Search - Mannheim Steamroller :: Monster Mix

Ouch!!! Please stick to Christmas music, that is their nich

Hellion Zephreid | Pittsburgh | 10/28/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I was lucky to find someone at work who had this. I was contemplating buying this and thought that I would giive it a listen first. I am so glad I did! A few songs and a bunch of sound effects that are neither scary or alarming. Chip Davis must have thought that this would would be good for something but I can't figure out what. The songs either have that drum machine sample beat played throughout the song just making it sound so synthetic and cheap. Like something played at the mall on a $50 casio keyboard. I am glad that I didn't waste my money on this and am telling you to be careful and do the same. I wonder if the double CD Halloween is any better at 23 songs over 2 discs than this at 16 tracks. I doubt it. This clocks in at just over 40 minutes, could not both discs been combined on one, we really don't need two different versions of this. It is neither scary, spooky, nor exciting but it is boring. You can find a way to spend 40 minutes better than this."

Halloween Fantasia

perry | MidWest, USA | 10/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"OK, cut to the chase and make it short and sweet...



1. If you like/love Mannheim Steamroller, you'll like/love this - buy it.



2. If you DON'T like/love Mannheim Steamroller...put that $2 back in your pocket and keep on walking... you WON'T! like this...



If you're looking for Halloween "music" - clanking chains, cackling witches, howling wolves, people screaming, Monster Mash, etc. - FORGET IT!. You WON'T find stuff like that here.



Think "classical" music, done with a Halloween "twist." In fact, see the title of my review...think along the lines of Disney's "Fantasia" but done with a Halloween kick to it. (In fact, "Night on Bald Mountain," which is found on here, IS also on the "Fantasia" soundtrack. (So if you like "Fantasia," you might like this, too (just remember the Halloween theme...)



I like Halloween sound effect CDs and Halloween "themed" music...but I also like something a little more "matured" (yeah...LOL...define "mature"...)



And if you're not sure...take a trip to your local library and check it out, first. (And if your library is too far away...try checking online. A lot of them now have access to their catalogs online...some will even let you place holds, as long as you have a current library card.)

And if your library DOESN'T have it...they can usually get it from another library.

"

Halloween Flattened by Mannheim Steamroller

Michael R Gates | Nampa, ID United States | 09/08/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Long Review:

Considering the wonderfully fresh and innovative interpretations of traditional Christmas music that this Techno-Classical New Age ensemble has put out in the past couple of decades, the news that the Steamroller was coming out with an album of macabre Halloween ditties seemed diabolically delicious--a fresh kill for lovers of Halloween to feast on at last. Sadly, the children of the night still hunger.



Either composer/arranger/band leader Chip Davis has lost his touch, or he simply is not in contact with the true "spirit" of Halloween. As every "body" knows, the music for celebrating All Hallows' Eve should be macabre, creepy, or dreary. Certain passages should even make your skin crawl or your spine tingle. However, even though some inspired spooky standards appear on this album--HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING and NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN, to name a few--the fact is, most of Mr. Davis' arrangements are just too sweet, light, or downright cheery!



In truth, this is just a rehash of the two-disc set released by the band's American Gramophone label the previous year. Because it has one less disc, it does have fewer songs and only a few of the sound FX offered on the first release, but most of the offerings are the same...with a few new tracks to try to hook those who purchased the first edition into yet again parting with their hard-earned green stuff. The reduction in the number of sound FX on this re-issue is actually a blessing, as Mr. Davis' computer-generated night noises are obviously created with a synthesizer and, frankly, just aren't that convincing nor are they particularly scary.



Short Review:

The reputation of Mannheim Steamroller and the cool jack-o'-lantern on the jacket art promise much more than this CD--either the first two-disc version or this one-disc rehash--actually delivers."