I must be dreaming, please stop screaming

'Here I go again up and down alone all my friends went home years ago

All my toys are broken and so am I inside mum the carnival has closed years ago'

     -Alice Cooper, 1975

For a lot of people it might be a hard ask for them to name the very first LP they ever listened to on vinyl, but when the album in question is one that has had such an effect it brought with it nightmares and caused this listener to develop an unhealthy fear of spiders the answer never takes long to surface. 

Sounds ridiculous, right? I mean it's just music, how scary can it be? Two words. Alice. Cooper.

Christmas 2002, and a 14 year old Farrall receives his first record player. After a quick search through the olds record collection the discovery of the 1975 Alice Cooper solo debut "Welcome to my Nightmare" was well underway. One listen and to my own despair I was hooked. What at first sounded like you standard 70's art rock soon took a darker turn, with themes of murder, spousal abuse, necrophilia, and schizophrenia. With an already over active imagination that still haunts me today, it wasn't such a great idea to listen to the album alone in the dark of night, but that is exactly what made it so much fun.

After splitting with his band Cooper planned to write a concept album that brought the theatrics of his famous live shows into the studio. Shows which consisted an electric chair, hangings, masses of blood and at times a boa constrictor. The result was "Welcome to my Nightmare", which tells the story of Steven, a child/man stuck inside his own nightmares, eventual waking to find he has become a killer. Cooper used Lou Reeds backing band to write and record the music along with the legendary Bob Ezrin to produce. The king of late night horror, Vincent Price, was also brought in to do spoken word monologues, and would go on to appear in the TV special that followed. 

The music alone makes this one of the more memorable album of the 70's, but it is the story telling that really brings it to the forefront of 70's rock. The album starts off pretty light hearted, upbeat and at time humorous, with "Welcome to my Nightmare", the cabaret-esque "Some Folks", and "Black Widow"(which was the sole cause of the aforementioned fear of spiders), all stand outs, but the personal favourite off the first half of the album would have to be "Cold Ethyl", which tells the story of a man who has a relationship with a girl he keeps in his freezer.

'Ethyl's frigid as an Eskimo pie.
She's cool in bed,
She's gotta be 'cuz Ethyl's dead.'

Its not until towards the end of the record that it turns truly dark, with the trilogy of "Years Ago", "Steven", and "The Awakening". These three songs dive into in mind space of the protagonist and the results are twisted. Cooper uses his incredible writing to show the internal struggle of Steven being a child stuck inside a mans body, and the act of murder that follows. The music used during the three songs is equally as haunting, using strings, pianos and horns to create an atmosphere that will send shivers up you spine.

   

The album then ends with "Escape", and as the title suggest Steven evades capture, and leaves Stevens future up for debate. 

And with that Alice Cooper became the original 'Shock Rocker".

"Welcome to my Nightmare" made it as high as number 5 in the American billboard charts, but has developed a huge following since and is credited for being an influence on many of the future rock stars that grace our stages today, namely Marilyn Manson who it would be fair to say would not exist in the public eye if it had not been for Alice Cooper. 

Now here is the exciting part. As much as it pains me to do, I have come to the realisation that for From Camden To Compton to become successful in retail we a going to eventual need to offer something for sale, and here it is, an original print VG+ of "Welcome to my Nightmare", and all for the ridiculously low price of $55 AUD. If you find yourself interested you can contact us at fromcamdentocompton@yahoo.com  

FARRALL