes out the album and is about escaping from the nightmare. Because Alice at heart is a sweet guy all his stories have happy endings. "Welcome to My Nightmare" is no exception. In the end, we wake up, and wipe the cobwebs from our eyes, and realize that we are back in the daytime world. Don't worry; we can get back to the nightmare if we need to. After all, aren't nightmares just a way to escape from our sometimes mundane lives?

If you are debating getting this remaster because you already have the CD of "Welcome To My Nightmare"-and it is already a perfect CD, I urge you to take the plunge. I believe this is even better, or at least as good, but delightfully different. The three alternate songs are a must for any fan. The improved clarity of sound, and the brightening of some of the background instrumentation make it well worth buying.

There is no doubt in my mind that "Welcome to my Nightmare" is the greatest musical triumph ever to be made by the Godfather of Shock Rock. This monster solo debut marks a critical period when Alice Cooper departs from his recently disbanded garage band and solely concocts a devious, innovative formula of grand theatrical showmanship. "Welcome to my Nightmare" is, in fact, a perfectly orchestrated spook soundtrack which blends pulsating rock rhythms with elements of vaudeville and Broadway musical tunes. As the velvet curtain rises to expose the stage, Cooper dons the top hat of a devilish ringmaster; as indicated by the album's opening title track, he cordially invites curious spectators into his cadaverous crypt cabaret. Of course, that's just the beginning. With shock and surprises lurking behind every corner, Cooper's fiendishly clever lyrics incorporate unspeakable violence and gore with elaborate stage spectacle. The special guest appearance of horror film master Vincent Price on "Devil's Food" is simply priceless; it's clear he enjoys being a Hollywood ham! "Black Widow" is a disturbing track about a bloodthirsty arachnid who is worshipped by her enslaved servants as she voraciously devours their flesh; this track may as well concern any voluptuous woman who is capable of luring men to their doom. The simple yet hilarious "Some Folks" is heavily inspired by Fred Astaire; it's a catchy tap dance number discussing the wholesome subject of cannibalism! Even more frightening is "Only Women Bleed," a seemingly tender ballad about domestic violence; during the sweeping instrumental segments, one can almost vision the bruised and terrified wife being punched and kicked repeatedly by her drunken spouse. "Cold Ethyl" is a hysterical rock & roll song where Alice commits the act of necrophilia: with wisecracks upstaging a screaming metal guitar solo, he belts out a graphic description of a nude corpse preserved in the refrigerator! These are just some creepy highlights awaiting listeners. Now that it's digitally remastered, the sound quality of "Welcome to my Nightmare" is better than ever before. Don't forget to check out the CD's 3 bonus tracks, which were recorded from Cooper's 1975 ABC television special (also take notice of the songs' alternate lyrics).

I have owned this cd for about 10 years and have only recently rediscovered its beauty. The images and stories described in these songs have inspired my writing and give light to the darker side of me.

The most noted song on this cd is the single "Only Women Bleed". While this is a great song, three other songs stand out in my mind. "Black Widow" and "Devil's Food", which could be one song in itself, tell the story of spider taking over the world from the view of a mad scientist. The highlight of the cd for me is "Steven". Steven is the character that makes regular appearances of Alice's cd. This song allows Steven to speak directly to the listener. Alice sings this song in a child-like voice. "Escape" , "Welcome to my Nightmare", and "The Awakening" are other great songs. An awesome cd, and a must for any fan of Alice Cooper. So are your nightmares like this?

Alice Cooper is arguably the most underrated and influential frontman in rock history. He's a household name and everybody knows at least one of his songs, but how often does he get his due, really? He has been destroying stages and releasing classic album after classic album since the late 60's, has heavily influenced every era of hard rock, single-handedly invented rock music as horror theater, rocks on to this day, and has one of the most unique voices ever to grace a microphone and yet he remains uninducted into the fraudulently-named "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". But Madonna gets in no problem. WTF, much? Folks like Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, KISS, and even Ozzy Osbourne owe him their very careers. He opened the door and married horror themes, theatrics, and rock music while taking the brunt of the conservative media backlash; everybody else just walked on through and built on the foundation Cooper laid for them all nice and neat. Well, this Halloween season I'm giving Alice's best album the love it deserves. "Welcome To My Nightmare": tag, you're it!

