The Story And Song From The Haunted Mansion

I thought it would good fun to provide a list of differences regarding the mixing of the new "The Story And Song From The Haunted Mansion" CD as compared to the original mix of the 1969 vinyl LP, which I own, having come across it on eBay only this month in very nice condition (vinyl and jacket/book). I've come up with this list of obvious differences. It's not a complete representation of the subject, but there is no point providing a minute-by-minute accounting for the entire almost-25-minute recording. Here goes:1) Throughout the entire recording, our narrator (Thurl Ravenscroft) is entirely in mono on the LP and CD.2) At 00:15 on the LP, there is wind and a cat in the left channel, both of which subtlely shift to mono at 00:41 and continue until 1:18, at which point the cat and wind/lightning effects begin to subtlely shift back and forth from mono to stereo to mono. On the CD this entire segment is mono through 4:21,including our Ghost Host (Pete Renoudet), who appears at 3:35 in mono on the LP and CD.3) At 4:22, the Ghost Host begins his stereo segment on the LP and CD. His stereo effect is maintained throughout most of the LP and CD, with only a few places on both in mono. However, the effects past 4:22 on the LP and CD are mostly mono throughout the recording.4) At 10:10 on the LP, the Ghost Host shifts from stereo to mono for his last few words in this segment, and then the mono continues as Mike and Karen talk. On the CD, he remains in stereo. This is funny, since the CD seems to favor mono in most places where the LP is in its more eerie mono-to-stereo flip-flopping.5) During part of the "ghost party" segment (from 17:14 to 18:15), the main organ shifts from mono to stereo to mono on the LP, whereas on the CD the organ is entirely mono during this segment.6) At 23:14 on the LP, as Mike and Karen leave the Haunted Mansion their voices seem to shift from mono to stereo with a center balance between left and right channels. It's not quite like a pure mono sound. This is proven by the segue that leads directly into the Ghost Host bidding Mike and Karen goodbye in a very slight right channel effect, with the addition of a bell (23:37) also in that same very slight right channel. By 24:05, the stereo has craftily and slowly shifted to mono to fill out the remainder of the story at 24:44. On the CD, this entire segment from 23:15 to the very end is strictly in mono.7) The CD doesn't have quite as much mid-range and bass, which suggests the original LP had somewhat too much of both. This is a matter of personal taste. Whatever the case, The CD is quite clean and crisp, and has an excellent overall sound. It should be noted that the sound effects are easier (actually louder) to hear on the CD, and the distinctness between the various audio components of the entire recording are certainly to be appreciated as compared to the original LP. Please understand that the LP sounds very good and can stand very well on its own, but the CD benefits from today's excellent production improvements. Between the stereo/mono issues and today's production standards, both the LP and CD have very strong points and a few drawbacks. Such is life.Track #2 is "Grim Grinning Ghosts", running 5:33 in length, and coming off like a mini-version of the ride-through. It begins with the familiar Haunted Mansion organ and Paul Frees as the Ghost Host, then the "Otherwordly" organ (see 1999 & 2009 Haunted Mansion CDs) comes in at :54, followed by the also-familiar Grim Grinning Ghosts song at 1:52, and finally finishing with Little Leota at 4:59 as the song winds down under her. Her spiel is :28 long. This same cut can also be found on the 2005 and 2008 "Official Album" double-CD sets from Disneyland (5:33 and 5:32, respectively), with the very notable exception that those two releases feature a shorter spiel from Little Leota (she comes in at 5:16), whereas the cut on this CD has her coming in at 4:59 so we can hear her entire spiel. Another reason to get this CD.The CD also features the original LP/current CD artwork of Collin Campbell, accessible by simply inserting the CD into your computer disc drive. Very nice.The overall result of the LP is a fun mixing of mostly fairly subtle, yet unpredictable shifts between mono and stereo for all the various components of this whole listening experience. It's too bad about the lack of multi-track tape decks at that time, which caused the production to be done in sections, which in turn were then spliced together, but during the course of 25 minutes, it doesn't really matter because it doesn't occur often enough to be of any lasting concern, if this sort of thing should even bother a person to begin with. At the very least, it contributes to the eerieness of the album. Cool. The CD simply exudes great production values overall despite the stereo/mono debate.One regret about the CD is that it would have been a real treat to provide both the unaltered original mix along with the new mix. Listeners could have had some real fun choosing their favorite version and having fun discussing their reasons for their choice. As it stands now, only those of us who have the LP can have this fun. It would be nice if Disney would release a second edition of this CD with the original mix included in the package. Nonetheless, the current CD is excellent as released, and gives today's audience a chance to hear this previously hard-to-obtain recording in an up-to-date format. I was very surprised, and happy, to discover this new release, and highly recommend this CD to anyone who enjoys the Haunted Mansion.Here's also hoping Disney will consider re-releasing some other gems, like Pirates of the Caribbean (1968), which also features Thurl Ravenscroft as a pirate-style story host. It also would be good to hear a CD version of the old Disney "It's a Small World" LP (1964) with Winston Hibler as host. I would have included the "Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House" (1964), but it is already on iTunes, so no CD is coming for that one. All of these in their original LP form have the folding "book" format within the gatefold cover, except "Haunted House".

