Spike Jones in Hi-Fi (Spike Jones in Stereo)

Spike Jones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collector's Choice
• ASIN: B0000EWO3C
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,998 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I Only Have Eyes For You

2. Poisen To Poisen

3. Teenage Brain Surgeon

4. (All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings

5. Everything Happens To Me (Lament By Frankenstein)

6. The Fiendager

7. Cocoanut Grave

8. Monster Movie Ball

9. Tammy

10. My Old Flame

11. This Is Your Death

12. Two Heads Are Better Than One

13. Funeral Death March

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High recommendation for Monster Boomers, March 9, 2004

By 

n0s4a2 (Burbank, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Spike Jones in Hi-Fi (Spike Jones in Stereo) (Audio CD)

This is a classic recording that was advertised for years in the back of Famous Monsters of Filmland. Spike Jones combines cornball humor and accomplished musicianship to create a spellbinding and silly theater of the mind.

It is a great showcase for Paul Frees, the genius who did Boris Badenov, the voice of Disney's Haunted Mansion, George of the Jungle's Ape, the Orson welles-style intro to George Pal's "War of the Worlds", and a zillion other things. Frees outdoes himself in 3 segments as Dracula (doing a hilarious, deeply nuanced Bela Lugosi impression), singing witty, morbid love duets with "Vampira", voiced with old-fashioned flair by the flawless Loulie Jean Norman. Frees' song as the Frankenstein Monster (in Karloff's lisp) is not as good as Bobby (Boris) Pickett's "Monster Mash", but still flavorful. His Germanic Mad Scientist uses his Verner von Drake voice from the Disneyland TV show, only not speeded up.

Some of the humor is not so much funny as it is a nostalgic trip back to the late fifties, when remarks about death were cause for uncomfortable, Charles Addams-esque giggles. Frees' Alfred Hitchcock is good, but the gags are hit-or-miss, like something from a Halloween edition of the Milton Berle show. Frees reprises his Peter Lorre for another go at "My Old Flame" in a recording with interesting variations from the one we've all heard on Jones' perennial Greatest Hits album. Thurl (Tony the Tiger) Ravenscroft does a nice parody of "Young Doctor" TV shows, second only to his turn in Chuck Jones' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". When these guys try to do Rock 'n' Roll, as in "Monster Movie Ball, the results are as unhip as Pat Boone, but still fun. Their musical strength is vaudeville and surreal parodies of romantic ballads and swing hits of the '40s and '50s, and in this they hold their own with the greatest bands of that era.

The highlight for me was the two-headed beatnik who speaks each word of his sentences out of alternate sides of the stereo speakers. Then he does an incredible version of Poe's "The Raven" sung to a lighthearted and very familiar (but maddenly unnameable) tune.

This really took me back to the days of my childhood when monsters and the fantastic were mysterious and fascinating. I played it over and over, savoring every texture as though I were still 10 years old. I'm into this sort of stuff, but very picky about quality and creativity. This represents a moment in time that will never be repeated.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Spooktacular Classic from my childhood FINALLY on CD!, December 3, 2004

By 

Steve Stalzle (Denver, Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spike Jones in Hi-Fi (Spike Jones in Stereo) (Audio CD)

Ok, this is a silly Spike Jones album, but still a sentimental old favorite for me. My sister and I used to play this 1959 album to death in the 1970's, and we eventually wore it out.I did find a new LP copy in the 80's.It has a lot of 'spooky' stuff that we used to love.Yeah, The songs are goofy, but the writers came up with some creative stuff like my favorite 'I Was A Teenage Brain Surgeon', voiced by the GREAT Thurl Ravenscroft ('You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch', Tony The Tiger,etc.)Voice Over King Paul Frees is featured in a number of character roles and this album really showcases his ability to play multiple characters simultaneously, like when he is parodying Edward R. Murrow on 'Poisen To Poisen' and interviewing 'Alfred', a great send-up of Hitchcock. 'Monster Movie Ball' is another great song.I agree that the comedy is uneven in spots, but overall it holds up as typical Spike Jones material. They took full advantage of the 'new' technology of 'Stereophonic Sound' on this LP. It's kind of neat to hear what a big deal 'STEREO' was in 1959.If Spike could have only lived until the digital era!Spike Jones always used the best studio musicians/composers/arrangers in the business, and it shows!Thanks to Collectors Music for resurrecting this old favorite from the graveyard of musical history! I thought it'd NEVER see the light of day on CD!Groovy, Man!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Official Soundtrack of Halloween, August 25, 2009

By 

J. Sol (oaktown) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spike Jones in Hi-Fi (Spike Jones in Stereo) (Audio CD)

I initially heard this album as a small child. My father had a copy of the LP (not for retail sale for demonstration purposes only!) that he played for us, and transferred to tape. Every year the tape came out around October, to be played alternately with Bobby "Boris" pickett's "Monster Mash" album, A mix-tape of Halloween appropriate classical music (Dance Macabre, Symphonie Fantastique, etcetera) and Elvira's Haunted Hits (Screamin' Jay Hawkins anyone?).

In my inner Autumnal landscape, only the classical mix-tape can compete with Spike Jones Spooktacular. The variety of the characters, subject matter, and the quality of the band make this a quintessential element in the alchemy that evokes the spirit of Halloween.