Welcome to My Nightmare

iTunes Review

Over the course of the early ‘70s, singer Vincent Furnier became Alice Cooper and by mid-decade the Alice Cooper Band ceased to function as a working hard rock group leaving Furnier on his own to soldier on as one of shock rock’s most controversial and convincing performers. Welcome to My Nightmare is Cooper’s first solo album. He collaborated with his old band’s producer, the formidable Bob Ezrin, and hard rock guitarist extraordinaire Dick Wagner, who together helped him design a tough rock sound not limited to the tried and expected. The title track, “Department of Youth” and “Cold Ethyl” keep their grounding in Cooper’s hard rock playground, but the surprisingly sensitive ballad “Only Women Bleed” would be the album’s hit. Horror film legend Vincent Price adds narration to the intro of “The Black Widow,” emphasizing Cooper’s theatrical side which is pressed into service for the album’s closing numbers. They serve as a conceptual suite as the “Steven” character spirals through this “nightmare,” with glistening pianos couching his inner thoughts.