Every Halloween, we at Real Gone Music delight in exploring all cultural manifestations, ghostly and otherwise, of the holiday. And in doing so, we are following a tradition centuries old, if not as old as mankind itself. This 1957 album on the Riverside label takes you back to merry Olde England for a collection of 12 ballads concerning the supernatural, many of them taken from Francis James Childs’ legendary book The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, and lustily sung by folklorist and balladeer Dean Gitter. One interesting thing to note about these songs: unlike, say, Hollywood’s version of ghosts who “live” to scare the living, many of the poor souls in these songs have come back to soothe the grief of their loved ones. It makes for a very different “spin” from your typical Halloween record, and a most haunting listen. And you get to gaze at legendary New Yorker cartoonist Charles Addams’ amazing album cover art while you do! We are pressing this one in clear with orange pumpkin swirl vinyl limited to 900 copies, complete with the informative original liner notes on the back cover. A bittersweet Halloween treat.
