After splitting with his longtime band-mates, Alice Cooper planned to make a movie focusing on a rock singer who was caught somewhere between a dream and waking life after surviving a plane crash. For months, he kept a tape recorder by his bed and chronicled his dreams for inspiration - but he wound up with really odd ideas, such as rollerskating into a courtroom accompanied by Groucho Marx. While meeting with a director to discuss the film, Cooper and producer Bob Ezrin were introduced to Vincent Price, and a lightbulb went off in Ezrin's head. Ezrin asked Price if he'd like to make his debut on a rock album, and Price was intrigued. The original plans for the movie fell by the wayside, but when the notion arose for doing a Broadway show, all of the seeds were sown for the "Welcome to My Nightmare" record. The title song was written by Cooper and Dick Wagner while vacationing in the Bahamas... fittingly, in the middle of a hurricane.
The album was recorded in Toronto in 1974, utilizing a team of musicians whom Ezrin had assembled for a Lou Reed album. When Price came in to record his vocals, he caught everyone off guard with his ridiculous attire: a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and striped pants (Cooper christened him "Jolly MacAmbre, Tour Guide at the Pasadena Palace of Insects"). He hardly looked the part of the menacing horror-meister, but the voice was really all that mattered. Price made some revisions to the dialogue and became giddy with excitement as he laid down his vocals.
The album was spawned from the idea for a movie, and likewise, the idea for this TV special was spawned from the album. After the band exploded in popularity, frontman Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier) legally changed his name in 1972, but the rest of the band was still contracted to record with him. To sidestep industry politics, they devised this TV special and marketed the album as a soundtrack (issued on his WB label's subsidiary, Atlantic Records). Essentially, this special is a string of music videos loosely tied together with appearances by Price and footage of Alice tossing and turning in bed. It's notable for being the first time that a video was shot for every song an on album (which wouldn't happen again until Blondie's 1980 record "Eat to the Beat"). A few concessions had to be made to appease network TV censors, a few alternate versions wound up in the show, and he included his earlier signature tune "The Ballad of Dwight Fry."
Looking at it today, "The Nightmare" is kinda corny. Shot low-budget on video in a soundstage, it sort of has the vibe of an episode of "The Muppet Show" (which Cooper and Price each subsequently guest-starred on). But despite the visible shortcomings, they were able to pack a punch in certain scenes. Price is in top form as The Curator (who refers to himself as "the spirit of the nightmare"), and he seemed to be relishing his monologues - as well as dragging Cooper around on a leash. "Steven" includes a sequence in which a bunch of dancers clad in Cooper masks wander around, blindly reaching out, and effective editing techniques made the whole shebang pretty creepy. Similarly, "Years Ago" features Alice on a makeshift carousel, with the eerie tune, colored lights and inventive video effects making for a memorably weird audio/visual assault. The haunting tale of domestic violence, "Only Women Bleed," was shot under red lighting with the Coop surrounded by a group of mannequins and strategically placed dancers (including his soon-to-be wife, Sheryl).
The special was broadcast on the final episode of ABC's "In Concert" (ironically, Cooper had also headlined the first episode in 1972), and it went on to win an Emmy for outstanding video editing. When it was finally issued on VHS in 1983, the special was also nominated for a Grammy. By the time it aired, Cooper had already set out on an elaborate concert tour which incorporated many of the same dancers and costumes featured in the special and it was documented in the concert-film "Welcome to My Nightmare." Unlike this TV special, the concert has had numerous video and DVD releases. Segments went on to be played as music videos (the title tune has had significant exposure), and a few clips surfaced in Alice's "Prime Cuts" documentary.
Yeah, it's dated but for the time this was a cutting-edge special, and it's a damned shame that it hasn't been reissued since its sole American home video release in '83.
The album was recorded in Toronto in 1974, utilizing a team of musicians whom Ezrin had assembled for a Lou Reed album. When Price came in to record his vocals, he caught everyone off guard with his ridiculous attire: a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and striped pants (Cooper christened him "Jolly MacAmbre, Tour Guide at the Pasadena Palace of Insects"). He hardly looked the part of the menacing horror-meister, but the voice was really all that mattered. Price made some revisions to the dialogue and became giddy with excitement as he laid down his vocals.
The album was spawned from the idea for a movie, and likewise, the idea for this TV special was spawned from the album. After the band exploded in popularity, frontman Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier) legally changed his name in 1972, but the rest of the band was still contracted to record with him. To sidestep industry politics, they devised this TV special and marketed the album as a soundtrack (issued on his WB label's subsidiary, Atlantic Records). Essentially, this special is a string of music videos loosely tied together with appearances by Price and footage of Alice tossing and turning in bed. It's notable for being the first time that a video was shot for every song an on album (which wouldn't happen again until Blondie's 1980 record "Eat to the Beat"). A few concessions had to be made to appease network TV censors, a few alternate versions wound up in the show, and he included his earlier signature tune "The Ballad of Dwight Fry."
Looking at it today, "The Nightmare" is kinda corny. Shot low-budget on video in a soundstage, it sort of has the vibe of an episode of "The Muppet Show" (which Cooper and Price each subsequently guest-starred on). But despite the visible shortcomings, they were able to pack a punch in certain scenes. Price is in top form as The Curator (who refers to himself as "the spirit of the nightmare"), and he seemed to be relishing his monologues - as well as dragging Cooper around on a leash. "Steven" includes a sequence in which a bunch of dancers clad in Cooper masks wander around, blindly reaching out, and effective editing techniques made the whole shebang pretty creepy. Similarly, "Years Ago" features Alice on a makeshift carousel, with the eerie tune, colored lights and inventive video effects making for a memorably weird audio/visual assault. The haunting tale of domestic violence, "Only Women Bleed," was shot under red lighting with the Coop surrounded by a group of mannequins and strategically placed dancers (including his soon-to-be wife, Sheryl).
The special was broadcast on the final episode of ABC's "In Concert" (ironically, Cooper had also headlined the first episode in 1972), and it went on to win an Emmy for outstanding video editing. When it was finally issued on VHS in 1983, the special was also nominated for a Grammy. By the time it aired, Cooper had already set out on an elaborate concert tour which incorporated many of the same dancers and costumes featured in the special and it was documented in the concert-film "Welcome to My Nightmare." Unlike this TV special, the concert has had numerous video and DVD releases. Segments went on to be played as music videos (the title tune has had significant exposure), and a few clips surfaced in Alice's "Prime Cuts" documentary.
Yeah, it's dated but for the time this was a cutting-edge special, and it's a damned shame that it hasn't been reissued since its sole American home video release in '83.