The name Alice Cooper evokes many different reactions in people. And that's exactly the way he wants it. He is the alter ego of a mild-mannered minister's son. He is a composite of vaudeville, old horror movies, EC Comics, and rock 'n' roll. He was the first American rock star to wear theatrical makeup and among the first to incorporate elaborate props and wild antics into his act. Up until that time, no one had incorporated these things to the degree that Alice did and he has yet to be equaled! The typical Alice show of the 70's might include a live boa constrictor, gallows and guillotines, dancing skeletons, giant monsters, straight jackets and a lot of spooky music.

That spooky music is just the point, for if any living entertainer embodies the spirit of Halloween, it is Alice Cooper. With his long black hair and black greasepaint dripping down his cheeks, his black leather clothing and tall boots, Alice paints the perfect picture of a rock 'n' roll ghoul. Not content to simply sing songs about breaking up with a girl and inevitably getting back together with her, Alice croons his way through such uniquely themed songs as "Dead Babies," "Sick Things," "Skeletons in the Closet," "Tag You're It" and "I Love the Dead." Just by the titles alone you can see that these are not typical rock songs, but don't think Alice is merely being disgusting or violent--his songs are actually done with the class and charm of the old Universal horror movies of the 30's and 40's. Alice has been a big influence on bands such as Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, WASP, Megadeth, Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails, but unlike those bands there is little anger in his music. Sure, there's some good old fashioned rebelliousness, but his music is playful rather than violent, like a campfire ghost story.

Possibly the greatest Halloween album ever recorded is Alice Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare" (Atlantic Records, 1975). It was his first solo album after the breakup of his original band, and his chance to make the wildest, most eerie album ever. Not unlike the Christmas music you pull out every year after Thanksgiving, "Welcome to My Nightmare" is a perennial Halloween album chock full of Halloween...carols.

The title song begins the album with a whispery invitation to sample some of the disturbing images in Alice's haunted toybox. The song features creepy guitar work by Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter and ends with a rousing fanfare of horns welcoming you into the nightmare.

Next up is "Devil's Food," a grunge song (before the term had even been invented) about the Devil getting ready for a hot date. As the song winds down Alice treats us to a monologue by Vincent Price, a full eight years before Mr. Jackson would do the same on his "Thriller" album. He portrays a museum curator with an obsession with spiders. This leads us right into "The Black Widow," Alice's Spider King who demands that we love him him or be devoured.

The next three songs, "Some Folks," "Department of Youth" and "Only Women Bleed," aren't particularly macabre, but they are fun songs that add musical diversity to the album. "Only Women Bleed" was Alice's first ballad and would mark the beginning of a string of melancholy hits throughout the rest of the seventies.

The chilling mood returns with "Cold Ethyl," probably the most upbeat song about necrophilia ever written (and if you don't know what that is, look it up). "One thing I miss is Cold Ethyl and her skeleton kiss...We met last night making love by the refrigerator light." When Alice sang this song in concert in Los Angeles this summer, the girls in front of me got up and left. If "Cold Ethyl" doesn't liven up your Halloween party nothing will.

"Long Ago," "Stephen" and "The Awakening" form a story about a little boy (or is he a great big man?) with some sort of multiple personality disorder who can't figure out why all his friends are gone, all his toys are broken and people keep dying, until...well, buy the album and see for yourself. "The Awakening" is one of the coolest punchlines to an album I've ever heard.

"Escape" closes out the album and is about just that, escaping from the nightmare. Because Alice at heart is basically a sweet guy all his stories have happy endings and "Welcome to My Nightmare" is no exception. In the end we wake up and wipe the cobwebs from our eyes and realize that we are back in the daytime world. Don't worry; we can get back to the nightmare if we need to. After all aren't nightmares just a way to escape from our sometimes mundane lives? Isn't that what Halloween is all about? We love to put on our makeup and escape from our 9 to 5 existence at least once a year.

Alice Cooper is probably about as scary as a ten year old in a Halloween mask, but he's also just as playful and exuberant. If you want music that captures the flavor and fun of Halloween, don't waste your money on a sound effects album. Pick up "Welcome to My Nightmare" and play it loud at your Halloween party. I think you're gonna like it. Get it before it gets you.