THE BLACK AND ORANGE ALBUM  -  VARIOUS ARTISTS

YEAR:  2010
LABEL:  Wonderful Wonderblog
TRACK LISTING:  Welcome to Horror Hotel  -  Daniel Roebuck,  The Gourd's Prayer  -  Cult of the Great Pumpkin,  Batman Wolfman Frankenstein or Dracula  -  The Diamonds,  Chamber of Horrors  -  Radio Spot,  Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde  -  The Who,  Dracula's Lament  -  Jason Segel,  The Devil's Rain & the Virgin Witch  -  Radio Spot,  Ghostbusters  -  Run-DMC,  Goosebumps Theme  -  TVToons,  Grim Grinning Ghosts  -  Barenaked Ladies,  Halloween  -  Betty Grable,  Halloween  -  Radio Spot,  Happy Halloween  -  The Fuzztones,  Haunted House  -  Flexi-Disc,  King Kong vs. Godzilla  -  WAKY Radio Spot,  Keepin' Halloween Alive  -  Alice Cooper,  Magic  -  Radio Spot,  Monster Movie Ball  -  Spike Jones,  Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives  -  Mel Torme,  To Cause A Witch To Die  -  Vincent Price,  Mr. Monster's Movie Marathon  -  Peter Pan Singers,  Dawn of the Dead  -  Radio Spot,  Dry Bones  -  Fred Gwynne,  Punky Punkin (The Happy Pumpkin)  -  Rosemary Clooney,  Purple People Eater  -  Judy Garland,  Ghost Whisperer  -  TVToons,  Scarecrow  -  The Wellingtons,  Secrets of the Crypt Keeper's Haunted House  -  John Kassir,  The Blob  -  Wolfman Jack,  The Headless Horseman  -  Pickwick Records,  The Headless Horseman  -  Thurl Ravenscroft,  The Island of Dr. Moreau  -  Radio Spot,  Monster Hop  -  Bert Convy,  The Night Before Halloween  -  Bill Buchanan,  Trick or Treat  -  Elvira,  Vampires Quote  -  Boris Karloff,  Zombie Jamboree  -  Rockapella,  Fairly Lame Ending Track  -  Daniel Roebuck
IMPRESSIONS:  Once again we have a non-commercial release like the previous post.  This is one of many compilations originating from the great blog called "Wonderful Wonderblog".  The first thing that strikes you is the lovely spoof on Metallica's "Black Album" cover; what could be more fitting for Halloween than a "Black and Orange" album cover?  After that laugh, we get a nicely-chosen selection of Halloween tracks  -  most of which I admittedly already possessed in my vaults  -  but once again it's always great to hear someone's selection of a playlist.  And this is a good'n.  I kinda like the inclusion of radio spots and movie trailers in between the songs; it gives things a nice Halloween party air.  There are several old favourites of mine appearing here:  The Who's rare "Jekyll & Hyde" song showing John Entwhistle's abiding love of the horror genre, the Spike Jones track (originally credited to "The Fiend-ager") from that beloved "SPIKE JONES IN STEREO" album I played to death in my youth (and which is discussed in depth on this very blog), and the tracks by Mel Torme, Vincent Price, The Diamonds, Rosemary Clooney, Judy Garland, The Wellingtons, Thurl Ravenscroft, Bert Convy, Bill Buchanan, Elvira, and Rockapella have long featured in my Halloween listening.  However, it was only with this "BLACK & ORANGE ALBUM" that I first encountered Run-DMC's terrific cover of "Ghostbusters", the Cult of the Great Pumpkin's "The Gourd's Prayer", and Alice Cooper's "Keepin' Halloween Alive" tracks.  There are many, many Halloween compilations all over the internet and I love all of them; it's a wonderful practice and albums like this one are a great example of how to do it right. 
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  The Gourd's Prayer  -  Cult of the Great Pumpkin,  Chamber of Horrors  -  Radio Spot,  Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde  -  The Who,  Ghostbusters  -  Run-DMC,  Halloween  -  Betty Grable,  Haunted House  -  Flexi-disc,  Keepin' Halloween Alive  -  Alice Cooper,  Monster Movie Ball  -  Spike Jones,  Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives  -  Mel Torme,  To Cause A Witch To Die  -  Vincent Price,  Mr. Monster's Movie Marathon  -  Peter Pan Singers,  Dawn of the Dead  -  Radio Spot,  Punky Punkin (The Happy Pumpkin)  -  Rosemary Clooney,  Purple People Eater  -  Judy Garland,  Scarecrow  -  The Wellingtons,  The Headless Horseman  -  Pickwick Records,  The Headless Horseman  -  Thurl Ravenscroft,  Monster Hop  -  Bert Convy,  The Night Before Halloween  -  Bill Buchanan
FACT SHEET:  "THE BLACK AND ORANGE ALBUM" is a compilation of Halloween tracks produced by the "Wonderful Wonderblog" website.  The 2 Daniel Roebuck tracks are taken from Dr. Lady's "HORROR HOTEL" album.  "Dracula's Lament" is taken from the film "FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL".  "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is a cover version of the Thurl Ravenscroft song and appears on the soundtrack to the "HAUNTED MANSION" movie starring Eddie Murphy.  The "Halloween" track by Betty Grable is taken from an old radio broadcast.  The Fuzztones' "Happy Halloween" is a cover version of a Zacherley song.  "Monster Movie Ball" is taken from the 1959 "SPIKE JONES IN STEREO" album.  Mel Torme's "Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives" appears in the short film "DAFFY DUCK'S QUACKBUSTERS".  "Dry Bones" is taken from an episode of "THE MUNSTERS" with Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster.  "Scarecrow" by the Wellington's is taken from the Disney TV show "THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH" starring Patrick McGoohan.  "Secrets of the Crypt Keeper's Haunted House" is taken from a 1997 episode of HBO's "TALES FROM THE CRYPT".  Thurl Ravenscroft's "The Headless Horseman" is a cover version of the original song sung by Bing Crosby in Disney's 1949 film "THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD & MR. TOAD".  The Bert Convy who sing "Monster Hop" is the same actor/TV host who appeared as a regular on "THE SNOOP SISTERS" as well as hosting the TV game show "TATTLETALES" and others.  Bill Buchanan is one half of the duo of Buchanan & Goodman who brought us the classic original "break-in" record "The Flying Saucer". 

GHOULS WITH ATTITUDE VOL. 1  -  VARIOUS ARTISTS

YEAR:  2004
LABEL:  Oddio Overplay
TRACK LISTING:  Graveyard Rock - Tarantula Ghoul & the Gravediggers,  Riboflavin-Flavored Non-Carbonated Poly-Unsaturated Blood - Don Hinson & the Rigamorticians,  Vampire Playgirls - Movie Trailer,  Vampira - Bobby Bare,  Rockin' Zombie - The Crewnecks,  Jam at the Mortuary - Griz Green,  Monsters Crash the Pajama Party - Movie Trailer,  Monster Man - The MSR Singers,  Monster Surfer - The Abominable Surfmen,  Surfer Smash - Bobby Boris Jones,  The Spook Spoke - Jupiter Jones,  I Dig You Baby - Bob McFadden & Dor,  The Mind of Mr. Soames - Movie Trailer,  Strangler in the Night - Albert DeSalvo,  House on Haunted Hill - Kenny & the Fiends,  Hear the Monsters (Spooky Sounds & A Spooky Tale) - Winchell's Donut House Halloween Record,  The Raven - Buddy Morrow & His Orchestra,  The Rockin' Ghost - The Modernaires,  Satan Takes a Holiday - Rosengarden and Kraus,  Ha-Ha-Ha The Bride of Frankenstein - Boris Karloff,  Brain Eaters - Movie Trailer,  Goolie Garden - Groovie Goolies,  Haunted House - Hap Palmer,  The Witch's Vacation - Bruce Haack & Norman Bridwel,  Burned at the Stake - Sounds of Terror,  Intro: Orgies (A Tool of Witchcraft) - Louise Huebner,  Night On Bald Mountain - Marty Manning & His Orchestra,  Someone Walked Over My Grave - Criswell
IMPRESSIONS:  As it's once again the Halloween season, I thought I'd feature a Halloween compilation I came across this summer.  Unfortunately for you boils & ghouls, this isn't actually a cd made by a record label but appears to be an amateur-compiled collection (and there's also a great Volume Two, folks) which is no longer available where it was first posted in 2004.  However, it's floating around out there in the vorld vide veb so you should be able to find it without to much ado.  It's apparently something of a legendary (or at least fabled) cd collection which fans of horror-themed music have long known about.  Now, there's a lot of stuff on here I already owned on other cd collections such as the Don Hinson track from his "MONSTER DANCE PARTY" album, "The Raven" from Buddy Morrow's "POE FOR MODERNS", "I Dig You Baby" from Bob McFadden & Dor's "SONGS OUR MUMMY TAUGHT US", the Bride of Frankenstein track from the truly legendary "AN EVENING WITH BORIS KARLOFF & HIS FRIENDS" LP or the real-life witch Louise Huebner track from her "SEDUCTION THROUGH WITCHCRAFT" album.  However, the songs (and movie trailers) which a horror compiler picks and chooses are always interesting and worthwhile and this is such a fun collection of songs (many from the late 50s-early 60s horror boom when it seems like EVERYONE was releasing a spooky song to jump on the "MONSTER MASH" bandwagon) and the cover artwork is simple but really eye-catching and pleasing to my eyes.  This compilation has a nice cohesion to it.  And any compilation which includes one of my favourites - The Modernaires' "Rockin' Ghost" - is OK by me! 
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Graveyard Rock - Tarantula Ghoul & the Gravediggers,  Vampira - Bobby Bare,  Rockin' Zombie - The Crewnecks,  Jam at the Mortuary - Griz Green,  Monster Man - The MSR Singers,  Monster Surfer - The Abominable Surfmen,  I Dig You Baby - Bob McFadden & Dor,  House on Haunted Hill - Kenny & the Fiends,  Hear the Monsters - Winchell's Donut House,  The Raven - Buddy Morrow,  The Rockin' Ghost - The Modernaires,  Goolie Garden - Groovie Goolies,  Intro: Orgies (A Tool of Witchcraft) - Louise Huebner,  Night on Bald Mountain - Marty Manning,  Someone Walked Over My Grave - Criswell
FACT SHEET:  GHOULS WITH ATTITUDE VOL. 1 is an online compilation by Otis Fodder.com with production by Oddio Overplay.  The cover art is by Suzanne Baumann at Fridge Mag.  The singing style in both the songs "Jam at the Mortuary" and "I Dig You Baby" are meant to be imitations of the character of "Digger" O'Dell the undertaker on "THE LIFE OF RILEY" radio show as voiced by actor John Brown.  "Hear the Monsters" was a promo record given away by Winchell's Donut House.  The Groovie Goolies was an early 1970s Saturday morning cartoon by Filmation which featured song performances by unnamed studio musicians a la the Archies.  Louise Huebner is the official witch of Los Angeles, California.  Criswell was a TV fortune teller who is best known for having appeared in Ed Wood's masterpiece "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE".           

