"Welcome 2 My Nightmare" Revisted......

[evil syd]

I usually don't write threads like this, you know cheesy appreciation threads, but I feel there's a reason why I want to put this one up and that being is that I think this groovy album doesn't get the praise that it really deserves. I like to treat this album as a tribute to the first and taking it to other levels. When I first listened to this album, I remember really liking it but didn't feel it could hold a candle to the original masterpiece. A few more listens, I realized that this entirely wrong way to look at it. First of all, what I love ahout Coop is that he sort of shows you how to reflect on your own life by showing you his. That being said, Coop seems more at peace with himself and now even injecting more comedy than ever before and then there's of course the dark tender moments with songs about his beliefs, love, real life issues, and some real honest fears. Most of the songs are pretty strong. Lots of experimentaI songs dealing with all kinds of genres of music colliding into each other and forming fun chaos. I think in time people will really wake up see how great this album is. I realize recent albums need to settle in as time goes by......CHEERS COOP!

[mestreech]

I hardly ever listen to it. WTMN 1 was a masterpiece and for me this one is a good one.

[concolz]

When this was released I think I was so dazzled by the fanpack, plus Bob Ezrin and a reunited ACG being on board, that I immediately gave it the full five stars. Three years later, my ardour has cooled somewhat. I now regard 'W2MN' the same way as I do 'TLT' - both are good - very good in stretches - but they sometimes feel a bit too slick, even a tad soulless in places.

I still consider 'I Am Made Of You' and 'Last Man On Earth' as all-time AC classics; there aren't any tracks I dislike - even 'The Underture', which I hated at first, has grown on me - plus Alice's vocals are first-rate. It's pleasingly eclectic, with some excellent lyrics, yet I currently rate 'BP', 'Dragontown' and 'ACAS' (I know, just get the smelling salts) as better post-millennium albums. (I think it's going to be one of those yo-yo albums for me; four stars then, at the moment!)

[recoop]

Good album and I find if I remove two or three tracks I like it even more-less is more. Modern technology allows us to miss out what we don;t like. And Concolz you are not alone in liking ACAS- I do too apart from a track or two- it evokes a kind of Roger Corman horror look to CD and if that can be created in sound then it was for me.

For me "When Hell Comes Home" is still the best track on W2- although I find it difficult to listen to the lyrics as they are very dark in dealing with an even darker subject which is often in the news- in many ways it reminds me of Dead Babies subject matter wise but the treatment is darker."I am made of you" is also top rate and I don't care what was used as a vocal treatment-product is excellent-its all about opinions and for me BP was great but Dragontown not so good imho

[darkmenace]

I never listen to W2MN, it left a bad taste in my mouth. There are some songs I really like: When Hell Comes Home, Caffeine, Last Man on Earth, to name a few.

But the total package doesn't work for me. I've said before that I hate the album cover and some people say it shouldn't matter but the image sets the tone and a WTMN album should have cool, creative art, not the cheesy art that was used which doesn't even fit the scattered approach of the album.

I also don't like opening song I Am Made of You and don't like the other ballad (forgot the name). The Kesha song is okay but other detours like the disco song disrupt the flow of the album.

A nightmare is a cool rock concept and I wish it had been followed through with more seriousness.

Maybe in a few years I'll feel differently because I like the post that started this thread.

[SickThings]

I loved W2MN on my first listen. I couldn't believe how great it sounded, especially after ACAS, which I hated at first but have come to not mind as much. I love the two songs that most people seem to hate: "Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever" and "What Baby Wants." And if the latter had been included on Ke$ha's CD (or even Kesha's CD), I think it could have been a hit single.

The song that I care for the least is "Something To Remember Me By." It's not awful, it's just not great for me. And closing with "The Underture" always worked for me.

I do agree that the album cover was pretty ridiculously over-the-top. But I love the diversity of the song styles on the album.

Hunter

[Inmate]

I still listen to this album very frequently. I love it! I remember when the 30 second previews appeared on iTunes. I listened to them constantly. 'I Am Made of You' is my favorite song on the album.

