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". 

THE EDGAR ALLAN POE AUDIO COLLECTION - Vincent Price & Basil Rathbone

YEAR: 2000

LABEL: Caedmon

TRACK LISTING: To --, Alone, The City in the Sea, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Haunted Palace, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, The Raven, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, The Cask of Amontillado, The Bells, Annabel Lee, Eldorado, Ligeia, The Imp of the Perverse, Morella, Berenice, The Gold Bug

IMPRESSIONS: It was so nice to see this CD box set on the audiobook shelf at my Borders in 2000. I snapped it up on 40% off day. As luck would have it, these Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone recordings were ones I hadn't managed to track down up to this point; deriving as they do from some rare 50s LPs long out of print. Price, of course, is a veteran hand at these types of records but Rathbone proves himself every bit as adept reading Poe's immortal tales of terror. The only caveat I have (and its a fairly substantial one) is that the volume level is ridiculously low on these CDs; even when I maxed the volume to put them in my ipod, they are still only just audible. For such melodiously magnificent voices, that is truly a crime worthy of a homicidal ourang-outan!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Alone, The City in the Sea, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Haunted Palace, The Masque of the Red Death, The Black Cat, The Raven, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, The Cask of Amontillado, The Bells, Annabel Lee, Ligeia, The Imp of the Perverse, Morella

FACT SHEET: THE EDGAR ALLAN POE AUDIO COLLECTION is a 2000 5 CD set consists of several Caedmon albums of Edgar Allan Poe readings by Basil Rathbone and Vincent Price originally released in 1954. All the readings are by Basil Rathbone except LIGEIA, THE IMP OF THE PERVERSE, MORELLA, BERENICE and THE GOLD BUG which are read by Vincent Price.

TALES OF WITCHES, GHOSTS AND GOBLINS - Vincent Price

YEAR: 1972

LABEL: Caedmon

TRACK LISTING: The Smoker, Prayer, To Become A Werewolf, To Raise the Dead, The Witches' Reel, The Broomstick Train, Sweden, The Phantom Merry-Go-Round, A Pair of Gloves, Gobbleknoll, The Lone Grave

IMPRESSIONS: Another one of those classic 1970s Vinnie albums from Caedmon. This one combines short stories with sort-of textbook (or grimoire) lessons on witchcraft and spells which Vincent Price was so generous as to pass along to us monster kids.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Smoker, Prayer, To Become A Werewolf, To Raise the Dead, The Witches' Reel, Sweden, A Pair of Gloves, The Lone Grave

FACT SHEET: See Vincent Price's album A HORNBOOK FOR WITCHES elsewhere on this blog by clicking the "Vincent Price" label

WITCHCRAFT & MAGIC: AN ADVENTURE IN DEMONOLOGY - Vincent Price

YEAR: 1969

LABEL: Capitol

TRACK LISTINGS: Prologue - The Tale of Master Seth, Hitler and Witchcraft - Witchcraft in History, Women as Witches - Witch Burning, Witch Tortures, Witch Tortures (continued) - The World of Spirits and Demons, Preparation for Magic - Instruments of Magic, How To Invoke Spirits, Demons, Unseen Forces - The Magic Bloodstone, The Witches' Cauldron - How To Communicate with the Spirits, How To Communicate with the Spirits (continued) - Gerald Yorke and Necromancy, How To Make A Pact with the Devil - How To Become a Witch, Curses, Spells, Charms, Curses, Spells, Charms (continued) - Potions, The Hand of Glory - The Witches' Sabbat, Witchcraft Today - Epilogue

IMPRESSIONS: This is a super Halloween album which is quite unlike the lighter toned Caedmon albums (which featured poetry and spooky tales mostly) Price would record in the 1970s and it's a really great atmospherically spooky listen. It's also filled with a lot of informative stuff concerning the history of witchcraft and its practices; the accuracy of which depends on how much credence you give to occult matters. This is a perfect representation of the upswing in general interest in the occult which boomed in the late 60s into the 1970s.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Despite the breaking up of the album into tracks, this is more like a 100+ minute lecture and therefore my fave tracks would be all of 'em; it has to be listened to as a whole.

FACT SHEET: This album has been variously referred to as WITCHCRAFT & MAGIC: AN ADVENTURE IN DEMONOLOGY as well as THE SECRETS OF WITCHCRAFT & MAGIC REVEALED. It was originally released as a two-record set. The text performed by Vincent Price was written & directed by Terry D'Oberoff. The album was produced by Roger Karshner and also features some early synthesizer by Douglas Leedy which provides not only a spooky drone but also sound effects like howling winds and bubbling cauldrons. Price apparently recorded the entire 122 page text in one 5 hour session; the best sections were edited together to make the album. There are also actresses interspersed between certain tracks reciting lines from Shakespeare's MACBETH by the three witches.

A HORNBOOK FOR WITCHES - Vincent Price

YEAR: 1976

LABEL: Caedmon

TRACK LISTING: How To See Ghosts or Surely Bring Them To You, A Hornbook For Witches, Witches On the Heath, The Ballad of the Jabberwock, All-Saints' Eve, Dreamland, The Sands of Dee, Thus I Refute Beelzy, Don't, The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall

IMPRESSIONS: "Stories and Poems For Halloween" for sure. But since Halloween is 365 this is an album you can enjoy year-round. Vincent Price's 70's era melifluous voice carries you away on these wonderful poems and horror tales -- some of which have been favourites of mine my entire life. "Thus I Refute Beelzy", for instance, was included in my much-loved hardcover of horror short stories called "HAUNTINGS" with illustrations by the great Edward Gorey; I have had this book forever and my mother used to read to me from it before I could read! Ahhh, you say, so THAT'S what's wrong with me! Then there's "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall" which I bought at school from the Scholastic Book Club catalogue (or some equivalent) in the first or second grade entitled "THE ARROW BOOK OF GHOST STORIES". Then there's such fun and informative flights of ghostly folklore like "Don't" and "How To See Ghosts...". This album is a treasure -- and there are several more on Caedmon by Vincent Price from the same time period I'll discuss at some later point.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: How To See Ghosts or Surely Bring Them To You, A Hornbook For Witches, Witches On the Heath, All-Saints' Eve, Dreamland, Thus I Refute Beelzy, Don't, The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall

FACT SHEET: A HORNBOOK FOR WITCHES is a spoken-word album recorded by Vincent Price featuring short stories and poems described on the cover as "Stories and Poems For Halloween". The title of the album is taken from the Arkham House book of poems by Leah Bodine Drake published in 1950. The book was Drake's first book and the only one published by H.P. Lovecraft-inspired Arkham House publishing company. It was released in a very limited edition of 553 copies of which 300 were given to the author; this make it one of the rarest Arkham editions out there. Four of Drake's poems are included on the album: "A Hornbook For Witches", "Witches On the Heath", "Ballad of the Jabberwock" and "All-Saints' Eve". Maria Leech's "How To See Ghosts..." opens the album and Edgar Allan Poe's "Dreamland" and John Collier's "Thus I Refute Beelzy" also appear.