BORIS KARLOFF IN THE INNER SANCTUM - Boris Karloff

YEAR: 1981

LABEL: Radiola/Radio Yesteryear

TRACK LISTING: The Wailing Wall, Birdsong For A Murderer, The Mahogany Coffin

IMPRESSIONS: Around 1979-1980 I got really big into old time radio shows owing mostly to my friend Ed Jacoby who discovered the local PBS radio station was rebroadcasting them daily. Also at the same time, my mother (who worked at ACME) called from the supermarket and told me there were a bunch of old-time radio cassettes for sale (by Metacom) and did I want her to pick me up some. What a question! Simultaneously I discovered Radiola records in stores and sent away for a mail-order catalogue. All this choice resulted in my swimming in old-time radio records and tapes. I still affectionately remember the thrill of having the mailman deliver that big LP-sized box containing about half a dozen Radiola records to my door. Among them was this BORIS KARLOFF IN THE INNER SANCTUM record. INNER SANCTUM is one of my favourite old radio shows and what could be better than a pair of episodes starring the King of Horror Boris Karloff??? I'll tell you what could be better: the little 15 minute episode of THE BLACK CHAPEL tagged onto the end, that's what. This is one of my favourite old radio shows of all-time. Airing a quarter of an hour before midnight on the CBS Pacific Network on the dark, winter evening of January 6, 1939, the story of "The Mahogany Coffin" is masterfully told by Ted Osborne (because unlike regular radio shows, this is simply one person telling a story in the best storyteller tradition). The Karloff episodes are top notch but this BLACK CHAPEL episode is a masterpiece!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: All of 'em.

FACT SHEET: "The Wailing Wall" is an episode of Inner Sanctum broadcast on CBS Radio on November 12, 1945 sponsored by Lipton Tea & Lipton Soup. "Birdsong For A Murderer" is an episode of INNER SANCTUM broadcast on CBS Radio with no broadcast date given. "The Mahogany Coffin" is an episode of THE BLACK CHAPEL starring Ted Osborne broadcast on the CBS Pacific Network on January 6, 1939.

LUGOSI: HOLLYWOOD'S DRACULA - Various Artists

YEAR: 1997

LABEL: Truthmonger Publishing/McWhorter Greenhaw Inc.