After a string of staggering classic rock albums with the legendary line-up of the Alice Cooper band, visionary frontman Vincent Furnier took on the name himself and hired his own ego-free backup band to truly explore the merger of his two passions: horror and music. The result is a masterpiece that can never be duplicated. It's original, hard-rocking, grooving, psychedelic, ambitious, and just plain brilliant. The variety and theatricality of the music itself is something that never would have been done in the Alice Cooper band with their focus on classic rock stylings and individual instrumental prowess; but stripped of the band's democratic process, Cooper was free to explore as freely as he chose. And he chose well. I love this album so much that I'm going to take you through it track by wonderful track.

Right away, the listener is greeted with a creepy and evocative psychedelic jazz number that is unlike anything else I've ever heard. "Welcome To My Nightmare" is Cooper's statement that the asylum doors have opened and he's about to take you on a trip into his world. "Devil's Food" is a unique and memorable little tune ("I knew your precious life/ and I know your death") that primarily serves as an intro to "The Black Widow". At this point we are greeted with a catastrophically awesome performance by my favorite horror icon, Vincent Price, who plays a madman leading a tour through a spider exhibit. "If I may put forward a slice of personal philosophy, I feel that man has ruled this world as a stumbling demented child-king long enough!", he rants, espousing the virtues of the treacherous spider as a fitting successor. That man was a true genius. "The Black Widow" is a rocking number that envisions a world where the evolved arachnid has brainwashed and enslaved humanity. "Some Folks" is another left turn for Alice Cooper and resembles some sort of old Broadway show or revue. In fact, Cooper used to bring out a parade of dancing creatures -including a line of synchronized kicking skeletons- onstage during performances of this number. One of my favorites. "Only Women Bleed" is probably the best known song on this album and is far from the macho chest-thumping anthem the title would lead you to believe. It is a tender ballad about an abused woman trying to share her feelings with her callous husband. Classic.

Alice Cooper has always been among the most underrated and flexible songwriters in rock music and this album displays that fact on nearly every track. His ability to change gears from the horrific to childish humor or genuine emotional vulnerability and back again from song to song is on full display. "Department of Youth" is Cooper showcasing the kid in him, leading a child chorus rebellion against the old order. It's a goofy song, but catchy as can be. "Cold Ethyl", however, is the funniest song on the album; a Nekromantik tale of a girlfriend on ice filled with killer guitar work and darkly humorous lyrics. Try not to laugh when Alice exclaims "Cold Ethyl, I'm stuck on you!" Next comes the album's magnum-opus: the three-song horror opera consisting of "Years Ago", "Steven", and "The Awakening". The story is a first-person exploration of a child killer's dual-personality and his descent into madness as the two sides fight over a young child's life. It is the most chilling thing I've ever heard and is as bold, black, and evocative as music gets. Some of the music brings to mind horror classics like Halloween and The Exorcist and also features what sounds like creepy carousel music. This show-stopping display should have ended the album, but Cooper decided to let us off on a high note so "Escape" follows. It's a light-hearted rocker with a catchy riff and lyrics about music, horror, and performance as a way to deal with the true horrors of the world at large. Escapism, in other words. I can truly relate. It's a great song, but it seems out of place after the devastating intensity of the story in front of it. But then again, Cooper is a light-hearted guy who wouldn't want to leave us in a depression, so I understand his intent.

"Welcome To My Nightmare" is my favorite horror/rock album and I am sure you'll love it. Classic rock doesn't get much better. The guitars sound killer, the arrangements are all outstanding, and Cooper has seldom been more consistently amazing. This is the perfect album to augment your Horrorween season, so buy it and love it to death.

"Welcome to my nightmare. I think you're gonna like it. I think you're gonna feel you belong." So starts out the first track as Alice Cooper invites us into his classic concept album of the seventies. It begins with the soft picking and strumming of guitar strings accompanied by the slow tapping of a cymbal, and continues as Alice joins the instruments, singing in a soft, quiet voice as if to avoid waking a sleeping person. Gradually the song picks up pace and volume as Alice introduces us to his "breakdown" and opens the door to the rest of the journey through this album.

