When I was a kid (probably 8 or 9), my mom brought home a vinyl LP called (deep breath) Walt Disney's Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House. It was basically a sound effects record designed for use in haunted houses, and maybe to scare trick-or-treaters at one's front door. It had it all: wind, rain, creaking doors, angry cats, ferocious dogs, tortured screams, and pretty much anything else you could ever want in such an album. I adored it, cherished it, played it to death. It, along with my 2-LP Star Wars soundtrack, was the crown jewel of my tiny record collection.
My sister and I used to record audio dramas (similar to those old radio shows like Suspense! or Inner Sanctum; ours was called "Beyond Locked Doors"), which I would script and she would act in, and this record came in handy for various background sound effects. Oh, how I wish I still had the tapes we made back then. Where did they go…?
Anyway, time marched on and technology rendered the vinyl album more or less obsolete in an increasingly digital age. I found myself without a record player, but I was a teenager, so I didn't really have a need for sound effects records anymore (or records at all, since cassettes and CDs were all the rage). The Haunted House record ended up in a box in my closet (along with such vinyl gems as Queen's Flash Gordon soundtrack and Led Zeppelin IV) and was essentially forgotten. I grew up, became a man and moved several times, and at some unknown point in time that precious box of vinyl disappeared. I probably tossed it into a dumpster, assuming I'd never want (or need) those old records again. Funny how things come around, isn't it? But we'll get to that a bit later.
Two interesting things happened in mid-2007. First, a coworker of mine, a friendly chap named Mike Lewis, upon hearing that I was a huge Frank Sinatra fan, brought me several Sinatra albums on vinyl (he apparently has quite a large collection, with many duplicates). I told him that I didn't have a turntable, but he insisted that I keep them regardless (it was a cool gift, I've gotta admit). Second, my brother-in-law Terry visited from Thailand and, upon retrieving a bunch of his stuff from his parents' garage, gave us a stack of vinyl albums from the 70's and 80's (including Synchronicity by The Police, one of my all-time favorite albums, and Steve Martin's A Wild and Crazy Guy, a stand-up album that I grew up with, courtesy of my Uncle Greg). So I had a small vinyl collection given to me, just sitting there silently.
Last October (2007), I stumbled across a blurb on some website about the Haunted House album, and I found myself desperately wanting to hear it again. However, even if my old copy was still in my possession, the lack of a turntable would have rendered it useless. I should note that the album had never --- and to this date, has never--- been released on CD.
Fast forward one year. With Halloween a few weeks away, my thoughts began to return to the Haunted House album again. I found myself checking eBay, where several copies were being sold (all between five and twenty dollars). But again, the absence of a turntable in the house would make such a purchase ridiculous.
Yesterday, my above-mentioned coworker Mike told me that he had an extra turntable that he was planning to donate to Goodwill. He asked if I'd be interested in it.
I was. Hell yes, I was.
Today, he brought it for me. It appeared to be in pretty good shape, and the composite (RCA) jacks on the back promised an easy connection to the surround sound system in my home office. I spent the day watching the clock, waiting to get home and hook it up.
On my lunch hour, I busted out my laptop and hit eBay again, looking for a copy of the Haunted House album. I found myself a bit paranoid about buying a record over the internet, since I couldn't examine the record in person to make sure it wouldn't be all scratched to hell. I decided to wait till I'd hooked up the turntable, to make sure it worked and all, before making any purchases. Just for the hell of it, I did a Google search on the Haunted House album, and found the following link:
http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index361.html
The blurb at the bottom of the page, dated 10/04/08, caught my eye:
"BIG NEWS! Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House has been released on iTunes!!!"
Dear God, was it possible? I opened iTunes and, sure enough, there it was. A couple of mouse clicks and $9.99 later, it was mine. I'm still cracking up, several hours later, that I stumbled across the information less than a week after it was announced. Synchronicity, indeed. I sampled a few of the tracks before my lunch hour was over, and I was surprised at the clarity of the sound. No pops, no crackles, none of the audio anomalies we usually associate with vinyl. It sounded pristine. Refreshing, but a little odd at the same time. The pops and crackles are indelibly part of my memory of this album.
I went back to the above-linked page, and noticed a link within that I hadn't noticed before:
http://forbiddencrypts.250free.com/DisneyChillingSounds.html
Following the link, I found that the entire album could be downloaded, in mp3 form, for free! But the best part? These mp3s were clearly transferred from vinyl, so they've got all those wonderful pops and crackles. It just sounds… I dunno, right this way.
I got home after work and immediately hooked up the turntable. I pulled out those Sinatra records from Mike and put one on (Sinatra & Jobim). My God, it sounded glorious. You know how people say that vinyl records sound better than CDs? They're right. There's a deep, full-bodied warmth to vinyl that digital recordings can't touch. The occasional pops and crackles somehow enhance the experience; it must be some kind of nostalgia trigger or something. I then changed the record (never thought I'd do that again!) to Synchronicity by The Police, and was doubly stunned by the depth and clarity of the sound.
Vinyl, baby. You can't play it in the car, you can't listen to it on the go, but DAMN. It makes listening to music an event. You dim the lights, light a candle, and play a record. Vinyl restores music to the forefront, where it belongs, elevating it above mere background noise while you work out at the gym or drive home. It captures your attention. It leaves an impression. It soothes the soul.
I'm gonna head downtown tomorrow and hit a record store or two. I've gotta get me a copy of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl, not to mention Disintegration by The Cure, and if I can find it: Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House. Yeah, I know, I just scored it earlier today (twice). But those were digital versions, and I want a physical copy of it to gaze lovingly at. Call me crazy.
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