New Wave Halloween

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 30, 1998)
• Original Release Date: June 30, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B000007RQ3
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,189 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #13 in Music > Miscellaneous > Holiday > Halloween

Track Listings

1. Time Warp

2. Everyday Is Halloween

3. Devil in My Car

4. Dead Man's Party

5. Pet Sematary

6. Theme from Halloween

7. The Munsters Theme

8. The Creature from the Black Lagoon

9. Halloween

10. Halloween

11. Halloween

12. Halloween

13. Halloween

14. Halloween

15. Creature with the Atom Brain

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Most holidays exclude somebody--on grounds of religious beliefs, political persuasion, or refusal to eat our fine feathered friends--but not good old Halloween, which has a little something for everyone. The same can be said of this 15-track collection, which spans modern music's sonic and sensory spectrums. It encompasses the noisy and danceable, nasty and nice. Most of the set is given over to party-ready tunes like the B-52's' "Devil in My Car" and the Ramones' "Pet Sematary," but its darker corners offer up a few eerie moments--such as MX-80 Sound's rendition of the horror classic "Theme from Halloween" and Sonic Youth's "Halloween." The disc closes on an appropriately creepy note thanks to horror master Roky Erickson, who spins a cautionary yarn called "Creature with the Atom Brain" that's guaranteed to cause more nightmares than a Milk Dud overdose. --David Sprague

Product Description

Includes Everyday Is Halloween Ministry; Devil in My Car B-52s; Halloween Misfits; The Munsters Theme Comateens; Halloween Sonic Youth, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Cool Music For The Festivities!, July 31, 2004

By 

K. Brown "El Rudo Lucky Pierre!" (Walnut, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Wave Halloween (Audio CD)

I must say, Rhino does up compilations very nicely. This collection of Halloween songs is a nice party alternative if you want to diversify beyond "Monster Mash" type tunes. You've got a little Rocky Horror, Ramones, B-52s and SIX SONGS with the SAME TITLE!

The strongest songs with an all-out Halloween aura are "Dead Man's Party," Siouxsie and the Banshee's "Halloween," and B-52's "Devil in My Car." If you are a Dead Kennedys or Misfits fan, their individual sounds shine here (though I wonder what they think about being marked New Wave?), a must for fans.

About the only song that left me cold was Comateen's "Munster's Theme." In all fairness, it did have a bonafide electronic keyboard New-Wave flavor to it, so it matches nicely with the compilation subject. I guess I'm picky, but in my opinion, the cool surf-guitar sound is what makes The Munsters Theme so hep!

This is a solid compilation of Halloween Party music; enough songs to grab peoples' attention, enough that serve up well as party background music. Good buy for the price tag.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Treat!, October 13, 1998

By 

Tyler (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Wave Halloween (Audio CD)

This is easily the best Halloween music collection I've ever heard! It is danceable from beginning to end and paced perfectly for a party. The sound quality ranks close to my gold cd's. Even the version of The Munsters Theme which is included rocks. Buy it and hope for a volume 2.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twisted Halloween fun!, October 23, 2005

By 

S. Davis "damioncrowley" (Birmingham, AL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: New Wave Halloween (Audio CD)

Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Halloween is probably their best entry in that it will have the broadest appeal. A lively party of Halloween-themed music, it swings from the danceable to the dangerous, sometimes with little or no warning.
The tracks include:
The Time Warp--not precisely 80's material, but certainly RHPS's cult following in that decade helped make the song a modern classic.
'Everday is Halloween' by Ministry is the first song of theirs I have heard. It reminds me more than a little of the Art of Noise.
'Devil In My Car' by the B-52s brings their funky-dance floor techno sensibility to Halloween.
Dead Man's Party, a long time Oingo Boingo standard, is my favorite track on the CD.
'Pet Semetary' by the Ramones, is a relatively deep tune, considering their normal repertoire. Good, though.
For those fond of the Meco concept of music, but perhaps thought it was a little tame, MX-80's energetic version of the 'Theme from Halloween' is pleasant filler.
The 'Munster's Theme' is a quick dive into pure silliness, redeeming itself primarily due to its brevity.
'The Creature from the Black Lagoon' is my favorite new discovery (and my second favorite track on the CD), a sophisticated punk tune capturing the flare of 50's music and movies.
'Halloween' by the Dream Syndicate reminds me of another band called Flour, one of my favorite artist. However, I do believe Dream Syndicate is the more well known band. Good tune.
Sonic Youth's 'Halloween' takes the CD out of the realm of kid friendly with the use of the 'f'word, but an appealing track nonetheless.
The Dead Kennedys and the Misfits both provide tracks titled 'Halloween', and both are solid tunes.
Mudhoney's cover of Sonic Youth's Halloween is different enough to justify it being on the same CD.
Roky Erikson, a gothic-punk horror artist and a modernization of Screaming Lord Sutch, lends his talents to wrap up the CD.
A 5 on a 5 point scale, and a 9 on a 10 point scale.