October 12, 2017

HALLOWEEN TAPE REVIEW #12: Halloween Party: The Halloween Party

 

Title: Halloween Party: The Halloween Party
Manufacturer: Eerie Sounds Music Co.
Year: 1987
Total Runtime: 30 Min  
Repeats on both sides: No
Stories: No
Music: Short synth piece at the end of side two called “Ghostly Music on the Wind”
Narration: No
Distinct Audio: Fireworks at the end of side one
Review: Under no circumstances should Halloween Party: The Halloween Party be played at a Halloween party. A lengthy series of isolated noises just isn't festive. Nobody on the dance floor will request an encore of “Owls Hooting” or “Glass and Crockery Breaking.” The only party where this album might be welcome is a gathering of nature lovers. All too many of the sound effects are either straight up wildlife recordings, or processed wildlife recordings with spookified names like "Goblins and Gremlins." That's like trying to pass "Ranger Rick" off as "Fangoria."

The best thing about this misnamed record is the packaging art (see below). It served as an effective billboard that could compete with the best CD longboxes. I'm sure it would have charmed me out of my $2.99, though sadly, it was destined for the trash since they skimped on a cassette case.  

Halloween Party:The Halloween Party was released with a sister album called A Night in a Graveyard/A Night in a Haunted House.  I'll bet it's more like a night in a zoo.
EDIT: This will teach me to make judgements based on circumstantial evidence. Commentor BonOrbitz provided a link to Night in a Graveyard/Night in a Haunted House and said it's his "favorite Halloween cassette of the 80s. It's like Disney's '79 Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House, but much darker and an awesome narrator."
I have to agree that it's superb. Great narrator, original sounds, and that attack at the 5:30 mark has a rare brutality about it. It's hard to understand how this and Halloween Party came from the same source...





Rating: 2 of 5
(No audio link for Halloween Party available, but that's not a bad thing.)


 

 

7 comments:

Tom said...

I have "Night in a Graveyard" and will be ripping it at some point this season. I'll send you a link.

Kirk D. said...

That would be great, thanks!

Unknown said...

A Night in a Graveyard/A Night in a Haunted House is amazing and my favorite Halloween cassette of the 80s. It's like Disney's '79 Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House, but much darker and an awesome narrator.

Here is A Night in a Graveyard.

Here is A Night in a Haunted House

Tom said...

I ripped "Night in a Graveyard/Haunted House" tonight, but I see I was beat to the punch by BonOrbitz. Just as well, mine had a bad section of tape.

Kirk D. said...

Good to know!
I posted your comment and links in the article. I'm glad that I will finally be able to hear it.

Kirk D. said...

Thanks anyway Tom!
It's great to see such an outpouring from the Halloween recording community!

Brandon said...

I wouldn't mind finding a copy of Halloween Party as it was once part of my cassette collection. True it wasn't that great but I would still like to add it to my archive for nostalgia purposes :-)