Maps of Music

Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011)

Where the lyrics of Welcome 2 My Nightmare take you, and where it was really made.

The album ends by asking whether Steven is dead, and the vinyl-only track 'Flatline' implies that he has died.

Key places

Donington Park recording (2011)

Recording site Donington Park — The album's credits list Donington Park as a place where tracks were recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Capitol Studios recording (2011)

Recording site Capitol Studios — The album's credits list Capitol Studios in Los Angeles as a place where tracks were recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Magic Shop recording (2011)

Recording site Magic Shop — The album's credits list The Magic Shop in New York City as a place where tracks were recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Kingsize Soundlabs recording (2011)

Recording site Kingsize Soundlabs — The album's credits list Kingsize Soundlabs in Los Angeles as a place where tracks were recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Glenwood Place Studios recording (2011)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — The album's credits list Glenwood Place Studios as a place where tracks were recorded; the point is placed at the city center of Burbank. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Welcome 2 My Nightmare: 19th solo and 26th studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper
• Sequel to Cooper's 1975 album Welcome to My Nightmare
• Released 13 September 2011 by UME
• Peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200
• Cooper's highest-charting US album since 1989's Trash

Background

• Idea arose soon after the thirtieth anniversary of the original album
• Producer Bob Ezrin proposed the sequel idea to Cooper, who liked it
• Cooper had first intended a sequel to his previous album Along Came a Spider
• He switched to the Nightmare sequel after Ezrin said he 'wasn't really into it'
• Cooper announced the completed album in February 2011 on his radio show Nights with Alice Cooper
• Release was first set for late 2011 on Ezrin's Bigger Picture label, then delayed to 2012 due to Cooper's touring commitments
• Cooper recruited former members of the original Alice Cooper band

Recording

• Writing began during summer 2010; three songs were complete by July 2010
• By October 2010, thirteen songs were written, three of them recorded with Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith and Michael Bruce
• Cooper wanted parts of the album to resemble the sound of Welcome to My Nightmare and 1970s music
• Outside co-writers include Tommy Henriksen, Keith Nelson, Desmond Child, Dick Wagner, Chuck Garric and Jeremy Rubolino
• Ke$ha also performed on 'What Baby Wants'
• Credits list Donington Park, Capitol Studios, The Magic Shop, Kingsize Soundlabs and Glenwood Place Studios as recording locations

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Alice Cooper originated in Phoenix, Arizona in 1964 as a band formed by Vincent Damon Furnier, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith.
• The group first performed as the Earwigs and later renamed themselves the Spiders and then Nazz.
• In 1968 the band adopted the name Alice Cooper, which was later also the new legal name of Furnier.

Members

• The classic lineup consisted of Furnier (lead vocals), Buxton (lead guitar), Bruce (rhythm guitar), Dunaway (bass) and Smith (drums).
• Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper after the band disbanded in 1975.

Career

• The band released seven studio albums from 1969 to 1973, including Love It to Death, Killer, School's Out and Billion Dollar Babies.
• The band is known as a pioneer of shock rock, using theatrical stage shows with props and illusions.
• As a solo artist he released Welcome to My Nightmare in 1975 and has released 30 studio albums in total.
• The original band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
• Cooper is considered by music journalists and peers to be 'The Godfather of Shock Rock'.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic aggregate score 68/100, indicating generally positive reviews
• Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles reviewer Mitch Lafon, on 11 August: sequel albums are a 'risky proposition', yet the album was deemed 'an equally comparable chef d’oeuvre'
• Lafon praised the varied sound, which moves from trashing disco to garage punk and pop balladry
• Guitar International's William Clark wrote that every song on the record is noteworthy
• AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars

Records

• Billboard 200 debut at No. 22, the highest debut for an album by Cooper in more than 20 years
• US Hard Rock Albums chart No. 6; Rock Albums chart No. 11
• Canadian Hard Rock Album Chart No. 2
• Other charts: UK Top 40 Rock Albums No. 7, Australia No. 16, Finland No. 17, Sweden No. 19, Norway No. 23, New Zealand No. 23, Austria No. 25, Germany No. 26, Canada No. 28, Switzerland No. 49, Italy No. 60, France No. 73, Spain No. 74
• Expected to sell 20,000 to 22,000 copies in the US in its first week; actual sales were about 18,000
• Did not chart in the UK because it was released as a bookazine with Classic Rock magazine

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'Flatline' is released only on the vinyl edition, and it ends with a voice saying Steven's name, implying his death
• 'Under the Bed' was available only on the fan pack and the Best Buy release
• 'A Bad Situation' was an iTunes bonus track, originally titled 'My Favorite Mutation'
• Rob Zombie guest-stars on 'The Congregation' as 'The Guide'
• Ke$ha plays the devil on 'What Baby Wants', continuing from 'I'll Bite Your Face Off'
• The UK chart absence stems from the fan-pack bookazine that included the album, a 132-page magazine, a giant poster, face paints, a metal badge and a face mask

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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