As part of their holiday-themed compilation series, the folks at
Now! Music
roll out
Now That's What I Call Halloween
, an 18-track set full of occasionally spooky, yet mostly playful tracks ranging from the 1960s through the '90s. Macabre maestro
Danny Elfman
makes multiple appearances with themes from movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice, as well as a track ("Dead Man's Party") from his rock band
Oingo Boingo
. Other film music like
John Carpenter
's "Halloween Theme" and
Mike Oldfield
's iconically creepy "Tubular Bells (Theme from 'The Exorcist')" sit alongside very unscary rock tracks like
INXS
' "Devil Inside" and
Warren Zevon
's "Werewolves of London" which receive nods here simply for mentioning scary things in their titles.
Bobby "Boris" Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers
' "Monster Mash" is a shoe-in for any Halloween comp for some reason, but it's
Run-D.M.C.
's 1989 remix version of "Ghostbusters" that makes the cut over
Ray Parker, Jr.
's far more popular 1984 single. As far as Halloween collections go, this is a bit lightweight, though it has enough fun moments to keep things moving. ~ Timothy Monger