Various Artists - Haunted House: 20 Tracks to Make You Jump in the Night [Nimbus] (CD)

All Music Guide

The horror film genre has changed considerably over the years, and music has reflected its evolution. The Freddy Krueger, Jason, and Chuckie movies of the 1980s and 1990s left little to the imagination; nor did the grindcore, death metal, and thrash bands that loved them. But horror movies were a lot more subtle in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s; so when singers and musicians of that time acknowledged the horror film genre, they didn't feel the need to be overly shocking or graphic. In fact, they usually celebrated horror flicks in a tongue-in-cheek, amusing fashion. Spanning 1928-1947, this collection of horror-influenced jazz, blues, and pre-rock pop tends to be humorous and cute more than anything -- those adjectives certainly describe recordings by Gene Krupa ("Dracula") and Louis Armstrong ("The Skeleton in the Closet"), as well as Fats Waller ("Dry Bones"), the Original Dixieland Five ("Skeleton Jangle"), and Tommy Dorsey ("Mr. Ghost Goes to Town"). Most of the CD's 20 selections were recorded after the advent of talkie films, although 1928 performances by Jelly Roll Morton ("Boogaboo"), Bessie Smith ("Devil's Gonna Get You"), and Ma Rainey ("Black Cat, Hoot Owl Blues") are among the among the tracks that date back to the era of silent horror films. And they're the only tunes on the CD that would enjoy Norma Desmond's stamp of approval. (For the uninitiated, Norma Desmond was the has-been silent film star who Gloria Swanson played to perfection in the 1950 classic Sunset Boulevard). One of the few things on The Haunted House that is genuinely dark is Artie Shaw's hit 1938 recording of "Nightmare," but again, most of the material is humorous and ironic more than anything. If you're a jazz, blues, and pre-rock pop enthusiast who also has a taste for pre-1950 horror films, this CD is both fun and entertaining.

- Alex Henderson, All Music Guide