Geoff Castellucci "Monster Mash" REACTION & ANALYSIS by Vocal Coach / Opera Singer
Вставка
- Опубліковано 24 жов 2021
- This video has me excited. Not only do I love dressing up for Halloween, but the music around this holiday makes me giddy. Enter Geoff Castellucci and his super low vocals singing the iconic "Monster Mash" first released in 1962 by Bobby Pickett. This has been on my list for a very long time, and I wanted to release this as close to the holiday as I could.
Join professional opera singer Elizabeth Zharoff, as she listens to Geoff Castellucci performing "Monster Mash" for the first time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Performed by Geoff Castellucci - Words and Music by Bobby "Borris" Pickett
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I definitely recommend watching the original video without interruptions. Here's the link: • Monster Mash | Low Bas...
Show Geoff some love: / @geoffcastellucci
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WE HAVE MERCH! Check-out the full line-up here: thecharismaticmerch.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
🎧 Elizabeth’s favorite headphones 🎧 : imp.i114863.net/zayoEM
Music Gear Questions? 🎤 See my list of recommendations: imp.i114863.net/yRyGoV
WANT MY CHAIR? I don’t blame you…and here’s a link to make it even sweeter:
secretlab.co/?rfsn=4692958.b2...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
🎙️Podcast: thecharismaticvoice.com/podcast/
🌐Website: thecharismaticvoice.com
📸Instagram: / thecharismaticvoice
🧑🤝🧑Patreon: / thecharismaticvoice
📺Twitch: / thecharismaticvoice
📰Our FREE Newsletter: eepurl.com/gz7Z_z
-------------------------------------COURSES------------------------------------------
🎵MUSIC APPRECIATION COURSE🎵
Want to understand how to listen to and appreciate music more? My Music Appreciation course is now live. Take a look at thecharismaticvoice.com
🎶DEMYSTIFYING SINGING🎶
My intensive 7-week course on vocal foundations includes weekly group sessions and private lessons. Learn more at thecharismaticvoice.com.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Zharoff is an international opera singer and voice coach, with 3 degrees in voice, opera, and music production. She's performed in 18 languages throughout major venues in Europe, America, and Asia. Currently based somewhere between Los Angeles and Tucson, Arizona, Elizabeth spends her days researching voice, singing, teaching, writing music, and recording TONS. She also plays Diablo and Dungeons & Dragons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want a free voice lesson? Sign-up to WIN at mailchi.mp/thecharismaticvoic...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#GeoffCastellucci #Reaction #TheCharismaticVoice
-------------
We just released merchandise! Check out the full line-up here: thecharismaticmerch.com
ua-cam.com/video/CiXVoa9LIHw/v-deo.html Diana Ankudinova
Elvis Presley had a bass in his background singers.
I think you would like Voice Plays Daddy Sang Bass. The end is really cool and touching. Plus they have some really silly parts in it.
Listen rain of castamere pleaseee
You wondered about the "Transylvania Twist." That song was included on the "Monster Mash" album. Also, if you look at the original video without the words, you can see his wife twitch a couple of times. Another thing, you didn't finish the video. There was a bit more music after the screen went black.
"No, don't be over! 😢" Every Geoff fan every time 😆
The best thing on you tube is you can watch it over and over again like I did.
@@Melisendre True, and don't we just!
Thank you, Elizabeth. I do love your excellent analysis
That was so genuine too ❤️
Anyone else started to giggle when she said that maybe we’ll see some dancing… hahahaha
Geoff is definitely becoming a modern day Thurl Ravenscroft. This is a classic song and Geoff elevates it with fun, creativity, and a voice which can sound like a gentle breeze or rumbling thunder. It was only a matter of time before this caught the eyebrows of Mrs. Zharoff and I foresee her face getting quite the workout as she manages to fit a detailed analysis in between fits of giggling.
Dr. Stein vid ua-cam.com/video/5yUihyOKxww/v-deo.html
@@luisnunes3863 LOL! Epic! 10/10
Who the heck is Thurl Ravenscroft?
@@davidrosoff3228 He was an actor and bass singer active 1939 to 2005. He voiced tony the tiger fir five decades and sang the classic "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" song. Geoff actually lists him as an influence.
@@davidrosoff3228 Thurl's voice is also featured in many Disney productions, including the theme park attractions. Notably, his voice (and face) is featured in the Haunted Mansion at Disney.
Voiceplay "Halo theme" is another greet one. Geoff drops his lowest recorded note in that one.
I sincerely agree. I'd like to see Elizabeth trying to find that low note on her keyboard :) And Geoff hits it twice in that song. Those are amazing B0s. Eli and Caesar hits some stunning high notes as well. And the dedication at the end is just heartwarming for a lot of us nerds. It's one of their best ones. I stand by your recommendation.
