Currently on a headlining tour after spending June out with Marilyn Manson, Cooper and his band are previewing four of the covers in concert -- the Doors' "Break On Through (to the Other Side)," the Beatles' "Revolution," the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Foxy Lady," a showpiece for guitarist Orianthi, and the Who's "My Generation." He's keep the rest of the song list under wraps for now, however.
"We have September off, so we'll probably take that time and just finish it," Cooper notes. "I think we could finish the whole thing in September and it'll be out, I would say, by early spring."
Cooper, meanwhile, is still buzzing about the dates with Manson, which he says were "great. Y'know, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know him personally. I'd heard nothing but horror stories. Johnny Depp is one of his best friends; Johnny said he can be a handful, but I think Johnny talked to him and kind of backed him off a little bit. But (Manson) was nothing but respectful, a total pro. Honestly, it was a real flawless tour. I think we made converts of his audience, and there was an older audience that came that was suspect of him but liked him. So both of us benefited from this tour -- the elder myth and the new myth. It really did work, and I'm sure we'll do it again."
One Cooper project that's on ice for the moment is a full-fledged "Nightmare" show incorporating both the 2011 album and the original "Welcome To My Nightmare."
"I feel like if an album gets into the Top 10, I think you can dedicate a full show to it," Cooper explains. But ("Welcome 2's No. 22) peak on the Billboard 200 "wasn't enough to merit doing an entire show around it." But, he adds, the idea's not entirely dead.
"I think if we ever take Alice Cooper to Broadway, it would just be called 'Nightmare.' 'Welcome to My Nightmare' would be the first half and 'Welcome 2' would be the second half," he says. "That would work. That idea's always out there; you just have to wait until a producer comes long and says 'I love that idea.' I think maybe a little more time needs to go by before 'Nightmare' becomes sort of an American classic; then we'll have that validity to go and do the (Broadway) show."
