Announcing Mad Monster Party CD!

by Lukas Kendall

Good morning and check this out for a total "gotcha" surprise. We're releasing a CD of Mad Monster Party--the 1967 Rankin/Bass cult classic with music by Maury Laws. It's done, it's out and it's for sale now!

This is actually a project we're co-producing with Taylor White as the first release on his Percepto label. It is NOT a limited edition in our Silver Age Classics line, but a commercially available Retrograde Records release which will be appearing in stores... well not everywhere, but in some stores. (Hey, distribution is hard.) It will definitely be carried by the soundtrack specialty shops, and there is a back cover ad for it in the new FSM (August), shipping late this week for delivery next week. Normally we would wait for the announcement to be made first in FSM, but we are premiering the CD at the San Diego Comic Convention starting tomorrow.

Okay, some of you right now are probably going, "Mad Monster Party! I've wanted that for 30 years!" and the rest are thinking, "What in the name of crom is Mad Monster Party?" To start with the uninitiated, here's Taylor's sales blurb because he knows this thing 1,000 times better than me:

From Rankin/Bass, the creators of TV's holiday classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" comes the original motion picture soundtrack to "Mad Monster Party," the beloved 1967 stop-motion monster rally that inspired director Tim Burton to create his "Nightmare Before Christmas."

Experience the complete orchestral score by composer Maury Laws, released for the first time in over thirty years, plus original songs with lyrics by Jules Bass featuring the vocal talents of Boris Karloff, Phyllis Diller, Ethel Ennis and Gale Garnett.

This deluxe package includes an exhaustive 16-page booklet detailing the making of the film by noted Rankin/Bass historian Rick Goldschmidt and includes dozens of never-before-published photographs and concept drawings by celebrated Mad Magazine alumnus Jack Davis and Don Duga.

It's the coolest party of the year and you're all invited!

All right, thank you Taylor. Basically, this is a soundtrack to a cult classic and for those who don't know the music, it's a lot of fun '60s orchestra/pop jazz combinations. For those who have been waiting for this thing for 30 years, here it is! The CD has been mastered from a clean mono acetate of the test pressing made for an aborted album release at the time of the film (the film credits even list a soundtrack on RCA Victor--this was to be that LP), with very little surface noise. Call this "rescued from oblivion" and thank Taylor for his hard work.

How to Order!

For once, these CDs ARE in stock and we will endeavor to ship within 48 hours of receiving your order.

For best results:

1) Order online here.

2) Send an e-mail with your name, address, and order and include your VISA or MasterCard number and ex. date. We will be offering a secure-server thingamajig in approximately two weeks, but this is perfectly safe. Mail to: Order@filmscoremonthly.com. Remember:

1) Name

2) Address

3) VISA or MasterCard number with expiration date.

4) How many copies you want and the total cost. The disc is $16.95 plus shipping: U.S./Canada: $3.00 first disc, $1.50 each additional. Rest of world: $5.00 first disc, $3.00 each additional.

For easy computing:

If you're in the U.S. or Canada, it's $19.95 for one copy, or $38.40 for two copies.

If you're somewhere else, it's $21.95 for one copy, or $41.90 for two copies.

Send your orders! Order@filmscoremonthly.com

Visit us at the San Diego Comic Convention! Jeff Bond will be with Taylor's booth as well as with Eon Magazine, an online sci-fi journal. I (Lukas) will be there probably on Saturday and Sunday. We'll be selling some of our other CDs too! Bug us about whatever old film score you want us to release on CD.