Gotta be honest....had a hard time trying to come up with a title for this. Oh well, better luck next year. Anyway...
Sure, Christmas is coming. But, well before Christmas comes....Halloween. Bwaaahahaha! And you'd better be ready because Halloween isn't about a fat man in red bringing toys (well, there is Krampus, but let's not go there just now).
There are bound to be some Spooky singles as we get closer to All Hallows Eve, but let's get an early look at a few of the full lengths that might be worthy of your attention.
Sure, Christmas is coming. But, well before Christmas comes....Halloween. Bwaaahahaha! And you'd better be ready because Halloween isn't about a fat man in red bringing toys (well, there is Krampus, but let's not go there just now).
There are bound to be some Spooky singles as we get closer to All Hallows Eve, but let's get an early look at a few of the full lengths that might be worthy of your attention.
Every year, there seems to be one collection of forgotten slabs that tops our trick or treat list. This year's is "The Shadow Knows" from Bear Family. The album boasts 34 tracks, though four of those are radio trailers for horror movies (which I dig very much). Some of the tracks are fairly available--like "The Monster Hop" by Bert Convy and Jackie Morningstar's "Rockin' In The Graveyard". But several of the tracks are super rare. If you thought George Romero invented zombies, you'll swing and swoon to the Gene Kardos Orchestra's "Zombie" from 1934. More ghoulish fun can be had on rocking instrumentals by Lord Dent & His Invaders and the frighteningly fast and furious "Ghost Train" by The Swanks. Or how bout this long forgotten slice from The Poets. Aren't you just dying to hear it?
There's more, of course. Kay Starr's "Headless Horseman", Bobby Bare's "Vampira", Sceamin' Jay Hawkins, Screamin' Lord Sutch, The Coasters and The Cadillacs. Check the track list for yourself.
1: Monster Gonzales - Tommy Bruce & The Bruisers
2: Murder In The Graveyard - Screamin' Lord Sutch
3: Graveyard - The Phantom Five
4: Frenzy - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
5: Midnight Monsters Hop - Jack & Jim
6: The Ghost Hop - The Surfmen
7: The Monsters Hop - Bert Convy
8: I Was A Teenage Werewolf - Movie Trailer
9: Wolf Call - Lord Dent & The Invaders
10: Rockin' In The Graveyard - Jackie Morningstar
11: Goofy Dry Bones - The Goofers
12: Black Sunday - Movie Trailer
13: Zombie - Gene Kardos & His Orchestra
14: Strollin' Spooks - Ken Nordine & His Kinsmen
15: Dragonfly - Tommy Dee & The Mellotones
16: Ghost Satellite - Bob & Jerry
17: Plan 9 From Outer Space - Movie Trailer
18: Creature From Outer Space - Sonny Day & The Tony Ray Combo
19: Ghost Train - The Swanks
20: Tennessee Hillbilly Ghost - George Morgan
21: The Headless Horseman - Kay Starr with The Billy Butterfield Quintet
22: Ghost Trains - Hank Snow
23: Ghost Riders In The Sky - The Chantays
24: The Boogie Man - The Cadillacs
25: Horror Of Dracula - Movie Trailer
26: Vampira - Bobby Bare
27: The Cat - Rod Willis
28: The Shadow Knows - The Coasters
29: Dead - The Poets
30: Goo Goo Muck - Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads
31: Demon Lover - Lynn Cornell
32: The Rockin' Ghost - Archie Bleyer
33: Spooky - George Barnes
34: The Shadow Knows - Link Wray & His Raymen
2: Murder In The Graveyard - Screamin' Lord Sutch
3: Graveyard - The Phantom Five
4: Frenzy - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
5: Midnight Monsters Hop - Jack & Jim
6: The Ghost Hop - The Surfmen
7: The Monsters Hop - Bert Convy
8: I Was A Teenage Werewolf - Movie Trailer
9: Wolf Call - Lord Dent & The Invaders
10: Rockin' In The Graveyard - Jackie Morningstar
11: Goofy Dry Bones - The Goofers
12: Black Sunday - Movie Trailer
13: Zombie - Gene Kardos & His Orchestra
14: Strollin' Spooks - Ken Nordine & His Kinsmen
15: Dragonfly - Tommy Dee & The Mellotones
16: Ghost Satellite - Bob & Jerry
17: Plan 9 From Outer Space - Movie Trailer
18: Creature From Outer Space - Sonny Day & The Tony Ray Combo
19: Ghost Train - The Swanks
20: Tennessee Hillbilly Ghost - George Morgan
21: The Headless Horseman - Kay Starr with The Billy Butterfield Quintet
