Personnel: Alice Cooper (vocals); Vincent Price (spoken vocals); Dick Wagner (guitar, background vocals); Steve Hunter (guitar); Jozef Chirowski (Clavinet, keyboards, background vocals); Bob Ezrin (keyboards, background vocals); Prakash John, Tony Levin (bass); Whitey Glan, Johnny Badanjek (drums); The Summerhill Children's Choir, Michael Sherman, Gerry Lyons (background vocals).
Producer: Bob Ezrin.
Reissue producer: Brian Nelson, David McLees, Bill Inglot.
Engineers include: Jim Frank, Ed Sprigg, Phil Ramone.
Recorded at Soundstage, Toronto, Ontario; Record Plant East, A&R Studios, and Electric Lady Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Jeffrey Morgan.
Digitally remastered by Dan Hersch (Digiprep).
Personnel: Dick Wagner (vocals, guitar); Josef Chirowski (vocals, Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, keyboards); Gerry Lyons, Michael Sherman, Trish McKinnon, Vincent Price (vocals); Bob Ezrin (Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards); Whitey Glan, Johnny Badanjek (drums).
Audio Remasterer: Dan Hersch.
Liner Note Author: Jeffrey Morgan.
Recording information: A&R Studios, New York, NY; Electric Lady, NY; Record Plant East, NY; Soundstage, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Illustrator: Drew Struzan.
Photographer: Bret Lopez.
Arrangers: Allan MacMillan; Bob Ezrin.
With the 1974 disintegration of the original Alice Cooper group, Alice was free to launch a solo career. He wisely decided to re-enlist the services of Bob Ezrin for his solo debut, Welcome to My Nightmare, which was a concept album tied into the story line of the highly theatrical concert tour he launched soon after the album's release. While the music lost most of the gritty edge of the original AC lineup, Welcome to My Nightmare remains Alice's best solo effort -- while some tracks stray from his expected hard rock direction, there's plenty of fist-pumping rock to go around. The disco-flavored, album-opening title track would be reworked on the stage as more of a hard rock tune, while "Some Folks" dips into cabaret territory, and "Only Women Bleed" is a sensitive ballad that became a Top Ten hit. But the rockers serve as the album's foundation -- "Devil's Food," "The Black Widow," "Department of Youth," and "Cold Ethyl" are all standouts, as is the more tranquil yet eerie epic "Steven." Despite this promising start to Cooper's solo career, the majority of his subsequent releases were often not as focused and were of varying quality. ~ Greg Prato
In 1975, Reuniting with longtime producer Bob Ezrin (who was absent for Cooper's prior record, MUSCLE OF LOVE), Cooper released an album whose title explains the subject matter--WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE. Now on his own and in total control, Cooper was able to explore rock theatrics in a way that was impossible in his band. The ensuing tour was one of the most over-the-top excursions of that era.
"Cold Ethyl" is a disturbing little ditty about necrophilia. The soft, melodic "Only Women Bleed" became a surprise smash for Alice, and there's a low-key feel as well on the chilling "Steven." The somewhat funky title track works as a kind of theme song, while Cooper's expected heavy metal tendencies are explored on "The Black Widow." Most of Lou Reed's band joined Cooper for this record. Guitarists Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner, as well as bassist Prakash John do a superb job of replicating the excitement of the original band.
After the band known as Alice Cooper broke up, the band's singer/namesake took the moniker on for his first solo album. In 1975, Reuniting with longtime producer Bob Ezrin (who was absent for Cooper's prior record, MUSCLE OF LOVE), Cooper released an album whose title says it all--WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE. Now on his own and in total control, Cooper was able to explore rock theatrics in a way that was impossible in his band. The ensuing tour was one of the most over-the-top excursions of that era.
"Cold Ethyl" is a disturbing little ditty about necrophilia. The soft, melodic "Only Women Bleed" became a surprise smash for Alice, and there's a low-key feel on the chilling "Steven." The somewhat funky title track works as a kind of theme song, while Cooper's expected heavy metal tendencies are explored on "The Black Widow." Most of Lou Reed's band joined Cooper for this record. Guitarists Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner, as well as bassist Prakash John do a superb job of replicating the excitement of the original band.
Originally released on LP in 1975 and reissued on CD in 2002, Welcome to My Nightmare is, quite simply, a shock rock masterpiece. It is also a conceptual effort that, like other Alice Cooper releases of the '70s, generated some controversy. Often described as the arena rock equivalent of a horror movie, this album didn't offend those who understood where Cooper was coming from. His fans realized that gems like "Cold Ethyl" and the spooky title song weren't really promoting evil; Alice Cooper is merely a character, and Welcome to My Nightmare gives listeners a guided tour of the character's dark, twisted mind. Arguably, this reissue is arena rock's version of a Bela Lugosi or Vincent Price film; in fact, Price himself makes a guest appearance on "The Black Widow," a creepy number that pays tribute to a very deadly spider. But for all of the album's dark subject matter, Cooper is surprisingly sensitive and tender on the ballad "Only Women Bleed." A major pop hit, the song really struck a chord with female listeners and was covered by everyone from Carmen McRae to Lita Ford to Etta James. Nonetheless, Cooper was still controversial in 1975, and fundamentalist ministers kept insisting that he was taking America straight to hell. Produced by Bob Ezrin, Nightmare marked the first time that Cooper was billed as a solo artist -- and without the Alice Cooper Band he became slicker, more polished, and less gritty. Nonetheless, this album is conceptually brilliant. Thanks to Rhino, Nightmare now has 14 tracks instead of 11; hardcore collectors will be glad to know that Rhino has added alternate takes of "Cold Ethyl," "Devil's Food," and "The Awakening." But even those who aren't hardcore collectors should obtain Welcome to My Nightmare, which remains a textbook example of mid-'70s shock rock. ~ Alex Henderson minimize