I'm happy to say that yesterday, I added a long-time want to my collection, and that is the crazy LP called "Dracula's Greatest Hits."
Why, you ask? Here are a few reasons to love this kooky album:
1) Early 60's Monster Aesthetic. First of all, this record takes you back to the time of Famous Monsters of Filmland, Aurora model kits, and bubble gum cards that featured stills of zombies, monsters, and ghouls with eyes gouged out...and nobody even questioned it. Clearly it was a great time to be a kid. Could we have had the Space Opera 70's without the Monster 60's?
2) The Artwork of Jack Davis, National Treasure. I bet your house is full of other examples of Jack Davis art. You might not have even known it, but the man did uncountable album covers, board game artworks, advertisements, and much more...and of course was a frequent contributor to MAD magazine, back when it was good. He is missed. Just get lost in the artwork above; I'll wait.
3) A Free Sheet of MONSTER FAN CARDS. Now we get to my personal top reason for wanting this album forever--a full, unseparated sheet of Jack Davis monster trading cards! These were perforated, so sometimes it can be hard to find an unused sheet. And, just look at what's on the bottom row!
Yes! A (totally unauthorized) Godzilla card! Now, before you scoff at his portrayal as my kids did, remember that this was right on the heels of KING KONG (who also gets a card here) vs. GODZILLA, which brought the big G into the American mainstream. I think the portrayal is excellent. I should point out---and I need to do a future post about this--that there are only even a handful of Godzilla items produced in the USA during the entire decade of the 1960's, which, from a modern standpoint, boggles the mind!
Back to the LP, before I forget. The entire 28 minutes is up on YouTube, so "enjoy" if you will! It's very silly and fun!
BONUS:
Here are high resolution scans of the sheet of Monster Cards! I didn't even crop them, because I didn't want any software downgrading the files. To make up for the narrow-ness of my scanner, I scanned all four corners of the sheet. Enjoy:
Any chance I could get high rez scans of that art and those cards? I'd like to make something from them.
ReplyDeleteAncient boomer memory: A syndicated teen dance show, hosted by Lloyd Thaxton (sp?), would periodically play records and make some piece of artwork -- usually funny greeting cards -- "sing". They'd cut a slit where the mouth was and slip a black piece of paper down and up to apparently open and close it.
ReplyDeleteI vividly remember them doing it with this album cover and the song, "I Want to Bite Your Hand".
@DBenson, great story! It's funny, that particular cut is one that they point out on the cover--"Hey, this is a Beatles parody!" Which in 1964 America would've helped sell records, no doubt.
ReplyDelete@B. Baltimore Brown: let me work on that this weekend, and see how it fits on my scanner. I'll see what I can do!
@B. Baltimore Brown: I have added 600 dpi scans of the card sheet to the post. My scanner is so narrow, I had to turn the sheet and scan all four corners. Unfortunately, I cannot get the album cover to cooperate at all. I hope this helps!
ReplyDelete