This version is altered from the original Lp release. While some really bad editing flubs that exist on the original have been fixed/masked, and the tape hiss cleaned up dramatically, it lost some things in the process. Much of the original stereo mix has been mixed down to mono. Could be because of the dropouts in the original tape, or to blend smoothly with the next scene. The original did have several segments spliced in after the tape had been completed, often jarring the listener by jumping from mono to stereo and back again inexplicably in mid-scene. The engineer on this release did a great job repairing those flubs. In one place, the Ghost Host inexplicably in mid-sentence went to mono from the "weird stereo effect" as others have described it, but that has now been fixed. In another scene, the ballroom organ inexplicably jumps from center to right and back to center again which has been corrected. There are still a few tape dropouts remaining that throw the recording off-balance which could have easily been fixed by adjusting the gain on one track, but they chose not to.I just wish they had left the original stereo elements as they were. For example, in the first section of the vinyl as Thurl sets the scene, some cats start meowing on the left channel, as well as the wind and rain sound effect plays on the left. Now it's all mono. This happens in several places that were originally stereo. Additionally, there is a segment about 2/3 of the way through that is very muffled, which isn't muffled in the original.Another big mistake they made on this new release is by adding a reverb that simulates voices bouncing off the walls of a small, empty room, and is most notable on Thurl Ravenscroft's narration. It totally ruins the original "right-in-the-room-with-you" acoustical presence that the original Lp has. Now he sounds like he was recording in a medium-sized empty room instead of the acoustically damped studio. The only reverb used on the original was for the Ghost Host's ominous voice. Adding an unnecessary (and annoying) reverb to perfectly good recordings has been an on-going problem with most of Mr. Thornton's recent vintage re-releases. It may be virtually imperceptible to most, but after listening to the original record for 40 years, I noticed it immediately.Would have been better had this album been entirely remixed from the original recording elements, but I presume they are lost to time. Some more (and new) bonus material would have been nice too. The scans of the restored Campbell paintings are nicely done, but there should have been more. Can't really argue since it is bargain-priced.Overall, it's great to finally have it on CD now - but it's not *quite* as good as your old Lp overall.

Picked this up as a stocking stuffer for my Disney lover who's missing his fave ride.The look on his over 40 face as he relived the album from his childhood was Priceless.Made my heart grow watching the look of joy & contentment.The 1st part of this CD is the 1968 Album with the Full Haunted Mansion Experience.Similar to Rocky Horror that it's told from POV of the Guest & the Ghosts.'Mike' the male lead is Ron Howard in all his Richie Cunningham sounding voice.The 2nd part is the actual soundtrack to the Disney Park ride/attraction.It's kinda fun to hear it without the visual stimulation of The Haunted Mansion.You pick up so many more details while enjoying a memory lane stroll at past trips.The CD cover opens to a half dozen fold out pages of comically displayed scenes.It's a nice add to hold in your hands while listening.It's kid friendly, family fun.Sure it helps if you've been but even if not,in true Disney fashion, the audio paints a picture worthy of the Disney experience.

I'd listened to this album for many nights and I recommend it to listen in the dark...if you dared! The album's also perfect for a Halloween dinner-party with your family

Amazing