Thursday 30 October 2008

Vincent Price - Witchcraft & Magic: An Adventure In Demonology







VINCENT PRICE
Witchcraft & Magic: An Adventure In Demonology

1969?


186 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Capitol SWBB-342


Some spine-tingling spookiness as Vincent sermonises on arcane subjects in his signature style. Even though it's a bit grand in its guignol, as OOT as it may be it's still not exactly for the squeamish thanks to the comprehensive coverage given the subject matter.


AMG Bio by Linda Seida
Vincent Price came to be identified with gothic horror and crazed villainy through a series of leading film roles in the 1960s that were based on such Edgar Allan Poe poems and short stories as The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Masque of the Red Death. Thanks to the actor's wide exposure in those movies and others like them, his voice became immediately associated with the horror genre, opening the door for Price to contribute to a number of different recordings, as well as an album of his own.

His spooky laughter alone was enough to conjure all sorts of macabre thoughts and associations, and his elegant diction only enhanced the effect. A sampling of Price's contributions includes an appearance on Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare from Atlantic in 1975 and a guest spot on Michael Jackson's Thriller from Epic in 1982. He was also included on a 1998 children's soundtrack, Scooby-Doo's Snack Traks: The Ultimate Collection. Price's own album, Witchcraft and Magic, was released by Capitol Records.



Vincent Price - Narrator
Douglas Leedy - Sound Effects
Terry d'Oberoff - Composer, Director
Roger Karshner - Producer


SIDE 1 (25:30)
Prologue
The Tale of Master Seth
Hitler and Witchcraft
Witchcraft In History
Women As witches
Witch Burning
Witch Tortures


SIDE 2 (25:56)
Witch Tortures (continued)
The World of Spirits and Demons
Preparation for Magic
Instruments of Magic
How To Invoke Spirits, Demons, Unseen Forces
The Magic Bloodstone
The Witches Cauldron
How To Communicate with The Spirits


SIDE 3 (26:45)
How To Communicate with The Spirits (continued)
Gerald Yorke and Necromancy
How To Make A Pact with The Devil
How To Become A Witch
Curses, Spells, Charms



SIDE 4 (26:25)
Curses, Spells, Charms (continued)
Potions
The Hand of Glory
The Witches Sabbat
Witchcraft Today
Epilogue



Douglas Leedy , a
classmate of Terry Riley, was on the experimental electronic scene pretty early. He made a bit of a stir in the late 60s with his recordings The Electric Zodiac and the influential electro-acoustic piece Entropical Paradise, a mammoth 3LP set (parts of which were used later in the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five). If you wanna get the jump on coming festivities he also whipped off a disc of xmas ditties.

As for Karshner, the internet only seems to want to return page after page of search results for plays written by someone of that name. Producer-wise, besides this eeffort I found an earlier Capitol LP by Eli Radish (a 1968 Danny Sheridan project with David Allan Coe) and a 2006 London Philharmonic Orchestra album. Not much seems to have happened in between as far as music is concerned so it's not beyond the pale to figure it was the same guy.

Eve more tantalizingly obscure is Terry d'Oberoff. A
fter some searching, the only other credit I could find elsewhere for him was writing the liner notes for Black Magic's debut album Where Love Is .


Now that we've cleared up where the love is, find the fear from Soundological HERE (RS Part1 RS Part 2) or HERE (MF Part 1 MF Part 2) (reloaded by overwhelming demand 2012-02-15).

1 comment:

deodac said...

Hello, Cheeba.

I'm one of the overwhelming requisitors.
Sent you a mail about some technical details
of your magnificent rip.

On the artistic side of it, creepy is to fall short of Mr. Price's sensula narration. He manages to catch your attention and mesmerize you with utterly disgusting stories.

I have to congratulate you for posting this release.
It surely delvers what you promised.

Thank you Sooo much from Madrid.