Back in 2008, musician/actor Little Steven Van Zandt’s goal of bringing the campy fun of his syndicated radio show’s annual Halloween bash to a CD format was a rousing success. Released on the Wicked Cool Record Co. label, Halloween A Go-Go offered all the treats of his Underground Garage program except for the B-movie sound bites. The CD’s consistently energetic tracks ranged from the 1950s rockabilly of Carl Perkins’ “Put Your Cat Clothes On” to the modern garage rock of Minus 5’s “Lies Of The Living Dead.”
Just as Van Zandt always aimed for variety on Underground Garage, Halloween A Go-Go’s 15 tracks included Howlin’ Wolf’s “Howlin’ For My Darlin’,” Roky Erickson And The Aliens’ “I Walked With A Zombie,” and Donovan’s “Season Of The Witch.” The only dud in the batch was John Zacherle’s cornball oldie “The Cool Ghoul.”
Not all of the songs qualified as genuine Halloween fare. The biggest stretch was “Restless Nights” by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (which includes Van Zandt), although it did fit a nocturnal theme that ran throughout the album. “I Had Too Much To Dream” by The Electric Prunes and The Pretty Things’ psychedelic “Walking Through My Dreams” were likewise more concerned with disrupted sleep than frightening apparitions. Veteran garage rockers The Chesterfield Kings, who always seem to be in a Halloween party mood, definitely had the right spirit with their Rolling Stones influenced “Running Through My Nightmares.”
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