Alice drops the band in favor of Bob Ezrin and a large team of collaborators (Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter, etc.), unveils a concept which included the alter-ego character Steven (some would say autobiographical), and the ensuing media blitz spun off this album, a network TV special (featuring Vincent Price), tour and concert film. Nightmare is a different trip - in search of mega-pop star status, both the tense layers of psychological exploration, along with the menacing hard rock edge, have been stripped away - and in it is place is an inward, direct, often more opulent approach that had a lot in common with was popular at the time...just restated to fit Alice's distinct vision. It would set the tone for an erratic solo period which piloted through its share of peaks and valleys.