HALLOWEEN STOMP - Various Artists

YEAR: 1990

LABEL: Jass

TRACK LISTING: The Haunted House - Ray Noble & His Orchestra, Shivery Stomp - Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra, Mysterious Mose - Harry Reser & the Radio All-Stars, The Boogy Man Is Here - Tom Gerun & His Orchestra, Haunting Blues - Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey & Eddie Lang, Bug-A-Boo - Red Nichols & Wingy Mannone, Got the Jitters - Don Redman & His Orchestra, The Boogie Man - Todd Rollins & Chick Bullock, The House Is Haunted (By the Echo of Your Last Goodbye) - Glen Gray & the Casa Loma Orchestra, Zombie - Gene Kardos & His Orchestra, Mr. Ghost Goes To Town - Louis Prima & Pee Wee Russell, Skeleton In the Closet - Nat Gonella & His Georgians, The Goblin Band - Glen Gray & His Casa Loma Orchestra, Hell's Bells - Sid Peltyn & His Orchestra, With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm - Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees, The Black Cat - Ozzie Nelson & His Orchestra, Strange Enchantment - Gil Evans, The Ghost of Smoky Joe - Cab Calloway & His Orchestra, Ol' Man Mose Ain't Dead - The (Nat) King Cole Trio, Swingin' at the Seance - Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, "Horror Fantasia For Spooks and Wild Indians": Fanfare/Cherokee/Old Man Mose Is Dead/Pompton Turnpike/Redskin Rhumba - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra featuring Peggy Lee, Haunted Heart - Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra, The Headless Horseman - Kay Starr, Dry Bones - Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra

IMPRESSIONS: This is one of my favourite Halloween cds since the day I bought it. A lot of great music here. Undoubtedly my favourite song is "Mysterious Mose" by Harry Reser. The song "Zombie" by Gene Kardos is a version of a song "White Zombie" by The Joel Shaw Orchestra which was inspired by the Bela Lugosi film of the same name; the definitive version is the Shaw found on the cd "LUGOSI: HOLLYWOOD'S DRACULA" but the Kardos version is pretty good. The tune for Louis Prima's "Mr. Ghost Goes To Town" was appropriated for the soundtrack of the Don Knotts film "THE GHOST & MR. CHICKEN" by composer Vic Mizzy -- without credit, as far as I can tell! "Mr. Ghost Goes To Town" has been much covered as has "Skeleton in the Closet" most notably by Louis Armstrong. Rudy Vallee's version of the much-covered tale of Anne Boleyn's ghost "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm" is serviceable but cannot compare to the marvelous Stanley Holloway version which I first heard on Dr. Demento's Halloween radio programme circa 1978; the Kingston Trio later covered the song as well. "The Black Cat" is by band leader Ozzie Nelson who is indeed THAT Ozzie Nelson from TV's "THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE & HARRIET". "The Ghost of Smoky Joe" is sort of a Halloween sequel to Cab Calloway's megahit "Minnie the Moocher". Glenn Miller's "Swingin' at the Seance" is taken from a film soundtrack (I can't remember where at the moment) as is Charlie Barnet's "Horror Fantasia" medley which comes from the audio of a George Pal "Puppetoon" short subject. While the version of "The Headless Horseman" performed by Bing Crosby in the famous Walt Disney animated feature is a classic, Kay Starr's cover of the song matches it and I'm hard-pressed to declare a preference between the two classic versions. HALLOWEEN STOMP is one of the best ways I know to jump-start a Halloweeny party and get the skeletons shaking their bones on the dancefloor! One of the greatest Halloween compilation cds out there!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Haunted House - Ray Noble, Mysterious Mose - Harry Reser & the Radio All-Stars, Bug-A-Boo - Red Nichols & Wingy Mannone, Got the Jitters - Don Redman, Zombie - Gene Kardos, Mr. Ghost Goes To Town - Louis Prima & Pee Wee Russell, Skeleton In the Closet - Nat Gonella & His Georgians, With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm - Rudy Vallee, The Ghost of Smoky Joe - Cab Calloway, Ol' Man Mose Ain't Dead - The (Nat) King Cole Trio, Swingin' at the Seance - Glenn Miller, The Headless Horseman - Kay Starr

FACT SHEET: HALLOWEEN STOMP is a compilation cd put out by Jass Records in 1990 subtitled "Jazz & Big Band Dance Music For A Haunted House Party". The songs are sequenced in chronological order from Ray Noble's 1931 "The Haunted House" to Tommy Dorsey's "Dry Bones" of 1950. The striking cover illustration is by Milton Knight. The cd also includes "hidden tracks" in between songs which are taken from the audio of vintage spooky cartoons. A legend on the cd booklet reads "WARNING! This CD is haunted! Mysterious aural apparitions appear in front of tracks #2, #4, #5, #9, #11, #13 and #17. Are they friendly spirits? Friendly? To exorcise them, simply forward directly to the track number desired and they disappear like magic. Amaze your friends!"

A MEMORIAL 1944 - 1969 - Glenn Miller

YEAR: 1969

LABEL: RCA Victor

TRACK LISTING: Moonlight Serenade, Sunrise Serenade, Little Brown Jug, To You, Stairway To the Stars, In the Mood, My Prayer, Johnson Rag, Indian Summer, Stardust, Tuxedo Junction, Danny Boy, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Anvil Chorus, Song of the Volga Boatman, Perfidia, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Adios, Elmer's Tune, A String of Pearls, Moonlight Cocktail, Skylark, Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree, American Patrol, At Last, (I've Got A Gal In) Kalamazoo, Serenade In Blue, Juke Box Saturday Night, That Old Black Magic, St. Louis Blues March

IMPRESSIONS: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra is my favourite "big band" or "swing band". This album -- oddly subtitled 1944-1969 (the year's spanning Miller's disappearance to the release of this collection) -- was given to me as a birthday present by my grandmother in 1980 because of my then-current interest in the music of the big band era. The double album quickly became a favourite. The album contains all of Miller's biggest hits and is the perfect introduction to the man's music. Glenn Miller was highly praised by many prominent musicians including Louis Armstrong (he always traveled with reel-t0-reel tapes of Glenn Miller's records), Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra and many others. While this album was released on cd, I'm pretty sure it's out of print now. There are many Glenn Miller collections on the market but this one will always be my favourite.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Moonlight Serenade, Sunrise Serenade, Stairway To the Stars, In the Mood, Indian Summer, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Anvil Chorus, Song of the Volga Boatmen, Perfidia, A String of Pearls, At Last, (I've Got A Gal In) Kalamazoo, Serenade In Blue, Juke Box Saturday Night

FACT SHEET: Glenn Miller was one of the most popular band leaders of the late 30s-early 40s. He gave up his civilian career to join the war effort during World War II; too old at 38 to be drafted, Miller convinced the US government to allow him to serve in a non-combat function by starting a U.S. military band to entertain the troops. While flying from England to France, Miller's plane disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel.