Alice Cooper
Welcome 2 My Nightmare

Alice Cooper: the big mistake of those who think they know a bit about rock. Known by these friends of ours for a handful of singles and glossy videos produced between 1989 and 1991, when mama MTV dictated the times of their musical loves, and at most remembered for his stage tricks, guillotines, pythons, masks, and blood. Those who delved more deeply into the artist behind the mask (Vincent Damon Furnier by birth) know that he had already done a lot of good in the seventies, before going through the darkest period of his career around 1980, only to rise again with many other works that made him a fundamental and challenging figure in the world rock scene.

Indeed, it is very complicated to find a common thread in the musical career of this now elderly former alcoholic of horror rock, except for the labels that journalists have gradually assigned to him. This latest work is no exception, in fact, if anything, it is even richer in nuances than in the past, and this for better or worse. One moves continuously from one musical subgenre to another, still maintaining an underlying brightness not common to some of his previous, darker, or more outright rock releases.

Here, instead, one joyfully jumps from the initial ballad with filtered voice, "I Am Made Of You," to the satirical variety operetta of "Last Man On Earth" in Tom Waits style, to the bloody disco rock of "Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever," ending with the slowed metal of "When Hell Comes Home." This is to speak of the best episodes, among which in my opinion stands out "I Gotta Get Outta Here," in its simplicity a highly catchy rock with country tones that sticks to the most nonsensical part of your brain and, placed at the end, keeps the bar of the overall judgment high.

Meanwhile, the garage pop tinged with blues of "Runaway Train" and the rockabilly of "Ghouls Gone Wild" had partially weakened the consistency of the listening experience due to their too apparent lightness and banality, in a record that, as already said, does not lack this on its own.

Die-hard fans of Alice Cooper will have already noted that so far no mention has been made of the origin of the album's title and its being an ideal sequel to the precious piece of the singer's discography, namely "Welcome To My Nightmare," dated 1975 and important rock note of that year along with the birth of Iron Maiden and the release of "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. A conscious and deliberate choice, as the contents of the lyrics, although fun, add nothing to the plot of the previous album and are often just a pretext to move forward in the narrative and paint small horrific and bizarre sketches, where the master of ceremony is accompanied, as usual, by guests with contrasting musical physiognomies as are the individual tracks in which they participate.

Patterson Hood, borrowed along with his guitar from the country rock lords Drive-By Trucker, a Rob Zombie who certainly needs no introduction, the loyal Kip Winger on backing vocals, and the surprising pop dance starlet Ke$ha (who, despite everything, convinces in "What Baby Wants") form a strange and improbable team, just as improbable as the success of this work seemed after the first listens. But, like our friends we talked about at the beginning, it is easy to make mistakes when talking about Alice Cooper.