Famous Monsters "Famous Monsters Speak!" (Wonderland/ AA Records, AR-3, 1963)
Issued first in 1963 & then reissued over the years through a few different labels (and possibly still available on CD, though most retailers claim it as being out of stock), this two story LP was amazingly evocative to me when I was little. Ex-Dead End kid Gabriel Dell's vocal interpretations of Frankenstein's Monster and Dracula never struck me as comical as many others (like that weird leap from Lugosi imitation to Jackie Mason sound-alike you hear a lot with Dracula), and the stories were totally creepy cool. Cherney Berg's conceits for the (non-Universal adaptation) plots -- a reporter has been ushered into Dracula's lair and runs over the events as he types/ primitive recording devices allow us to hear the thoughts of Frankenstein's Monster -- did the trick as far as I was concerned, and the sound effects were unique enough to these recordings that I never felt jolted out of the atmosphere being conjured up. Of course after 30+ years of owning it I still have no idea what the Wolf Man, Mummy & Creature from the Black Lagoon are hanging around on the cover for, but getting to gaze at the early '60's Aurora Model-esque art more than makes up for any confusion.
Available now on iTunes from Golden Records!
posted by Jason at 3/22/2006 06:57:00 AM
24 Comments:
Thanks so Much for this post. Someplace I think I still have my copy of this LP laying around from my childhood.
Thanks again for this, and all you other monster-horror related posts.
3/22/2006 9:58 AM
Great post as always!! I used
to have this album. Thanks!
3/22/2006 10:51 AM
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3/22/2006 11:09 AM
I just found one of these on ebay last month. Copies show up there every now and then. Thanks Jason!
PS - I wondered about the other monsters on the cover as well. I'm wondering if maybe they had planned for additional voumes of this subject matter? Or perhaps it was just a promotional ploy.
3/22/2006 11:14 AM
Ah, Cherney Berg. His dramatization of "King Kong" (Golden Records, LP-151) is fantastic and was quite faithful to the original film.
When I got that KONG LP at age 6 in 1969 I played the hell out of it as a stopgap to seeing the 1933 film a couple of years later (in a theater, no less!).
Berg's album beats the crap out of the bloated CGI mess of last year. Real storytelling, who'd have thunk it?
3/22/2006 3:04 PM
I bought one of these on C.D. out of a Famous Monsters mag a few years ago. Just a burn and a label with a horrible copy of the cover. Thanks for big scans of the cover. I never could read the newspaper clippings on the cover.
For anyone who hasen't heard this album, It's fantastic, i've used bits from the Dracula side in my Home Haunt for years. "Who is dare, who comes to da crypt of Count Dracula, who disturbs da sleep of da Vampire..It is you"
Dr.Terror
3/22/2006 4:45 PM
Yeah, Cherney Berg was fairly unsung in this department I think (though there are few singing the praises of ANY short story adapting I suppose). He's also the man behind a few of the Troll Records releases (Scary Spooky Stories for example) & he always did a smooth, functional and unobtrusive job for my money.
I would love to hear his "King Kong" LP again by the way; my copy is long, long gone.
3/22/2006 5:01 PM
HellsbaneI'd post the Second BBC "More sounds of" for you but I don't have it as a Zip file.
I second the request for those, I need the first one.
Speaking of Headless Horseman LP's. Does anyone have this one??? Or is this one of the ones you mean?? The record for my book is loooong gone.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/doctorterror/img011.jpg
Dr.Terror
3/23/2006 8:18 PM
Jason,
I just created a blog so If i can fill requests i will post them there.
Dr. Terror
3/23/2006 8:36 PM
Here's the Wonderland Godzilla Record on ebay.
I have a Walt Disney Legend of Sleepy Hollow LP. that has LOSH on one side, and Rip Van Winkle on the other. I also have BBC Sound Effects Death & Horror Vol. 13 on it's way from an ebay purchase.
3/23/2006 8:54 PM
That Godzilla record has actually been reissued on CD, which is why I haven't posted it myself. It's part of the Wonderland reissue series that also includes the "original television cast" Casper album.
3/24/2006 3:15 AM
Hellsbane,
Sadly I don't have the Storyteller "Tell-Tale Heart/ Sleepy Hollow " LP to share, but this guy might be able to help you.
His Tale Spinners page is also worth a look
3/24/2006 6:54 AM
Hellsbane,
I can send you the LOSH LP in mp3 form via YouSendIt.com if you're interested.
You can go to the Comments szection of The BBC Sound Of Hooror post jason made, and you'll see the link to my website there. Go to that website, and you can email me your email addy where I can send it to you.
3/24/2006 9:27 PM
I just got 2 King Kong LPS off ebay. I'll share them as soon as they arrive.
King Kong by Max Steiner
and
King Kong by Cherney Berg
3/28/2006 11:16 AM
This site has a clip of a Kong record.
How do you tag a link so it's clickable??
Thanks,
Dr.Terror
http://www.triad.rr.com/dance/content/monsters.html
3/28/2006 11:24 PM
You have to use a href=url" in brackets Title Of Link and then /a in brackets
3/29/2006 1:55 AM
I used to see this for sale from Captain Company, in the back pages of Famous Monsters magazine, and weep with lust - finally, a couple years ago, I found it on CD and was NOT disappointed. That's really Gabe Dell?!?!? Wow - I would have figured Nelson Olmstead... Which reminds me - got any of those old Sleep No More albums?
4/27/2006 7:13 PM
I'm looking to get a cd of this for trade (not for sale nor download). Anyone interested?
-dave
8/13/2006 1:29 PM
I have an original copy of the Cherney Berg softcover bok " The headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow" and would love to get an mp3 of the 45 rpm record thet originally came with this book. I fondly remember continuously borrowing this book and record set from my grade school library.I porbably wore the record out.
12/07/2006 7:26 PM
"Famous Monsters Speak" certainly has been issued on CD in the past couple of years, and so cleanly mastered it almost sounds like it was done from the original master tapes....I posted this CD issue here:
http://universalhorrorsounds.blogspot.com/2007/08/famous-monsters-speak-1963.html
10/11/2007 6:53 AM
I actually found the "Famous Monsters Speak" on itunes. I used to scare myself silly listening to it when I was a kid. The album artwork swooped me down memory lane :)
10/21/2008 1:37 PM
You can find the book being read on youtube HERE. Then you can find scans of the book pages HERE.
Dave
7/05/2011 3:08 PM
I never heard of this until I discovered it on eBay. It looks like an awesome recording of classic monsters! Looks like I'll have to buy the CD because it's not available for download anywhere. Prolly worth it because I am super nostalgic and a sucker for anything classic monsters.
5/01/2014 9:44 PM
I still have my lp version and listening to it right now.
9/05/2017 9:37 AM
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