The Haunted Mansion CD / LE Box Set [2009]


The THIRD major release of summer '09...

As you may have read in the Press Release Jay posted in the Music Notes forum, the third album is:

The Haunted Mansion attraction soundtrack CD.

This is not just a repackaging of the first Haunted Mansion attraction CD, it's an entirely new album! I went into this project with the idea of adding to what had already been released and not replicating it.

The Ride-Thru is totally new – rebuilt from the ground up to reflect how the attraction appears today. The other six tracks showcase the music from and inspired by the Haunted Mansion. Though you might be concerned there are only 7 tracks, you'll find that 4 of the 7 tracks are rather lengthy – ranging from 7 minutes to 14 minutes each.

The Press Release pretty much gives you the run-down on what's on the album. So I'll not repeat all of that here. The packaging is a digipack. The inside pocket includes a booklet with brief liner notes about the history of the attraction and photos of the key imagineers that brought the Haunted Mansion to... well, life. The cover image of the facade was taken shortly after landscaping (but still years before the attraction opened) and you'll notice there is no walkway to the front door yet. One of my favorite images is inside the booklet. It's of the facade before the landscaping was done. It looks like an old photo of a Manor house from the 1800's that you might see in a historical documentary.

I will be going into great detail about this album at the D23 Expo. If you're there on September 10th, I'll be presenting “The Haunted Mansion – The Sounds of Spooks and Music of the Macabre” (from 3:30pm to 5:00pm on Stage 23). Armed with a portable Digital Workstation, my good friend and engineer Jeff Sheridan and I will demonstrate how this album was assembled – from ordering the elements all the way up to final mastering. Along the way, you'll not only hear about the technical aspects of what the production entails, but I'll also be able to share some of the musical history of the Haunted Mansion that I learned directly from Buddy Baker himself.

As mentioned in the Press Release, the release date for this album is September 9th.

If you're one of the lucky ones that are able to attend the Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary Event on the 9th, keep an eye out for a black box the same size and dimensions as The Musical History of Disneyland. It contains both of The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion, The Haunted Mansion CDs as well as three other surprises. This is an extremely limited release and will only be available at the event!

Well, that should do it for this album. In other news, there are 4 vintage albums I'm working on for release on iTunes by the end of the year. Two were available on the Wonderland system, the other two are first time releases. I had to choose titles that were relatively easy to complete this time, as I just began production on a new major project. This new project may not be of much interest to the Park music fans, but I believe the Film Score fans might get a kick out of it. More on that title in a few months.

With Walt Disney and the 1964 World's Fair set, The Sherman Brothers Songbook, The Story and Song from The Haunted Mansion, and The Haunted Mansion, it's been quite a year for historic recordings! I hope that you have been and will be enjoying these releases for years to come!

All my best,
Randy Thornton
 

BookPodder

I'm a Noob!
I'm loving all of these releases and can't wait to pick them up at the Expo! I'm intrigued by your hint of something available at the HM merchandise event, which I hadn't been intending to attend, but am now sorely tempted to...
 

Horizons

Playlist Author
I can't wait to get my hands on this! :itunes: Will the limited edition box set feature any extra audio tracks? Also, can we convince you to make a trip to the east coast? There are several of us here who would love to hear your presentation.
 

Magic Music

Administrator
Playlist Author
I'm intrigued by your hint of something available at the HM merchandise event, which I hadn't been intending to attend, but am now sorely tempted to...
Yeah. Something tells me I'm going to be overpaying for this mysterious black box on eBay. :itunes:

Also, can we convince you to make a trip to the east coast? There are several of us here who would love to hear your presentation.
Hear, hear! Hopefully the D23 dog and pony show comes to Orlando once in a while.
 

BJWanlund

Member
Hey hey Randy, so glad to hear about new iTunes WDR releases!!!

What are the 4 "new" iTunes albums, pray tell?

BJ
 

almandot

Member
Looks like I picked up the hint about a "40th anniversary of something" you gave in Hemet correctly :itunes:

Lemme get what you're saying straight though.. the HM cds will be available at all the parks, but this set with the 3 bonus surprises will only be available at the event? I think that's how I'm interpreting it. I've been planning on getting a friend to nab me a copy from the event so hopefully I end up with one.


Good to hear from you again.
 

Dirk

Member
That sounds fabulous! I love it that the Phantom Manor track is returning, especially since the musical director of Disneyland Paris in a recent interview clearly stated that he thinks guests of DLRP are not interested in music of the attractions and therefore thinks it appropriate to concentrate on the entertainment music on the released.

