766. Alice Cooper / Welcome to My Nightmare. 1975. 4/5

It's 40 years since Alice Cooper the band was disbanded, and Alice Cooper the singer released his first solo project, one entitled Welcome to My Nightmare. Written as a concept album cum stage show musical, telling the story of Steven and his nightmares, this is full of iconic songs that have become a part of Alice Cooper folklore, and songs that form a part of the story without ever making a mark on their own. As with many concept albums, the danger lies that there will be songs that are seen more as story fillers rather than songs in their own right, and can therefore get in the way of a album gelling together in the best possible way. For the most part, this album avoids that, though not completely.

It opens with the terrific title track "Welcome to My Nightmare", a great creeping beginning which then explodes into action with wonderful menace from Alice. He runs the gamut of expressions and emotions through this first track, setting up the songs that are to follow. "Devil's Food" is followed by a monologue by Vincent Price before flowing into "The Black Widow", another of the top shelf songs on this album.
"Some Folks" is of a different variety than these opening songs, and would probably work a whole lot better without the prevalent horns that tend to dominate at the wrong times. I like the old western piano style through the song, but the horns just seem a trifle too over the top. From here comes the surprising yet brilliant "Only Women Bleed", a song that has now transcended the ages. Alice again perfectly emotes the song through his vocals, finding the exact level of angst to use in the right parts of the song. It is, and has been for forty years, and amazing performance. The youth anthem "Department of Youth" is another success story for Alice. It seems rather superfluous and perhaps ludicrous that whenever this song comes on I still sing along at the top of my voice, along with Alice's spoken words towards the end of the song as it fades away. Yes, my youth has left me a long time ago, but this song still stays close to my heart.
If I was going to be harsh in judgement, the end of the album doesn't quite maintain the excellence of the first two thirds of the album. Sure, they are a part of the story and therefore concept, but they are the songs I would include in those that are there for the album, but don't really hold up individually as well. Songs such as "Years Ago" and "Escape" are those that I especially feel sit in this category. "Steven" holds its own, with Alice again giving an amazing performance here, backed up by excellently written music that helps Alice convey every emotion felt through the lyrics. "The Awakening" would have been a better way to end the album, but "Escape" is what was chosen, and it just doesn't feel right, changing the whole tempo of the conclusion. I can understand why it is this way, to represent the fact that Steven has escaped his nightmares by waking up, and feeling lighter and happier because of it, but it changes the feel of the album by doing so. It's not a huge deal from my perspective, but it has always been something that bugs me a little.

This has been one of my favourite Alice Cooper albums since I first discovered the man/band, and it has four or five songs here that rank up alongside his best. While it may not be perfect, and may not be to everyone's taste, it is the kind of album that everyone should listen to at least once in their lifetime, for the interesting story it tells, and for the magnificent vocal performance from Alice himself.

Rating:  Welcome to my breakdown, I hope I didn't scare you.  4/5