22: Ghost Trains - Hank Snow
23: Ghost Riders In The Sky - The Chantays
24: The Boogie Man - The Cadillacs
25: Horror Of Dracula - Movie Trailer
26: Vampira - Bobby Bare
27: The Cat - Rod Willis
28: The Shadow Knows - The Coasters
29: Dead - The Poets
30: Goo Goo Muck - Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads
31: Demon Lover - Lynn Cornell
32: The Rockin' Ghost - Archie Bleyer
33: Spooky - George Barnes
34: The Shadow Knows - Link Wray & His Raymen
The scary thing about "The Shadow Knows" is that it's an import. And, as such, Amazon and other domestic vendors won't have it until November 9. So, if this is the droid you've been searching for, we'd recommend you purchase direct from Bear Family (European release date is September 21).
Back in 1964, "The Munsters" was a huge television hit. No fools, the executives at Decca Records pounced on the opportunity to turn green (as in Herman) to green (as in money). They rushed an unknown group known as The Go-Go's (no, not them...Belinda Carlisle was just 6 years old at the time) into the studio with some quickly slapped together tunes and unleashed "The Munsters" on an unsuspecting public. Note that the cover doesn't give The Go-Go's any billing (just mentioning that the record was "inspired by" television's oddest family). As you might suspect, the album wasn't a big hit. But, as time went by, it developed a cult following. Who doesn't love campy horror rock and roll, after all? Original copies go for big bucks, so Real Gone has swooped in to rescue us all. Never before re-issued in any format, they've re-mastered this monster, added rare photos and behind-the-scenes liner notes on the recording and, on September 7, they will free "The Munsters" from their laboratory for all to enjoy. What's more, it can be yours on CD or vinyl. Scary, isn't it? (Vinyl has been selling out fast, so don't sleep on that.)
 | 1. Munster Creep 2. Frankenstein Had a Hot-Rod Car 3. $1.98 King Size Voodoo Kit 4. Vampire Vamp 5. Herman's Place 6. (Here Comes the) Munster Coach 7. T.V. Monster Show 8. Eerie Beach 9. Make It Go Away 10. You Created a Monster 11. Ride the Midnight Special 12. Down in the Basement |
After "A Charlie Brown Christmas" performed beyond everyone's expectations, the same executives who had predicted disaster now wanted more. The second Peanuts special was "The Charlie Brown All Stars". Gotta be honest, I don't even remember that one. But the third Peanuts special, airing in 1966, is generally considered by all to be the true masterpiece of all the Peanuts specials...from animation to music. Who among us can forget Snoopy's epic battle with the Red Baron? And, aside from "Good Grief", has there ever been a more memorable line than "I got a rock!"
As hard as it is to believe, there has never been an official soundtrack album for "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". Why is that? At the time the special was made, Vince Guaraldi was involved in a law suit with his record label. Whether they were purposely or accidentally destroyed, no master tapes of any of the music from the show have ever been found (aside from "The Great Pumpkin Waltz").
A storybook record was issued in 1978, but that was essentially just the entire special on record, complete with dialog. A brief mono minute of the Pumpkin version of "Linus and Lucy" also turned up on the soundtrack for "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", for some reason.
Craft Recordings, a division of the highly respected Concord label, has played this one pretty close to the vest--which isn't encouraging, in and of itself. But, as bits and pieces of info have been gleaned, it would appear that the source material for this release is a production piece from the special itself--the mono cue stems. That means the tracks will be brief and will contain the sound effects (the latter is far from a deal breaker; sound effects on a Halloween record are usually a plus) but, theoretically, no dialog. The whole thing runs about 20 minutes. No extended Vince Guaraldi magic, but still...there has never been an official soundtrack for "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" in any format.
