May 6, 2017
It’s never typically a bad thing to hear the words “Alice Cooper” and “concept album” conjoined; after all, the Theatrical One has worked in that long-form genre perhaps more than any popular artist with the possible exception of The Kinks. As we here on COOPERCAST complete our examination of Alice’s studio albums to date, we find him delivering not one but TWO concept-ers.
The first, 2008’s ALONG CAME A SPIDER, is such an obvious and natural idea – Alice inhabiting the mind and motivations of a particularly delusional serial killer – it’s surprising it took so long to happen. The second is remarkable for the ballsy-ness of the idea: WELCOME 2 MY NIGHTMARE is nothing less than a sequel to Alice’s career-defining, iconic first solo album. Think of it as though Pink Floyd attempted a sequel to THE WALL, or if The Who had tried a follow-up to QUADROPHENIA and you understand how daring this idea was, and likely to be scrutinized heavier than any of Alice’s previous work. Whether from confidence or from trepidation, Alice invited tons of friends and guest-stars to help on WELCOME 2, everyone from Bob Ezrin & Steve Hunter to Kip Winger, Rob Zombie, members of the original Alice Cooper Band to (shudder) Ke$ha.
The proof is on the turntable, however, and do these twin conceptual works achieve immortality, or lay two eggs over easy, or does the truth lies somewhere in between? Well, for the answer to that, kids, you’ll have to listen to this, the COOPERCAST. Spoiler alert: host Bobby Hazzard doesn’t like piano ballads. Joining Bobby is the lovely Ms. Hazzard, physician of fright Doctor Gangrene (wrapping up his stint on COOPERCAST and we wish him well!) and Naschycast’s Troy Guinn.
To answer the question you’re dying to ask: Does covering the last Alice album mean the end of COOPERCAST? Not a bit of it. In future episodes, we’ll be delving into other Alice ephemera: live recordings, videos, side musical projects, what have you, including a report on the show from his newest tour!