Some of you may have noticed the CD albums, movies, and other items I have in the box on the left side. I’ve seen the movies. I’ll be honest, though. I haven’t listened to all of the music I have listed. I found them through others’ playlists and checked out their respective playlists on Amazon. They seemed decent. A couple of weeks ago, I found that I had a distinct lack of Halloween music and sounds, (I like to listen in off-Halloween months). I decided to try a couple out, one of which, was “The Haunted Mansion” soundtrack. If it matters, I have not yet seen the movie that, I assume, the music is from. I didn’t get it for that reason. I’m just always on the lookout for more Halloween music.
The album has 7 tracks, as a cursory click on the link will show. I’ve been listening to it fairly regularly over the past couple of weeks, since I bought it. There is only one “song” that I skip when I come across it: “999 Haunts,” which I found is popular on many posted playlists.
My least favorite is “999 Haunts”. I really don’t understand the attraction. The track is almost 8 minutes long. After about half that time, I’m ready for the tune to end. It doesn’t, however. About 4 minutes in, it starts to fall apart. The makers seem to have had everyone that ever wanted to sing participate in the song and sing the same chorus over and over. It sounds like the failures from a Halloween episode of “American Idol.”
The “Haunted Mansion” track is different from the rest of the CD. If you’ve never been to Disney World nor ridden on the “Haunted Mansion” ride, it won’t make sense. It is the exact lines of dialogue and sounds from the actual ride at the park. I was fortunate enough to go last year and I recognized the dialogue the moment I heard it. I don’t necessarily dislike this “song”, but if I’m in the mood for actual music, I skip ahead.
Some of the other songs are quite short, “The Graveyard Band,” “The Ghostly Music Box,” and “Swinging Wake” are only a minute or two. The “Ghostly Music Box” is true to it’s name. The track starts with a winding key sound and plays an eerie music box tune. I’m only sorry it’s so short. The other two tracks are much shorter versions of what I imagine is the “Haunted Mansion” theme. They are the same tune as the “999 Haunts.”
This leaves only the “Otherworldly Concerto” and “The Phantom Manor Suite,” both of which are much longer than the others. The concerto is, possibly, my most favorite tune of the album. It starts off slow, but, after about 3 minutes ramps up to what sounds like a ghostly amusement park merry-go-round tune. It really makes me think of Halloween. The “Phantom Manor Suite” is mostly instrumental with a bit of “999 Haunts” tune in the middle. Unlike the actual “999 Haunts” track, it goes back to instrumental before it gets too ridiculous, which I don’t mind, as I like instrumental as well.
I consider this a good buy. The MP3 version is, at the time of this writing, $9.49, but again, if you like Halloween type music, it’s worth it. I gladly added it to my holiday playlist.
Whilst writing this, the thought occurred to me that other writers might give a product or item a spectacular review, as it were, in an effort to get readers to buy it. While the links I’ve added to the left column are, in fact, affiliate, I don’t believe in being disingenuous. I gave my true opinion of the music. “Yes” men aren’t really that useful. That being said, I do get a little something from the links on the side. However, it’s very small, and it only comes out of Amazon’s end. If you’re going to buy the music anyway, feel free to use the… shortcuts I’ve shared for you. Scare on!
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