Just a note on the Halo theme for Elizabeth: Not only is it an amazing video, it’s also a tribute to one of the Voiceplay crew. It’s worth watching it all the way through.
@@Naggie_Geoff hit some 2 sustained B0's in their new song of Vahalla Calling cover, as well.😏😏😏😏
They are 3 at all, the last one was short.
Definitely a very good one!!!😉
J-none came back with VoicePlay and they did an amazing cover of "Friends on the other side" from Princess and the Frog
Yes! Its so good!
was definitely a good one and J None got to be at the forefront, which they all deserve their moment, i only wish that instead of a mask that J None got make up work because that mask was detracting.
so good to see J again! so much crazy-good!
@@UltimateGamerCC I thought the mask was great.
@@catwhowalksbyhimself if it fit around his face it would've been fine, but it looks like crap jutting away from his face.
The dance moves the three standing Geoffs do are tribute to the classic movie monsters. Frankenstein (arms out), Wolfman (howling at the moon), Dracula (behind his cape) and The Mummy (arms crossed wrapped in bandages. The three standing Geoffs are Dracula, Wolfman and Frankenstein's monster... Sitting Geoff is Dr Frankenstein
I love the subtle evolution of the dance throughout the song as well!
Dracula hiding behind his cape came from Ed Wood and Plan 9 from Outer Space. Bela Lagosi was playing a vampire (Dracula?) in that turkey and had filmed all his close-up work with his lines, but the longer range shots had yet to be done when Lagosi died (thankfully not on-set). So Ed asked his chiropractor to take over the role, but that man was quite a bit taller and thinner than Lagosi and did not look that much like him, so Ed just told him to cover his face with the cape to hid the differences. And so was hatched this meme.
@@danuttall Thanks for the interesting anecdote on the movie. For the record, Bela's name was actually Bela Lugosi, and along with Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Lon Chaney, Jr., Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing, he was one of the major horror film actors for decades.
And they do an "oooo" like a howl during the Wolfman part.
That slashing motion looks like another Wolfman move.
The first “weird tool” is an old “Brace and Bit”, which is essentially a hand drill for woodworking. You brace the round pad against your chest and put your weight on the tool while turning it to drill into wood. It was usually used with large spiral bits.
The second tool (at “my electrodes”) is also an old hand drill.
I was an apprentice lineman in the early 80's. Imagine being 40 feet up on a pole and using that brace & bit to drill holes for cross arms.
@@rubroken Or for that matter, 40 feet up on an elevated platform in a lightning storm, next to a patchwork cadaver, shouting at the top of your lungs, "LIFE!!!"
But I digress.... :)
@@billparrish4385 Bill, it took me a minute to figure out what you were saying in your comment.......over the top, funny AND awesome
@@rubroken 😎
what's scary to me is that i realised that the old hand drill i've seen in my dad's garage somewhere . . . probably with the apple-peeler . . .
"No, don't be over!" 😄 My thoughts exactly.
Also, I think Geoff mentioned that the detuned piano was in the background for a lot of the song. I'd never really noticed it since there's so much else going on.
"...Dracula and his sonnnn." "That was delightful." If I was stupid enough to have been sipping my water at the time, it would have become a fountain. I hope you listen to this a few more times. There are so many layers built in. He just keeps raising the bar for himself and we all love his efforts.
I always get so much enjoyment and insight from your reactions, and I love how positive you always are.
Geof said that the “la la la” parts were Tocatta and Fugue shuffled and swung. Dude’s got an amazing musical sense to him!
I liked the way he slipped in that little Fir Elise riff during the 'honky tonk' piano bits in the background.
I LOVE your reaction to this, Elizabeth!
I believe the jerky dance quality was Geoff playing the track at a slower speed and dancing normally to that, then playing back each monster in his 'patch' of the video speeded up to this current speed (the visual equivalent of how they did Alvin and the Chipmunks voices).
Also, the 4 basic dance moves that got more elaborate as it went on, were Frankenstein's monster (arms out), Wolfman (arms back claws up), Dracula (arm in front of face as if holding a cape), the Mummy (arms wrapped around torso).
The 3 dancers were Dracula, Wolfman and Frankenstein's monster.
And (bad dad pun alert) the out-of-tune piano tones at the end accompanied Wolfman in the middle scratching at his 'für elise'.... (Sorry! And I was doing so well.)
Love your channel, thanks for your adorable reactions!
I know I'm super late to the discussion but I had to see if any else had picked up on the classic monster moves! So many layers to Geoff's video that make it amazing!
That's the highest praise I've ever heard given! "Please don't be over!"
That last detuned note. The most horrifying part of this song. Perfect for Halloween. 🤣
This is one of my favorites that Geoff has done. When he filmed the choreography, he did it at half-speed so when it was replayed it had the jerky effect you see in the final video. This was actually the 2nd take of the video. He had to reshoot it because the first one was a mini horror film (his own words). We all love that Kathy made an appearance in this one and they make a great creepy couple! Loved your reaction on this. Hope you plan on reacting to Friends on the Other Side from VoicePlay featuring J-None.
