Customer Reviews

Halloween 2: Creatures Collection

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Each year my offspring's love for Halloween grows ~ so Chip Davis had to satisfy my entire family with this latest release "HALLOWEEN VOL.2~CREATURES COLLECTION", featuring the deranged arrangements by Chip and performed by the world famous Mannheim Steamroller gang...Chip brought along Josie Aiello (Background Vocals), Johnny Rutledge (Vocals),Barry Scott (Vocals, Actor, Track Performer),Roberta Thomas (Background Vocals), Simbryt Whititngton (Background Vocals)....with another spooky collection of originals and arrangements this continuing Halloween series spotlights scary film and television themes...we are a witness to sound effects, dance remixes "CREATURES OF THE NIGHT" and oh yes, bloodcurdling goose pimple tracks that will leave you horrified (sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it)...watch the bonus dance video that makes this triangle complete as our costumed friends travel to our front door seeking sweet treats to satisfy their overpowering quest to scare the pants off of us....so what is all the hullabaloo about?...you're about to find out ~ and Chip knows just what button to push.

DISC 1:
MUSIC:
1. Creatures Of The Night
2. Addams Family Theme Song, The
3. Psycho Theme Song
4. Dark Shadows Theme Song
5. Superstition
6. Outer Limits Theme Song, The
7. Monster Mash
8. Trick Or Treat
9. Dr. Who Theme Song
10. X-Files Theme Song, The
11. Black Magic Woman
12. Munsters Theme Song, The
13. Mummy Walk (Psilvu Sahara)

DISC 2:
EFX:
1. Devil's Oath
2. Midnight Carnival
3. Go To The Light
4. Purgatory's Pond
5. Cosmic Flatliner
6. Demon's Dance
7. Alien Space Battle
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT DANCE REMIXES
8. Space-Men (Lift Off)
9. Bear-One - (Baltimore mix)
10. Trafik - (Techno Mix UK)
11. Mannheim Steamroller - (Creatures original mix)

DISC 3:
DVD VIDEO:
1. Creatures of the Night
2. Psycho
3. Monster Mash
4. Creatures of the Night
5. Dance Instructions Video

Great job by American Gramaphone, Mannheim Steamroller and Chip Davis for digging into their bag of tricks and coming up with this delectable treat ..looking forward to more of the same as the Halloween celebration continues to grow...order your copy now from Amazon or American Gramaphone, stay tuned once again for more Holiday delectables that only Chip Davis can deliver...just the way we like 'em!

Total: (2 CD & 1 DVD Set) ~ American Gramaphone 1033 ~ (9/12/2006)

There are three cds in this package, but they are not identified as 1, 2 and 3, so it is easy to mix them up. Each has some good music and some hokey or kinky tracks. It would have been much better to deliver the good classical stuff on one cd, so it wouldn't be interrupted by the less attractive music. I like about one third of it, but it is mixed throughout, so, I probably won't listen to it often.

The spooky songs on the second disc are the best spooky sounds I have ever found. They are very creepy and disturbing! Perfect for background noise at a party, haunted house, or trick or treating!

Also, the Remixes of Creatures on the night on Disc Two is very cool, exactly the kind of party Halloween music I was looking for.

The music on the first CD is for the most part too "Mannheim Steamroller" to really be good for an adult Halloween party. I think it would be fine for kids. There were a few songs that I did like though. The Dark Shadows and Psycho theme songs sounded cool.

Overall, I recommend this CD to anyone who is collecting Halloween music. There is enough on here that you might not easily find somewhere else to warrant you purchasing this Cd.

Not what I expected based on having heard the first one, which had more of a genuine "oooh, spooky" Halloween feel to it. This second one seemed more like what they would have done on their Christmas albums, which were really good for Christmas, but not for Halloween. It was still good...but lacking.

Considering the wonderfully fresh and innovative interpretations of traditional Christmas music that the Techno-Classical New Age ensemble Mannheim Steamroller has put out in the past couple of decades, one would think that the band's interpretation of macabre Halloween ditties would be diabolically delicious, a fresh on which lovers of Halloween could happily feast. Sadly, even with a second helping of Halloween tunes from this celebrated band, the children of the night still hunger.

