Sounds of Darkness

Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett – The Original Monster Mash (1962)
NOVELTY



The Halloween novelty album that started it all? Not quite … while “Monster Mash” is by far the most popular Halloween novelty song of all time, there were several albums in the same … er … vein that came out sooner – and were (IMHO) better. Still, you can’t deny the effect this album had on both novelty and Halloween music.

Pickett’s Karloff impersonation is terrific, as is his Bela Lugosi. The music is a little bleh, but probably consistent for the time of release. While most songs feature Pickett’s lyrics, a few are simply instrumentals with Pickett doing conversations over the tracks – rendering them about as exciting as Frankie Stein and his Ghouls. The lyrics are somewhat cute but not particularly witty. The tracks are all pretty short – which works for me - the novelty of each song wears thin pretty quickly.

I have a hard time really enjoying this album. I will always love the title track, but after a few songs, the Boris / Bela impersonations wear thin, and musically there isn’t enough variety to hold my interest. It’s still a classic, and probably still a must for most Halloween music collectors.

No sharing though ... you can support his legacy by buying it here.