Anyway, anyone got an idea whether it is possible to place an order for the limited edition CD release via DelivEars at Disneyland? I remember that it used to be possible to get on waiting lists for merchandise that did not get sold at events. However, that required to be able to name the merchandise one was looking for. So far the merchandise list for the event does not include the CDs.


Dirk
 

The Trout

Member
Maybe I missed the info somewhere else, but is the new ridethrough based solely on Disneyland, or does it include the new WDW audio? Which is to say, does the stretching room creak and have those creepy talking gargoyles?

Either way, I'm totally stoked for this release. Now I just have to figure out how to get my hands on it here in Arizona.
 

Magic Music

Administrator
Playlist Author
Maybe I missed the info somewhere else, but is the new ridethrough based solely on Disneyland, or does it include the new WDW audio? Which is to say, does the stretching room creak and have those creepy talking gargoyles?
It is a ride-through for Disneyland's attraction.

All of us need to visit WDW Guest Relations, wave a copy of The Haunted Mansion CD in their face, and ask them why the building in the photo is "wrong."

If enough of us request a Magic Kingdom version of the CD, perhaps it will come to fruition.
 

Gurgitoy2

Active Member
If you're one of the lucky ones that are able to attend the Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary Event on the 9th, keep an eye out for a black box the same size and dimensions as The Musical History of Disneyland. It contains both of The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion, The Haunted Mansion CDs as well as three other surprises. This is an extremely limited release and will only be available at the event!
Oh, Randy, why must you torture us so?? :itunes: I'll be one of those on Ebay bidding for one of those limited black boxes...GRR!! I hate missing out on any good audio projects.

I'm looking forward to this release, because of the new material, and some familiar things returning in new ways. I'm sure the Phantom Manor track will be much better than the version heard on the DLP albums.
 

Turbollama

New Member
If you're one of the lucky ones that are able to attend the Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary Event on the 9th, keep an eye out for a black box the same size and dimensions as The Musical History of Disneyland. It contains both of The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion, The Haunted Mansion CDs as well as three other surprises. This is an extremely limited release and will only be available at the event!
My question would be, are the "three other surprises" additional music or something else related to the Haunted Mansion? Because although I would be interested in this release, if the surprises are not additional music then I will not be one of those bidding for it on ebay. I'll pick up the regular release instead.
 
THE BIG BLACK BOX

Before you start fretting over the Haunted Mansion box, I want to assure you that no additional tracks of audio are included. The audio between the 2 CDs is exactly the same. It was actually something I insisted on when I was approached to create an exclusive for the event. I'm not a big fan of 'exclusives'. I believe everyone should have an opportunity to enjoy the music. That's why the CDs will be available beyond this event.

[floatright] [/floatright]For those of you who may be interested, here's what the box is –

It's a beautiful Black on Black box with the subtle hint of the famous Wall Paper on which is emblazoned Haunted Mansion attraction logo in a gloss purple. The box also has a great leathery-like texture (click on the thumbnail to see a larger pre-production image in the Cover Art Gallery).

Inside are both The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion, and The Haunted Mansion attraction soundtrack CDs set in a purple support tray.

Here are the exclusives only available in The Box –

2 high quality 12x12 prints of Collin Campbell's paintings from The Story and Song from The Haunted MansionThe Cover, and The Hat Box Ghost. Both are full-bleed images. That means the images go beyond the boarders of the album and include Mr. Campbell's over-painting and brush wipes – just like the original paintings. Of course, these are from the Hi Rez scans I've talked about before.

The big item (in my mind) is an accurate reproduction of the original vinyl – complete with 11 page book. As with the CD version, the entire package was rebuilt from these new Hi Rez scans, and the vinyl was pressed from the newly restored master.

I was hesitant to post about this, as it is so extremely limited – not to mention that the event is already sold out in all tiers. So unless you already had admission, it would be out of reach. But with some unscrupulous folks probably selling this set on eBay for what could be a ridiculous sum, I wanted you to know that you weren’t going to miss out on anything other than a cool box, 2 prints, and a vinyl. I mean, they are really, really cool, but it may not be worth it for you if you only have a casual interest in such items.

Only 999 of these boxes that will be released. There will be no re-prints. I don't know for sure if there will be a limit to how many sets one can buy at he event, but with such a low number, I have to assume that there will be. There isn't even enough for everyone at the event to get one.

Hope that helps your decision making process.

Randy
 

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