Tales of Terror (Tales of Terror album)

Tales of Terror was the first and only full-length self-titled album released by Californian hardcore punk band Tales of Terror on September 1, 1984 on the label CD Presents.

Tales of Terror
Studio album by
Tales of Terror
ReleasedSeptember 1, 1984
RecordedApril 1984
StudioHyde Street Studios San Francisco, California. Engineered at Rhythmic River Studios, San Francisco, California. Mastered at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California.
GenreHardcore punk, hard rock, garage rock, grunge
Length29:13
LanguageEnglish
LabelCD Presents
ProducerPaul Rat

Background and recording

Green River admired them and recognised Tales of Terror as worthy predecessors by covering one of their songs as a tribute. Local college radio stations would often play their songs, for instance "Over Elvis Worship".

Reception

Al Flipside reviewed Tales of Terror for Flipside in 1984. He wrote: "Mid-tempo driving grunge rock that gets pretty chaotic. I really liked their version of "Hound Dog" from the start, but it took me a while to be convinced. There's people that swear by these guys. I'm beginning to see..."[1]

Tim Yohannan also reviewed Tales of Terror for Maximumrocknroll in 1984. He wrote: "Totally drunken, power-chord punk rock, folks. It's straight out of The Dead Boys/Stooges school of intense, fuck-it-all, snarl and self-destruct. These Sacramento's are good at it too. Recommended."[1]

Influence

The album is listed in Kurt Cobain's Journals at number 32 in a list of 50[2][3][4] and the song "Chambers of Horror" is in a list of songs.[5]

Green River covered the Tales' song "Ozzy" renaming it as "Ozzie" on their 1987 EP Dry As a Bone. Alex Vincent, Green River's drummer, attended high school (Encina) with Magner while he was in Square Cools for two years before moving to Seattle.[5]

In 2008, Seattle band Mudhoney released The Lucky Ones. The ninth track on this album is titled "Tales of Terror"[6] as another tribute. Mark Arm, the lead singer of Mudhoney, was also the lead singer for Green River.

The Melvins covered the song "Romance" for their 2013 covers album Everybody Loves Sausages. Guitarist/frontman Buzz Osbourne has talked about the track and the band in various interviews and stated that it's one of if not the best record to come out of California.

Crystal Fairy, a band featuring members of The Melvins, At The Drive In and Le Butcherettes, covered the song "Possession", renamed "Posesión", on their self-titled 2017 album.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Pat Stratford; all music is composed by Lyon Wong, Steve Hunt, Geoff Magner, and Mike Hunter, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Hound Dog" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)2:09
2."That Girl"1:41
3."Possession"2:25
4."Deathryder"2:44
5."Evil"2:30
6."13"2:14
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Romance"2:47
2."Over Elvis Worship"2:21
3."Tales of Terror"2:14
4."Jim"1:32
5."Chambers of Horror"3:33
6."Ozzy"3:05
Total length:29:13
Cassette version
Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Hound Dog" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)2:09
2."That Girl"1:41
3."Possession"2:25
4."Deathryder"2:44
5."Evil"2:30
6."13"2:14
7."Skate or Bate"4:25
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Romance"2:47
2."Over Elvis Worship"2:21
3."Tales of Terror"2:14
4."Chambers of Horror"3:33
5."Ozzy"3:05
6."Search and Destroy" (The Stooges)3:10
Total length:35:16

Personnel

Adapted from Discogs.[7]

Tales of Terror
  • Geoff Magner – bass guitar, backing vocals (credited as "Dusty Coffin")
  • Mike Hunter – drums, [And Jokes] (credited as "Thopper Jaw")
  • Steve Hunt – guitars, backing vocals (credited as "Capt. Trip Mender")
  • Lyon Wong – guitars, backing vocals (credited as "Luther Storms")
  • Pat Stratford – lead vocals [And Other Organs] (credited as "Rat's Ass")

Production

References
  1. "Tales of Terror: Tales of Terror LP". Kill from the Heart. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  2. "Kurt's Journals – His Top 50 Albums". nirvanaclub.com. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  3. "Top 50 by Nirvana [MIXTAPE]". Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  4. Cross, Gaar, Gendron, Martens, Yarm (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7603-4521-4.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Gustafson, Guphy (2010-01-01). "Tales of Terror: Bad Dream or Acid Trip?". Midtown Monthly. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
  6. "Mudhoney, The Lucky Ones". Sub Pop. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  7. "Tales of Terror LP". Discogs. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
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