TRACK LISTING: Organ prelude from Mystery House radio show and Robert Clarke spoken introduction - Bela Lugosi & Robert Clarke, Suite from Ocskay Brigaderos - Jim Baker & Gary Freeman, Swan Lake - Dallas Banjo Band & Art Greenhaw, Black and Tan Fantasy - Dallas Banjo Band, Variation on Gershwin's Prelude - Art Greenhaw, Lon Chaney's Gonna Get You (If You Don't Watch Out) - Art Greenhaw, Swan Lake Overture - Art Greenhaw, Brother Can You Spare A Dime? - John Walden & Dallas Banjo Band, Listen To the Lambs from WHITE ZOMBIE, White Zombie - Joel Shaw Orchestra, Texaco Star Theater (November 15, 1939) - Bela Lugosi, Variation on Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1 - Art Greenhaw, Mail Call (May 11, 1944) - Bela Lugosi, Edward Everett Horton & Gregory Ratoff, Child of the Night - Art Greenhaw, Gary D. Rhodes & Tim Cooper, We're Horrible Horrible Men - Bela Lugosi & Boris Karloff, Adaptation of Chopin's Nocturne in E-Flat - Art Greenhaw, A Hunchback Named Ygor - Art Greenhaw, The Devil Bat theme music, The Rudy Vallee Show (October 22, 1946) - Bela Lugosi & Billie Burke, Swan Lake Rock - Art Greenhaw, Candid Microphone (October 24, 1947) - Bela Lugosi, Czardas - The Light Crust Doughboys, There Are Such Things - Bela Lugosi, Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula - Art Greenhaw, Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula (instrumental reprise) - Art Greenhaw

IMPRESSIONS: This soundtrack cd can be enjoyed even if you haven't seen the documentary (and I actually had the cd years before I actually managed to track down the film on DVD. The cd features some tracks which have become favourites of mine and perennial Halloween listening; these include the spectacular 78rpm "White Zombie" by the Joel Shaw Orchestra (a lesser version of which appears as "Zombie" on the HALLOWEEN STOMP cd discussed elsewhere), the Bela & Boris duet "We're Horrible, Horrible Men" and the incredible scratchy but treasured "There Are Such Things" speech by Bela Lugosi which Christopher Lee later reprised in the early 70's film IN SEARCH OF DRACULA. Composer of some of the documentary's music Art Greenhaw is certainly no singer but his straining attempts to sing on "Lon Chaney's Gonna Get You" and "Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula" are endearing even though they sound as if poor Art is vocalizing while trying to extricate himself from a tightly-wound shroud!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Swan Lake - Dallas Banjo Band & Art Greenhaw, Lon Chaney's Gonna Get You (If You Don't Watch Out) - Art Greenhaw, Listen To the Lambs from WHITE ZOMBIE, White Zombie - Joel Shaw Orchestra, We're Horrible Horrible Men - Bela Lugosi & Boris Karloff, The Devil Bat theme music, Czardas - Light Crust Doughboys, There Are Such Things - Bela Lugosi, Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula - Art Greenhaw, Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula (instrumental reprise) - Art Greenhaw

FACT SHEET: LUGOSI: HOLLYWOOD'S DRACULA is the soundtrack cd of the documentary DVD of the same name chronicling the life and career of Bela Lugosi. The documentary is narrated by Robert Clarke and Rue McClanahan. "Swan Lake" was composed by Piotr Illich Tchaikovsky. "Black and Tan Fantasy" was composed by Duke Ellington. "Lon Chaney's Gonna Get You (If You Don't Watch Out)" first appeared in the MGM musical THE HOLLYWOOD REVUE OF 1929. "We're Horrible, Horrible Men" is taken from the radio show "Baker's Broadcast" from 1937 or 1938. According to Bela's widow Hope Lugosi, Bela's favourite song was "Czardas".

THE MONSTER ROCK 'N' ROLL SHOW - Various Artists

YEAR: 1990

LABEL:

TRACK LISTING: Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett, The Haunted Strangler (Movie Trailer), Bo Meets the Monster - Bo Diddley, I Was A Teenage Frankenstein/Blood of Dracula (Movie Trailers), Midnight Stroll - The Revels, Frankenstein of '59 - Buchanan & Goodman, Frankenstein's Den - The Hollywood Flames, Horror of Dracula (Movie Trailer), Screamin' Ball at Dracula Hall - The Duponts, I Was A Teenage Werewolf (Movie Trailer), Werewolf - Five Man Electrical Band, The Mummy (Movie Trailer), Haunted House - Johnny Fuller, Black Sunday (Movie Trailer), Feast of the Mau Mau - Screamin' Jay Hawkins, The Amazing Colossal Man (Movie Trailer), Witch Queen of New Orleans - Redbone, 4-D Man (Movie Trailer), Castin' My Spell - The Johnny Otis Show featuring Marci Lee, The Thing That Couldn't Die (Movie Trailer), The Green Slime - The Green Slime, The She Creature/It Conquered the World (Movie Trailers), Lil Red Riding Hood - Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs, The Astro-Zombies (Movie Trailer), I Ain't Superstitious - Howlin' Wolf, Frankenstein Returns (Part II) - Buchanan & Goodman, Morgus the Magnificent - Morgus & the Ghouls, King Kong (Movie Trailer), The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley

