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.)