In keeping with Halloweird! October, we bring you Frankenstein 1986, , a new synth-pop soundtrack to the 1931 horror classic Frankenstein, starring Ken Soper, Lawrence Crow, Tommy Stangroom, Cody Bottoms, and JJ Jones. There are some great moments, such as Cody’s electric guitar samples, Ken’s haunting Hammond organ lines, and Lawrence’s Casio SK1 leads; but listening back, I fear we may have been having a bit too much fun. I had the brilliant idea of incorporating a cheap toy drum machine that wears out its welcome . . . oh. . . after about 5 seconds. That’s not the fault of its wielder JJ Jones (who knocked it out of the park with his vocal work on the episode). I even played the drum machine somewhere in the middle of the show. The blame lies with the machine’s downright annoying timbres, which weren’t apparent to me until playback. Tommy Stangroom, who did various percussion and synth sounds, claims it was apparent to him from the beginning. He elected not to play the infernal drum toy.
There’s enough good material here for a decent 30 minute show. In it’s full hour + run time though, I recommend you only listen in sync with the film. Seeing the classic film with an 80’s synth pop soundtrack is a strange, comical, and not unpleasant experience.
What do you think? Does it stand up to the Dracula or Freaks soundtracks?
Stay tuned next week for the Third Annual Halloween Extravaganza, which will focus on the intersection between fear and arousal.
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