These Ghoulish Things: Horror Hits For Hallowe'en - CD

Various: These Ghoulish Things: Horror Hits For Hallowe'en version on CD in Standard edition. This particular edition was published in United Kingdom in publishing company Ace on 13. August 2009.

Product information Gore blimey, Boris, what kind of beast is that? True to its mission of bringing great music to life, the house of wax that is forever Ace Records has (temporarily) gone to the dark side to unearth more than two dozen monstrous goodies (and a villain or two) from the crowded rock 'n' roll vault of horror. Ace's resident scarecrows, Tony "Mummy's Boy" Rounce and Rob "Gratefully Undead" Finnis, were out for a little stroll through the musical graveyard, trying to keep the dark forces at bay while they toiled to create a monster that's as scary as you'd hope any CD called "These Ghoulish Things" could ever be. Working overtime on the graveyard shift, we dug up over two dozen moldy oldies, assembled the finished CD from only the best "spare parts" and worked at a pace that can truthfully be described as "terrifying". Among the treats your fearsome duo unearthed are a number of tracks that have lain undisturbed in the rock 'n' roll vault of horror since their first release on vinyl in the 1950s or '60s. These include Billy De Marco and Count Dracula's Drac's Back, which reportedly had to be recorded at night due to the permanent unavailability of one of the vocalists during the day, and Orvin Yoes's stunningly inartistic The Vampire, which sounds like it could have actually been recorded from inside a coffin with the lid nailed on, and for which "amateur" would probably be too kind a description. But before you start thinking that it's just another pile of musical body parts haphazardly pieced together into an arbitrary monstrous (mish-)mash, we'd like to assure you that it is indeed a creation of a quality that any top mad scientist would be proud to claim. This Theatre Of Blood CD, or "bloooerghhhhh" as Allan Sherman would say of My Son, The Vampire, is a horror show that draws almost exclusively from the rock'n'roll era of Ghoul-days, whose time span roughly corresponds to the peak of the popularity of mid-to-late 1950s scary movies and corresponds with their influence on post-World War II teenage America. At a time when teenagers were scared to death in movie theaters across the U.S., it was natural that horror films quickly made their way into rock and roll. The extent to which this happened was evident, unless you were a crazy confused Transylvanian, in which case nothing was evident, certainly in the number of doo woppers who cut songs that related to the genre. At least 25% of the recordings included here are by vocal groups, many of them by immortal names like the Hollywood Flames or the Jayhawks. Their cuts here, like those of many others we've culled from Vault Of Horror, have a first-class reputation that their "newness" does nothing to spoil. Likewise, big bad Bo Diddley's encounter with an unspecified monster is as compelling as any of his slightly less terrifying encounters with the Chess brothers. Other notable locker-room rockers include die-hard Memphis rockabilly-cum-bluesman Billy Lee Riley, who brought along a full plate of Nightmare Mash for your enjoyment (with a little clotted blood goes down very well, we found. At our Screamin' Ball At Dracula Hall, we are pleased to welcome other larger-than-life and larger-than-death celebrities who are known the world over for their ability to tell scary stories. That's Philadelphia's John "Dinner With Drac" Zacherle right there in the foyer, drinking blood (spo-dee-o-dee) with the great Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, whose original version of his classic Feast Of The Mau Mau is, quite frankly, a howl from start to finish. In the true spirit of Halloween, every major monster from the big and small screen gets a look in. From TV land, we've invited the Munsters and the Addams Family, dressed in their funeral finest and ready for The Voo Doo Walk with the Monster from Outer Space, the Werewolf and the Mummy (be careful not to step on the last one's loose bandages, Dad), and if he can find his way out of the Sleepy Hollow without his head, Ichabod Crane. (If you're craving vampires, you'll also find plenty of things to bite into thanks to Allan Sherman, the Duponts, and the aforementioned Mr. Yoes). For those who can't make it to this Monster Party, you'll find Rockin' In The Graveyard with Jackie Morningstar a short walk away, or maybe just Midnight Walk with the Revels. If you can, try to join our party: Dr. Frankenstein assures us it will be really "lively! LIVE!!!" And when the CD ends, be sure to catch the Ghost Train leaving from Track 5, where Virgil Holmes is ready to transport you back to the Old Dark House in time for a glass of gin (it's our only weakness) and hibernation until the following night. We'd love to tell you more, but it's nearing midnight and frankly, we know what happens when the clock strikes 12 and we don't want to linger to witness it with our own eyes. "It's burning badly!" "Good friend!!!" "These scary things are even better!!!" It's your funeral if you don't like it. Tony Rounce (acerecords. co. uk)

Album spans genres Rock, Pop, Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll and Novelty.