[tuneylune]

I usually don't write threads like this, you know cheesy appreciation threads, but I feel there's a reason why I want to put this one up and that being is that I think this groovy album doesn't get the praise that it really deserves. I like to treat this album as a tribute to the first and taking it to other levels. When I first listened to this album, I remember really liking it but didn't feel it could hold a candle to the original masterpiece. A few more listens, I realized that this entirely wrong way to look at it. First of all, what I love ahout Coop is that he sort of shows you how to reflect on your own life by showing you his. That being said, Coop seems more at peace with himself and now even injecting more comedy than ever before and then there's of course the dark tender moments with songs about his beliefs, love, real life issues, and some real honest fears. Most of the songs are pretty strong. Lots of experimentaI songs dealing with all kinds of genres of music colliding into each other and forming fun chaos. I think in time people will really wake up see how great this album is. I realize recent albums need to settle in as time goes by......CHEERS COOP!

Absolutely right, Syd. Some albums take a little while to grow on you and you end up loving them.
Still think it's a great album and still enjoy spinning it frequently.

[wind_up_toy]

I gave the album 7 out of 10 when it came out (hard to believe it's been 3 years already). I don't think my opinion has really changed since then, it's a very decent album but perhaps a little too light hearted at times.

I found songs like Steven and Years Ago to be genuinely creepy whereas the sequel struggles to reach those heights.

[Shoesalesman]

Still a great album. Lots of diversity.

[evil syd]

I found songs like Steven and Years Ago to be genuinely creepy whereas the sequel struggles to reach those heights.

The problem with this album is that it can't help being compared to the first one. Most albums never reach that level and the first is one of the best albums in rock history. So take my advice, treat it like a homage, a separate entity, and just have fun with it. It is a great album where as the first one is iconic.
Btw.."When Hell Comes Home" and "Under my Bed" are real creepy and fun.

[Jumping Jack]

I hate to admit to it, but Ghouls may be the catchiest and most memorable song on the CD.

[TAC]

I really didn't care for it at all when it came out. Recently, I went back to it for a couple of weeks, and I like it a lot more. It is aging well, but I still don't think it's that great.

I appreciate the approach and how Alice sounds. But yes, it IS better than ACAS, but that's not saying much.

[patrick]

great album for me too, as a concept album it works and the end fits too( whereas I did'nt find the end of TLT that great...)
minor details: the talking in the Congregation doesn't work for me, but all the rest, just fine !

[dadascot]

If disco bloodbath had been replaced by under the bed this album would be a classic! I don't like the talking in congregation either, it seems a bit forced and lacks some wit! When hell comes...does sound like an ACG classic and caffeine reminds me of the early eighties album, I love it. I still class this as one of Alice's 'great' album rather than one of the classics!

[concolz]

One song that doesn't get mentioned much is 'A Runaway Train'. It reminds me of some 60's Dylan songs - no real chorus, just one long, insistent 'stream of consciousness' that hurtles ever onward to the end. I love it.

If something akin to 'W2MN' had been released twenty years earlier, as the follow-up to 'Trash', I'm sure it would have been a massive seller - just like 'Bat Out Of Hell 2' was for Meatloaf. It's got that slick, eclectic, appeals to everyone feel about it. Plus, with Alice on a roll after 'Poison', you can easily imagine how radio, circa 1991, would have helped push 'What Baby Wants', and either 'I Am Made Of You' or 'Something To Remember Me By', high up the charts. I can dream!!

[killer wolf]

still a huge fave of mine, was gutted when there wasn't an associated tour. love virtually all the tracks, except IAMOY, for the religious aspect, simply the sound of it, and cos i feel it doesn't fit. LMOE is my 2nd fave AC song ever, or might just be the joint 1st. cover was awful, compared to the classic painting - the actual image might have worked as a painting, but i feel that hat was just ludicrous. still feel it should have been "Goes 2 Hell" though, seems to have more in line w/ that album.

[revinkevin]

IMO it shows how diverse of a artist Alice can be. That said I feel the album is weak and it shows as time goes by. Most rock lovers I know dislike it as it is all over the place style wise. Alice played a lot of it very tongue in cheek when he should have gone for the jugular on all the songs.

[patrick]

Still, I have the feeling Alice enjoyed doing this album : the lyrics are fluent, the music is overall very melodic, whereas I never had that feeling with ACAS : it sounds to me as if Alice had to force the lycrics into the music lines, which on their own aren't half as fluent as the music on W2MNM2.
just my opinion, of course.

[HORRORHOLIC]

I really enjoyed it at 1st. Especially the 1st time listening to it and especially because of the references to the original. I still like the album but I think there was far too much humor and thought they should have went more in the direction of "Under My Bed" which even though it was a bonus track, I thought was the best song on the album.