Either composer/arranger/band leader Chip Davis has lost his touch, or he simply is not in contact with the true "spirit" of Halloween. As every "body" knows, the music for celebrating All Hallows' Eve should be macabre, creepy, or dreary. Certain passages should even make your skin crawl or your spine tingle. However, in spite of the inclusion of spooky standards like the theme from TV's DARK SHADOWS and Bernard Herrmann's eerie theme music from PSYCHO, most of Mr. Davis' arrangements just aren't creepy enough to evoke an ambiance worthy of October 31!

Curiously, the most egregious aspects of this CD are the tracks that include singing and lyrics. Mannheim Steamroller developed their reputation as a primarily instrumental group whose music included little, if any, vocalizations (and virtually no actual singing). The singing on this CD seems way out of step with the band's instrumental back-up music, almost as if each were conceived separately and each recorded totally without regard for the other. (For this reviewer, the singing for the cover of Santana's classic hit BLACK MAGIC WOMAN was especially difficult to listen to.)

As with the first Steamroller Halloween CD, this set includes some sound FX tracks, but also as with the first release, there is really nothing of note (excuse the pun) in this group of computer-created night noises. Mr. Davis just doesn't seem to understand that his synthesizer-generated FX simply are NOT scary, nor are they particularly convincing.

In short, the reputation of Mannheim Steamroller and the cool-looking jack-o'-lanterns on the jacket of this CD promise much more than is actually delivered. If you want hip, scary tunes for your Halloween celebrations, you'll have to look elsewhere, as this offering from Mannheim Steamroller is definitely flat.

This just doesn't sound as though Mr. Davis had his heart in it, or put much effort into it.

The songs covered tended to have parts chopped out of them--and for TV themes, there's not much one can afford to remove. The Dr. Who theme is by far the worst example; only a couple of bars of the actual tune survive. The rest is large quantities of unimaginative padding, heavy on the drum machines; for example, the repeated tonic/sus4 that leads into a mutilated "Superstition" will drive you batty... hey, maybe that's the tie-in with Halloween.

Please, Mr. Davis, get your muse back. You can do better than this.

This follow-up recording from the Mannheim Steamroller Halloween is very well done. You can defintely tell this was produced by Chip Davis and the Steamroller folks. I didn't care too much for the vocals on several tracks. It almost sounds like the Steamroller is trying too hard to be hip and creepy. As an addition to your MS library and as a fun Halloween recording, it is great.

You get one disc of music, one disc of FX and the dance mixes of some of the songs, and you get a DVD disc with some fun, if a little forced, videos. You get three discs for the regular price of one so in that regard it is exceptional.

I took a whole star off because of the packaging! The three discs are each in their own flat jewel case. The three cases are then wrapped by a plastic sleeve that is open at both ends. The cases are too flat for individual labeling on the end. This forces the listener/viewer to remove all three cases in order to find the one they are looking for. I didn't think much of this when I first received the boxed set but the more I listened (and therefore shuffled discs)the more of a pain in the rear it became.

Overall, 4 stars for some great music and tongue-in-cheek videos at a great price. One star deducted because of absolutely hideous packaging.

As another reviewer said, this release is better than the first (which I also liked, but did overrate initially) because the focus is on popular music associated with Halloween rather than on "scary" classical music. The amount of vocals works very well - it must be kept in mind that Chip Davis actually got his first big break through novelty country songs, and so it should not be surprising that he can do great Steamroller arrangements even with fairly straightforward vocals. Some tracks are better than others (again, I have to agree that the Davis originals are among the weakest, though the Trafik Techno Remix of Creatures of the Night is fantastic) but overall it's a fun Halloween party album. Listening to the sound samples should tell you if this will be your cup of tea or not. Just keep in mind this is designed for a fun Halloween party rather than as something to scare you.

This collection features three discs. When I ordered, I thought I was getting three CDs of Halloween music that I can play in the car or in my boombox. Instead I got one CD of Halloween songs, one of Halloween sounds, and a DVD of such songs as "Creatures of the Night". The songs were refreshing retakes of older songs such as Black Magic Woman, Psycho, Monster Mash, the theme from the Addams Family, as well as new titles such as Trick or Treat. All of these songs show characteristic Mannheim style and were enjoyable to listen to. Even though there were three CDs, I think it was a good value for under $20.

bought this Cd for a gift. person loved it. Lots of music for the price.