Alice Cooper Revisits His Nightmares

Alice Cooper
Welcome 2 My Nightmare
Universal; 2011

It’s been 36 years since the release of the now-classic Welcome to My Nightmare, so Alice Cooper’s had sufficient time to think about what he wants to say in a sequel. Appropriately, that follow-up, Welcome 2 My Nightmare, finds him in fine dramatic form. As his attempts to stay awake fail, Cooper succumbs to an uneasy sleep, and narrates a tormented journey through troubled dreams. Throughout, you get a macabre and overblown vaudevillian sense of wit and showmanship. With rockers, ballads, Broadway-styled numbers, disco sendups and electronic pop, Cooper approaches each song fearlessly regardless of his lyrical themes. “Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever,” “Bite Your Face Off,” “When Hell Comes Home,” and “Last Man on Earth” in particular, are all fine examples of his wickedly snide sense of humor. He reunites with producer Bob Ezrin and surviving members of the original Alice Cooper band, welcomes support from Vince Gill and Rob Zombie, and sings an unexpected duet with Ke$ha. This ghoul still has legs and apparently a great deal left to say. Longtime fans should appreciate how smart this sequel is. Paying tribute to its predecessor, it’s a worthwhile followup to a legendary recording. Hopefully Alice won’t sleep well for a long time to come. — M.A. Rivera