Looking through my large and unwieldy record collection it is surprising how many discs are spoken word; the Pistols’ Some Product, Jello Biafra’s No More Cocoons, Side One of Black Flag’s Family Man, a few semi-legit interview picture discs, T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets (read by the author), and with a few exceptions they’ve only been spun a few times and pretty much all collect dust. However, Famous Monsters Speak is one of those rare exceptions in being a spoken word albums that you’ll pull out at regular intervals (and not just Halloween). Featuring two supremely spooky tales, this is an album that’ll raise the hairs on your neck and have you on the edge of your seat (as all good albums should).
Originally released in 1963 in collaboration with the Famous Monsters Of Filmland magazine, a publication that inspired countless imitators and influenced the likes of horror punks The Misfits and horror writer Stephen King, Famous Monsters Speak caused quite a stir upon release and was charged with corrupting American youth (along with The Beatles and Bettie Page). Time has done little to dull its charms and now a whole new generation can experience its subverting power thanks to this long overdue reissue courtesy of Rock Beat Records/Liberation Hall.
Featuring the talents of Gabriel Dell (who adopts the role of both Frankenstein and Dracula), Famous Monsters Speak comprises two spine-chilling monologues (along with groovy sound effects) that add something new to each character’s story. Both tracks bring Frankenstein and Dracula, kicking and screaming, into the modern world; ‘Frankenstein Speaks’ with a cautionary tale about modern technology has a nice little sting in the tail whilst ‘Dracula Speaks’ places the protagonist in modern day New York, a lonely hunter in a city full of game and comes brightly speckled in blood.
Both tracks hark back to a more innocent time of horror when creaky sound effects and the power of suggestion, along with good old-fashioned imagination, was far more terrifying than anything a modern film with all its special effects could ever conjure. So, when Famous Monsters Speak, you’d better listen!
- Famous Monsters Speak is released via Rock Beat/Liberation Hall on 23rd August 2024 and is available here.
Track List:
- Frankenstein Speaks
- Dracula Speaks
