99 Cents Only score!

Occasionally I'll browse the DVD and CD section of the 99 Cents Only store to see if I can find any lost treasures buried in there among the public domain movies, old TV shows, and other random debris.

I found this hiding in a stack of music CDs from various none-hit-wonders: Classic Stories For Kids: From the Mouths of Monsters.

My first impression, judging by the generic, barely-trying sleeve art depicting Frankenstein's monster and Dracula, was that this must be a newly recorded scary-story disc for kids... like those AWFUL "Drew's Famous" Halloween CDs you can buy at the party store...

I actually bought the particular item pictured above one Halloween and was so appalled at the horrible production I literally tossed the thing in the garbage within the hour of purchase.

But I didn't want to dismiss "From the Mouths..." so quickly, so I checked the back for a description that might reveal the source of the disc's content. I found this:

"You may know the story of Frankenstein's Monster, but you've never heard it like this. Relive the classic tale from the mind of the monster himself!

You will also hear a tale of the mysterious Count Dracula from the only man brave enough to seek him out."

Doesn't really tell me the source of the recording... is it some lame, modern Party City reject, or a vintage radio-drama, LP, or book on tape?

So then I looked for a copyright date...

Ugh...2005. But that's just the copyright date for the sleeve art, not necessarily the disc content. Then I noticed the banner at the top of the cover sleeve. It's printed in a reflective foil that defies my scanner...but it says "Digitally Remastered Original Recordings." Now that suggests a reissue of older material. Now I'm interested.

You may be thinking at this point... its a lousy buck, just buy the damn thing already. True, the cost is only a dollar, but there's the opportunity cost of waiting in one of the slowest moving cash-register lines in retail.

Anyway, purchase made, I pop the mysterious find into the CD player, and am delighted to discover I've just purchased a reissue of...
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..."Famous Monsters Speak", the classic kids' record from 1963!