After you've entered the album through the first song, "Welcome To My Nightmare," you'll find youself in the second track, "Devil's Food." Don't worry, the devil's not there. At least not in person. No, you'll find yourself in far better company than Satan, for Vincent Price awaits you as the curator of a deadly reptile and insect museum. As the voice of this master actor of old black and white horror films guides you on the tour, you come to realize that you are the "food" being led into the next song, "The Black Widow," to be eaten by a spider.

If you've escaped song three, you might find refuge in song four, "Some Folks." But I doubt it. Here we find Alice pleading, "Baby, come on and save me." But the lyrics are ambiguous. Does he want to be saved from celabacy? "Some folks crave a blue lady... I'm just no good without it, I'm not a man at all." Or does he want to be rescued from the nightmare he's caught in? "Some folks love to feel pain, some folks wake up every morning. Some folks live for no reason, some folks die without a warning." The message isn't clear, except for the fact that the character in the song is not in a happy predicament.

And don't assume that song five, "Only Women Bleed," will save you. Of course, you'll be better of if you're the man in the song, who "smokes and drinks and don't come home and all." But if you're the abused women, you just get to bleed on those occasions when he does come home.

But you could make your way to the "Department Of Youth," track six, an anthem of youth rebellion against adult authority. Perhaps you could hide among the juvenile delinquents as they sing along with Alice about how they've got the power. (The Summerhill Children's Choir join Cooper on vocals)

But when the department of youth closes and you have nowhere to go but song seven, "Cold Ethyl," you might want to walk fast and get out of there quickly. The song is only two minutes and fiftyone seconds long; but for those three minutes you'll be doing husband and wife things with Ethyl. That wouldn't be a problem, if not for the fact that the reason Ethyl is cold is because she's a corpse.

In "Years Ago," track eight, you'll mentally regress to your childhood. You'll long for that era. You'll think you're there, yet, somehow know you're not. "I'm a little boy. No, I'm a great big man. You will realize that all your "friends went home - years ago." You'll admit that "all my toys are broken. And so am I inside, mom." You'll hear your mother calling for you to come home as you wander into the next track.

Song nine is "Steven." He's you. He's the one trapped in this album; this nightmare. He's struggling to grow up. Part of this unhappy adventure is the struggle, in song nine, to accept the death of a loved one, most likely Steven's mother. He keeps hearing her, or someone else calling his name. The lyrics of this song might lead you to believe that Steven is losing the battle against the demons of his mind.

But then you wake up in song ten, "The Awakening." You're in the basement and don't know how you got there. You think that perhaps you're sleep walking. You get up from the chair to look for your wife. You follow a trail of blood and realize it's dripping from your hands. Is Ethyl your wife? Is she dead because of you? Did you kill your mother? Are you the reason that only women bleed?

But then song eleven, "Escape," brings freedom from the nightmare. After this song, you can exit the record and re-enter reality. You can finally pinch yourself and know that it was all just a rock and roll dream. You're safe at home in front of your stereo.

The reason why Rock and Roll has always been the Devil's Music.

Notwithstanding Messr. Cooper's conversion to Christianity, (and I do applaud him for his foundation to help wayward teenagers, as remarkable as that seems, since he "goaded" wayward teenagers in the 1970's!) there was a time when parents were convinced he was sent by Satan himself.

The truth is somewhat more prosaic.

The guy is brilliant. When the original Alice Coooper group didn't see the potential in greater theatrics, Vincent Furnier said "Goodbye"--and took Alice Cooper with him!

Truth be told, there was only one Alice Cooper. The bandmates he had (Smith, Dunaway, Buxton & Bruce) were very good, and some of their early work (My Stars, Second Coming, Desperado) was so perfect it begs description.

Alice Cooper was always smart, and it also shows in this, his masterwork: Welcome To My Nightmare. He has a collection of great musicians (Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter) and the eminence de gris himself, Bob Ezrin, at the helm of the entire thing.

The concept of this album is so bone-chilling that it, also, like the musical classics it spawns, defies words to describe it.

Rare is the album where every track is good, but here it is.

I was one of the lucky people who got to see the tv show of this album. Remembering that this was before MTV, seeing someone that was considered to be somewhat of a rebel and counterculture on tv at that time was incredible. Naturally I ran out and bought the (vinyl) album.

And what an album. Not quite like his previous albums, "Nightmare" had a few softer touches, most notably "Only Women Bleed", a song about how women in general at that time were considered second class citizens.

