We have reached the end of another week, so that means it's time for another Freebie Friday offering! Time to share another forgotten gem from the murky depths of my Halloween "spooky sounds" collection.
This week, we're diving into another classic release from 1969, simply titled, "Halloween" on D Records, a country and western label out of Houston, Texas.
If you have ever sampled any of my other Freebie Friday offerings, you already know that the "spooky sounds" cassette industry of the 80s and 90s was an unregulated free-for-all, repackaging older titles quickly and cheaply as new releases. I don't know how many times I have picked up a cassette, excited by the "spooky" title and art, only to find another cheap reproduction of a 70s classic.
Well, with this release we have just the opposite. This one is the original source material for many of the later knockoffs!
Side one starts off a little slowly, with a poorly thrown-together string of random, not-really-Halloween individual sound clips. Weird dog barks, a recording of possibly a Chinese New Year parade with drums and firecrackers, clanking pots and pans, odd springy "boings," and warbling circus organ music...
It isn't until about one-third of the way through this side that things suddenly switch and get interesting. And it's also when I knew I recognized the classic "spooky sounds" from some of those later knock-off tapes! Classic beast howls, creaking doors, howling winds, rattling chains, bubbling cauldrons and sinister laughs... THIS is the stuff!!
Side two continues to deliver the spooky sounds greatness. The harpsichord (I think?) and shrieks, more creaking doors, ghostly moans, werewolf howls, giggling goblins, a weird off-key horn, and whipping winds. It's all here and it's PERFECT! All the classics from the start of the "spooky sounds" craze.
And can you believe we've gotten this far and I still haven't mentioned the incredible cover art? A bold yellow cover with handprinted witch and bats shadows behind a creepy jack-o-lantern, cloaked skeleton, and whipsy ghosts. All under a wonderfully hand-painted "HALLOWEEN" font. It's the whole reason I bought this record in the first place! Still a definite eye-catcher in an ever-growing collection of Halloween records.
This one is a TON of fun and a sure classic that needs a prominent spot in your collection. Enjoy!
1 comments:
Love that witch silhouette with the warts and pointy teeth. This sounds like the grandfather of all spooky sounds recordings.
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