IMPRESSIONS: This is a collection of Halloweenie songs which are interspersed with movie trailers/radio ads -- this give the cd a nice, out of the ordinary feel as these cd collections go. Not to mention that several of the songs are not the usual overplayed ones (although those are here as well).

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett, The Haunted Strangler (Movie Trailer), I Was A Teenage Frankenstein/Blood of Dracula (Movie Trailers), Midnight Stroll - The Revels, Frankenstein of '59 - Buchanan & Goodman, Frankenstein's Den - The Hollywood Flames, Horror of Dracula (Movie Trailer), Screamin' Ball at Dracula Hall - The Duponts, The Mummy (Movie Trailer), Witch Queen of New Orleans - Redbone, Castin' My Spell - The Johnny Otis Show featuring Marci Lee, The Green Slime - The Green Slime, The Astro-Zombies (Movie Trailer), Frankenstein Returns (Part II) - Buchanan & Goodman, Morgus the Magnifient - Morgus & the Ghouls, King Kong (Movie Trailer)

FACT SHEET: THE HAUNTED STRANGLER trailer is nicely narrated by Boris Karloff himself. Other than that, I got nuttin'.

TALES OF THE FRIGHTENED VOL. 1 & 2 - Boris Karloff

YEAR: 1963

LABEL: Mercury

TRACK LISTING: Call At Midnight, Just Inside the Cemetery, The Fortune Teller, The Man In the Raincoat, The Deadly Dress, The Hand of Fate, Don't Lose Your Head, The Vampire Sleeps, Horror of Death, Never Kick a Black Cat, The Ladder, Nightmare, Voice From the Grave

IMPRESSIONS: Are you one of the frightened? What could be better than Uncle Boris reading us dead-time stories??? That's right - nothing! One of these tales -- "The Hand of Fate" -- was recited by Karloff almost verbatim in Peter Bogdanovich's film TARGETS; the old master did it in one take and the entire cast and crew broke out into applause.

MY FAVOURTE TRACKS: Call at Midnight, Just Inside the Cemetery, The Fortune Teller, The Man in the Raincoat, The Hand of Fate, Don't Lose Your Head, The Vampire Sleeps, Never Kick a Black Cat, Voice From the Grave

FACT SHEET: TALES OF THE FRIGHTENED is a two-record set of recordings of short horror tales written by Michael Avallone (author of childhood favourites "THE GHOST THAT CAME ALIVE" and some of the Partridge Family mystery novels I devoured as a boy) and read by Boris Karloff. In 1956, Avallone edited a pulp magazine called "TALES OF THE FRIGHTENED" which was supposed to be a launching pad for a radio programme of the same name hosted by Boris Karloff. The show never came to be so the stories were turned into a paperback book of 26 tales. The albums featured strange electronic music taken from a 1957 album called "ELECTRONIC MUSIC" by "The Electrosoniks". In 2010, Avallone's son David came out with a new "tribute" album of TALES OF THE FRIGHTENED with his father's stories read by actor Vernon Wells and music by Eban Schletter.

AN EVENING WITH BORIS KARLOFF & HIS FRIENDS - Boris Karloff

YEAR: 1967

LABEL: MCA

TRACK LISTING: Introduction, Dracula, All About the Monster, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Son of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The House of Frankenstein, Finale

IMPRESSIONS: What could be more Halloweenie than the King of Horror talking about the classic golden age of Universal horror?!?! All right, I suppose if they had Karloff sitting on a pumpkin while he was doing it. But hey, maybe they DID! One wishes this album went on a little longer but what we have is a treasure trove of frightful fun. There's no mistaking that style of writing in the script; if one didn't know Forrest J. Ackerman wrote it one could easily guess it was the work of the creator of "FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND" magazine.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The whole album

FACT SHEET: AN EVENING WITH BORIS KARLOFF & HIS FRIENDS was recorded at the Magic Castle in Hollyweird, Karloffornia in 1967. Verne Langdon and Milt Larsen produced and Forrest J. Ackerman wrote the script for Boris to perform. The album consists of Karloff's narration interspersed with audio clips from the classic Universal horror films of the 1930s and 1940s which are under discussion.