There are more highlights. "The Black Widow" has a narrated opening by the incomparable Vincent Price, preceding Michael Jackson's "Thriller" by quite a few years. My general rule of thumb is that just about anything that Vincent Price ever did on vinyl is excellent, and this narration is perfect for the album and as a lead-in to the song.

Listen to the end of "Department of Youth" cranked up really loud. As the sound is fading Alice Cooper asks the children who has the power, they answer that they do, then Alice asks who gave them the power, with the expectation that it would be Alice Cooper. The children answer "Donny Osmond", setting Alice into a frenzy, a hilarious fadeout.

"The Awakening" is a bit of a chiller that implies the singer has killed his wife. All seriousness here, and one of the best songs on the CD.

"Cold Ethyl" is pure laughs. Macabre laughs yes, but laughs nonetheless. Cold Ethyl is his lover, but she's cold because she's dead and in the refrigerator. As long as you can handle the subject, the song should make you smile.

"Devil's Food" and "Stephen" have some rocking moments more characteristic of Alice Cooper, and are both good as well.

"Some Folks" and "Welcome to My Nightmare" are both good, though each has a mainstream feel to the music though the lyrics are anything but. Perhaps Alice was trying for the contrast between the lyrics and music to give the songs a bit of surrealism. both are enjoyable.

"Years Ago" has Alice talking in a little boy voice in a song that implies something sinister. The song is okay and somewhat unique, but really provides the lead-in to "Stephen". While "Years Ago" might put you off a little at first, listening to it and then "Stephen" you realize that the two go together, almost as part I and II of the same song.

"Escape" caps off the original album. "Escape" was always a puzzler for me, because it seems to be a bit out of step with the rest of the album. Partially it's due to the lyrics:

"Where am I running to,
There's no place to go.
Just put on my makeup,
and get me to the show."

The way Alice sings these lyrics sounds more like The Beatles than Alice. It's good, but unlike Alice.

The 70s was such a great time for unique albums, and this one was one of those. I've listened to this album dozens of times. I hope I'm listening to it 20 (or 30) years from now. Alice was such a character with a lot of talent to entertain, sometimes amuse. Some of the songs were really different, and the guest appearance by Vincent Price is a must-have for any Vincent Price fan. What are you still doing reading this review? If you are intrigued, go buy the CD!

I was a little kid and up late one night when the "Welcome to my Nightmare" TV special aired. The music videos for the creepy music on this album enthralled me, and scared the living sh*t out of me. Thirty years later, I still listen to this album frequently. The final act featuring the insane, diabolical Steven still scares me, and Cold Ethyl remains my all-time favorite song about necrophilia. ;-) Welcome to my Nightmare is twisted, evil, maniacal genius.

This is it! The myth, the legend, the classic, Welcome To My Nightmare. Alice's first solo album after leaving his original band. On his own he had the freedom to take the stage theatrics to a new level, and the result is one of the best rock albums of all time. This was the first Alice Cooper album I ever owned and remains my favorite of all of them. Alice would release many great albums throughout his career but none of them would sound quite like this. This is the original horror/rock/broadway musical. Many groups would adapt this formula and make their little moderations to it(King Diamond and Gwar to name a few), but nothing can compare. It isn't possible for me to find enough good things to say about this album or all the reasons why you should zoom your butt down to the store and get it. If you have any interest at all in classic rock you may or may not have been contemplating purchasing this album. While most of Alice Cooper's discography is great, if you only buy one Alice Cooper album in your life, buy Welcome To My Nightmare.
In fact, you should have already headed out the door on your way to the record store before you even got this far into the review.

Omigod, it was 1974, and I went to my very first rock concert at the Orange County Pavilion or something in Southern California. It was "Welcome To My Nightmare", and I FELL IN LOVE! Of course, I bought the album, memorized it, but somehow lost track of it many years ago. Now, On Oct. 29th, I am going to see Alice Cooper again at the Konocti Vista Resort in Northern California. So I came aboard to find my old favorite...I can't wait to hear the tunes again! And I am really looking forward to the extra tracks. OOHH! And the Concert is a costume event, so I am going to dress as Alice in Wonderland, but with Alice Cooper makeup. I'll be Alice Cooper in Wonderland! Get It!? lol