Filmed on the 1979 Madhouse Rock Tour, this DVD is a perfect representation of where shock rocker Alice Cooper was at that point in time. Fresh out of a sanitarium where he was being treated for severe alcoholism, Alice and his band put together the From the Inside album, a concept album that told the story of his experiences 'on the inside' getting treatment, and the ensuing tour brought it all together on the stage. The line-up on this tour was Davey Johnstone (from Elton John's band) and Steve Hunter on guitar, Fred Mandel on keyboards, Whitey Glan on drums and Prakash "Johnny Stiletto" John on bass. Always one to deliver the goods live, Cooper put together quite the extravaganza here, with Vincent Price introducing the proceedings as evil doctors and transvestite nurses share the stage with dancing bottles of alcohol and all sorts of other assorted mayhem.
Many of the tunes of From the Inside are featured here, included a fiery & quite heavy rendition of the title track to kick the show off. While Alice looks quite thin and haggard after his stint at the institution, his voice is in fine form and he's as energetic as always. Johnstone & Hunter make a formidable guitar team, and it's a shame that this was Davey's only tour with Cooper, as his slashing style on his black Gibson Les Paul fits in quite well alongside Hunter's beefy licks on his double neck BC Rich. No doubt his busy schedule with Elton John got in the way of any future endeavors with the Cooper express, but he makes for a fine replacement for the departed Dick Wagner here.
Many classic Alice Cooper tracks are rolled out and given blistering treatment, including "Welcome to My Nightmare", "Billion Dollar Babies", "Go to Hell", "I''m Eighteen", "The Black Widow", and the always entertaining 'Alice in straightjacket' saga that is "Ballad Of Dwight Fry". If you ever doubted that Alice Cooper delivered quality hard rock and heavy metal, these songs will convince you. There's also a few of the fine ballads too, such as "Only Women Bleed" and "I Neve Cry", plus the unforgettable anthems "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "School's Out".
Though there are a wide assortment of Alice Cooper DVDs to choose from these days, The Strange Case of Alice Cooper-Live 1979-The Madhouse Rock Tour is one of the more potent of the '70s concerts available on video. The quality of the video is slightly above average, showing some grain due to the age of the source material, but the audio is quite good. Shout Factory has done a nice job on this very strong Alice Cooper performance movie, so if you previously had or have an old VHS copy of this concert, it's time to upgrade to this latest DVD version.
Track Listing
1.From The Inside
2.Serious
3.Nurse Rozetta
4.The Quiet Room
5.I Never Cry
6.Devil's Food
7.Welcome To My Nightmare
8.Billion Dollar Babies
9.Only Women Bleed
10.No More Mr. Nice Guy
11.I'm Eighteen
12.The Black Widow
13.Wish I Was Born In Beverly Hills
14.Ballad Of Dwight Fry
15.Go To Hell
16.How You Gonna See Me Now
17.Inmates (We're All Crazy)
18.School's Out
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