Cooper, Alice: The Nightmare Returns (DVD)

In 1986, Alice Cooper would reinvent and rise from the fallings he had found himself in the middle of. He was both unable to get attention for his latest music and also was recovering from the pains of alcohol addictions. Despite these turn of events Alice would rise like a phoenix and take hold of the power of Shock Rock that he helped create so many years ago once again. The DVD filmed in 1987 was shot on a very appropriate Halloween night in front of a sold-out crowd in Detroit. Alice's return would also show a new and very Metal side to his brand of Rock for a change; this would be a welcome format for the classic numbers that suddenly seemed to have so much more attitude and life than they ever had before. The eerie opening of "Welcome To My Nightmare" would set the pace as Alice emerged from under the stage to a blast of Metal power from his new band. The legendary performer was smart to bring on a truly kick ass Metal band for this tour whose lineup consisted of the Rambo-esque Kane Roberts (lead guitar), Devlin 7 (rhythm), Kip Winger III (bass), Ken Mary (drums) and Paul Horrors (keyboards). Most know that Winger and Roberts went on to solo careers with Kip being the one who found the most success of the two. The Alice Cooper set for the show would be chocked full of fear-filled hits and over the top stage dramatics for every one of them. "Billion Dollar Babies" finds Alice performing with a baby doll on a sword as he throws play money around while "Only Women Bleed" finds him singing to an apparently lifeless dummy, which is not as it seems for the whole song. "I Love The Dead" is among the truly terrifying moments in the show as Alice meets the Grand Executioner and let's just say heads will roll with this one. It is not a scene for the timid, and Alice and company pull it off without a margin of error. The overall choices in the songs for the show would satisfy the most ardent of Alice supporters, but better still serves as a great new take on his classics for those who might not have enough knowledge of his work. My personal favorites are too numerous to list, but the best example to describe this is as a live Greatest Hits concert video. Everything you expect and more is there to enjoy.

I remember watching this performance when it first aired on MTV (yes this was still back in the day and this kind of show was a usual occurrence for the fans of the network during this time). It eventually came out on VHS years later, but this is the first time that it is available on DVD. That fact along with the knock them down performance that everyone gives during this colossal presentation makes this a must have DVD for your collection. If you already own some of the Alice Cooper DVD that have been released (there are about three others to my knowledge) be advised that this one has the most over the top of his productions. The stage set is massive and if you blink there is a strong chance you will miss something. If you do its fine since you will most assuredly watch this one again and again. Welcome to his nightmare, I know you're going to love it.

Song Listing
1. Welcome To My Nightmare
2. Billion Dollar Babies
3. No More Mr. Nice Guy
4. Be My Lover
5. 18 (Little Flower Of Ulysses)
6. The World Needs Guts
7. Give It Up
8. Cold Ethyl
9. Only Women Bleed
10. Go To Hell
11. The Ballad Of Dwight Fry
12. Teenage Frankenstein
13. Sick Things
14. I Love The Dead
15. School's Out
16. Elected
17. Under My Wheels
18. Teenage Frankenstein – bonus video
19. Freedom – bonus video

Added: August 20th 2006
Reviewer: Ken Pierce
Score:
Related Link: Alice Cooper Website
Hits: 2420
Language: english

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