Halloween

One of the great attractions of the 45 rpm record is its populist ideal. Record companies, independent labels, bands, even individuals - they all could afford to record and press a 45, no matter the eccentricity of the musical vision at hand. America, after all, had a great precedent for fluke hits, and, even if yours wasn’t the next “Psychotic Reaction” or “Monster Mash,” it could be, at the very least, a vanity to amuse you and your friends, if not something to sell at your high school auditorium gigs.

Thanks to its low overhead costs and its potential for infinite self-expression, the 45 rpm record was a principal vector for the more uncommercial, unusual, and exotic impulses of the American pop consciousness; consequently, there are millions of Halloween records. Trillions of them. I thought I’d stay clear of the wacky monster voices, though, and instead opt for three selections that, while not marketed specifically as Halloween fodder, still make for a nice, unseemly brood.

1. The Last Word, Sleepy Hollow (Downey)
It’s set in the gloomy 18th century woodlands of New York’s Westchester County, but the Last Word’s update on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is so authoritative that, for 2 minutes and 54 seconds of tremolo guitar and creepy Munsters-style organ, it’s easy to forget the Headless Horseman was not actually some bogeyman found lurking around the dumpsters behind Valley Plaza Shopping Mall.

The Last Word may have sounded like the real thing, but they weren’t actually a band proper; rather, they were a group of Las Vegas studio musicians. No matter, though, their musical competency only adds to the wickedly potent “Sleepy Hollow,” which they pulled from some forsaken corner of their collective psyche in 1966. Moreover, the Last Word were like so many American ‘60s garage bands in that they did an impeccable job at both emulating the British Invasion sound (in this case, emulating two of the grittier mid-'60s R&B groups: the Animals and Them) and simultaneously carrying matters into territory much deeper and more demented. (See also Overhauling the British Invasion.)

2. Little John and The Monks, Black Winds (Jerden)
Little John and co. had other options. They could have taken their time and their Chelsea boots and used this backing track to enumerate their various girl troubles, or, say, to lament the passing summer. But to their credit they did not chose an easy lyrical route, forging ahead instead with what I can only describe as an Appalachian-style murder ballad. Which is its own weird, gloomy variant of girl trouble, but, still, "Black Winds" must have confused the hell out their classmates.

Hailing from Blue River, Oregon, Little John and The Monks recorded this droning and wonderfully dark dirge in 1965 for Jerden records, one of the Pacific Northwest’s great rock ‘n’ roll labels of the ‘60s. This was their only record.

3. Albert DeSalvo, Strangler In The Night (Astor)
I don’t know a woman
And yet I crave on.
My mind tells my body,
“Don’t just stand there - GET ONE!”

Yes. YES. The Bugs - the brainiacs behind “Strangler In The Night” - were Boston’s novelty response to the British Invasion, and it was their fractured imaginations which dropped the first person testimonial (or “thoughts, feelings and emotions,” according its sleeve) of putative Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo into an otherwise unassuming ‘50s-style ballad.

An unsubstantiated story has it that Dick Levitan, tough-guy reporter for WEEI (Boston’s CBS affiliate), provided the voiceover narration on this 1964 oddball. Regardless, this character comes across like some square-jawed comic book hero unable to prevail against his darker impulses. I also sort of feel for the guy.

Which is more disturbing?

** Note: be sure to check out Steven Wintle's fabulous Horror Blog, where he recently featured my guest post on Creed Taylor. Steven's site is an effusive, literate, and wonderfully self-effacing take on the popular idea of "Horror." Not only does he post with a sort of unnerving frequency, but he also features a lot of music. See you on the dark side. - Dan **