So what one feels about this CD, coming October 5, is largely in the ear of the beholder. Pick your Peanuts metaphor. Is this the Great Pumpkin finally come, or did you get a rock? Did Lucy pull the football away one more time, or maybe it's not such a bad little tree (it just needs a little love).
Concord's a solid label, so expect top-notch re-mastering. And "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" might be worth buying for the liner notes alone (from Peanuts historian Derrick Bang), as those will likely explain a lot. A vinyl version is planned, as well, though the release date for that is not certain (may not even be this year). I'll list the track lengths with the titles to give you a better idea of what this is and isn't.
A storybook record was issued in 1978, but that was essentially just the entire special on record, complete with dialog. A brief mono minute of the Pumpkin version of "Linus and Lucy" also turned up on the soundtrack for "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", for some reason.
Craft Recordings, a division of the highly respected Concord label, has played this one pretty close to the vest--which isn't encouraging, in and of itself. But, as bits and pieces of info have been gleaned, it would appear that the source material for this release is a production piece from the special itself--the mono cue stems. That means the tracks will be brief and will contain the sound effects (the latter is far from a deal breaker; sound effects on a Halloween record are usually a plus) but, theoretically, no dialog. The whole thing runs about 20 minutes. No extended Vince Guaraldi magic, but still...there has never been an official soundtrack for "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" in any format.
So what one feels about this CD, coming October 5, is largely in the ear of the beholder. Pick your Peanuts metaphor. Is this the Great Pumpkin finally come, or did you get a rock? Did Lucy pull the football away one more time, or maybe it's not such a bad little tree (it just needs a little love).
Concord's a solid label, so expect top-notch re-mastering. And "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" might be worth buying for the liner notes alone (from Peanuts historian Derrick Bang), as those will likely explain a lot. A vinyl version is planned, as well, though the release date for that is not certain (may not even be this year). I'll list the track lengths with the titles to give you a better idea of what this is and isn't.
 | 1. Linus And Lucy 2:01 2. Graveyard Theme :59 3. Snoopy And The Leaf / Frieda (With The Naturally Curly Hair) :38 4. The Great Pumpkin Waltz 3:30 5. Linus And Lucy :36 6. Charlie Brown Theme / Happy Linus :32 7. The Great Pumpkin Waltz 1:24 8. The Red Baron / Military Drum March :30 9. The Great Pumpkin Waltz 1:58 10. Trick Or Treat 1:17 11. Fanfare / Breathless / Trick Or Treat (Reprise) :46 12. Charlie Brown Theme :42 13. Breathless :49 14. It's A Long Way To Tipperary / There's A Long, Long Trail A-Winding / Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag / Roses Of Picardy 1:53 15. Trick Or Treat :32 16. Linus And Lucy :52 17. Charlie Brown Theme 1:18 |
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is getting a vinyl re-issue on October 26. If you missed it last year, Cleopatra's "Punk Rock Halloween" is back, including the brilliant "Evil Approaches" by Reel Big Fish. And I think it's also worth mentioning last year's Surf Guitar EP from The Primitive Finks, "Horror Party Stomp", in case you missed that one.
But I wanna close with the new/upcoming release from Hugh Cornwell who, if you didn't know, was the vocalist for The Stranglers until he split from the band in 1990. His forthcoming album is "Monster". The CD and vinyl are slated to drop on October 5 and the album, as a whole, is unlikely to be the stuff Halloween mixtapes are made of. But the lead single, available now, is perfect for the occasion. The "A" side is the album's title track, "Monster", while the "B" side is "Pure Evel". If you want something new in the mix, this one's worth checking out.
But I wanna close with the new/upcoming release from Hugh Cornwell who, if you didn't know, was the vocalist for The Stranglers until he split from the band in 1990. His forthcoming album is "Monster". The CD and vinyl are slated to drop on October 5 and the album, as a whole, is unlikely to be the stuff Halloween mixtapes are made of. But the lead single, available now, is perfect for the occasion. The "A" side is the album's title track, "Monster", while the "B" side is "Pure Evel". If you want something new in the mix, this one's worth checking out.
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