He showed a clip of said " horror film " on his patreon, and it indeed scary. Not sure I'd be able to see the whole video if they had continued with the first take.
I’ve read that the dancing was done at 70% speed instead of half speed. But whatever the actual number, she’s the only reactor I’ve seen catch that it looked sped up.
The jerkiness effect looks very much like what VP used in Grim Grinning Ghosts. I wondered if they were dropping or adding frames but altering the frame rated sounds plausible as well.
I actually have one that was left in my house by the previous
owners lol
The dance was done to a slower version of the song then speeded up to the rate they sing it at, to get the jerky effect. Geoff has said “Did you pick up on the "la la la" section? It's Bach's toccata and fugue in d minor, just shuffled and swung”. At the end, there is a snippet of Fur Elise I believe.. The tool is a hand drill. Did you catch Monster Geoff on the right doing the Floss at the end as narrator Geoff dances with Kathy? So funny. I wonder if Kathy feels like one of the luckiest women alive. Probably not. :)
Officially, that 'hand drill' is called a brace. If you've heard the term "Bit & Brace".. that's the drill and the drill bit from long ago.
That sped up technique can also be seen in VoicePlay's Grim Grinning Ghosts from several years ago. (Also a good watch).
@@mikeschaefer9516 It is indeed. I just couldn't remember the name at the time. My father used to use one.
Broken Peach uses a similar video technique to great affect...
ua-cam.com/video/YNiI6C0142g/v-deo.html
No, that dancing had nothing to do with camera speed. There was no trick photograph. It's a type of dance called "Pop Lock" or "Poplock" do a search and you can find a lot of videos.
The casual "Oh, I guess I'll put my book away now" in the beginning of the song. I feel that on a deep emotional level.
I have to tell you, I don't usually care for singers/vocal coach chatter during reactions, but you are such a delight to watch. You can tell how much you delight and adore it and that comes across in your excitement. So fun to watch!
he does such a good job with each character and interacting and emoting. on top of the insane singing and song composition, etc. geoff is a mad lad
The choreography stole the show for me in this one, and damn that's a tall task considering his voice talent
Geoff never disappoints and I could never get enough of it. I have been watching THIS video over and over. Go to the pinned comment attached to his video and watch it again.
Geoff always has me just in a state of "duuude". Amazement and surprise as he goes from a range one knows a human can do to dragging up notes from the very mantle of the Earth, and awe when he hits those notes from the planet's *core!*
Geoff and Kathy's video is absolutely amazing in every possible respect. I didn't think anything could top my level of enjoyment when seeing it. But then Elizabeth comes in with her incredible mix of articulate knowledge/analysis and her genuine delight when discovering the piece. And my level of enjoyment shot up even higher!! Geoff, Kathy, Elizabeth, you guys totally made my day...
I remember when Universal Orlando had The Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue. Geoff and Kathy played the monster and the bride. I was always so excited when I saw them on stage. (She wore her rings which is how I could tell). They (as well as everyone else) were amazing and fascinating to watch.
Fun fact: Tony Wakim (Pattycake Productions) played Dracula in this show and was equally amazing. ☺️
Your reactions and the joy you get watching Geoff are exquisite! And you have such a great smile! I hope you do the “Halo Theme” by Voiceplay with Scott Porter. Make sure you watch Scott speaking at the end!
I learned a new musical term today; "stupid low". Thanks for this Elizabeth. You are a delight as always.
Thank you for always reacting the way I think everyone should react to Geoff!!
The tool in his hand is an old fashioned auger, for drilling with wood bits. He also uses a hand drill for making the electric arc coming from his hand. I absolutely adore your reactions as well as your explanations. I believe you to be as genuine as your reactions appear to be. I remember you saying something along that line when you interviewed Geoff. Additionally, your husband must live in constant amazement and joy with your personality. God bless.
In September 2019, I headed upstairs at The Range to see what was up there, and discovered they'd got the large Halloween and Xmas decoration displays set up. There was a lot of motion activated things, so as I passed the Xmas ones, they stirred into disturbing life with 'Hark the herald angels sing...' by which time I'd activated the Halloween decs, which responded with 'It was the Mash... it was the Monster Mash'
I was, needless to say, delighted.
7:00 hey I’m a Patreon of geoffs. And in the bts of the video he does the dancing to the music at half the speed.
I have yet to see someone else point this out but if you look When Geoff and Kathy start dancing, notice how her hand stays limp to keep in character, I don’t know why but I just love how there was that much attention to detail. Amazing review as always
You encouraged your viewers to go watch the whole video on Geoff’s channel and then watch it again. I’ve seen comments on the original and in multiple reactions saying you really have to watch it once or twice just focusing on each character in turn, then again for the whole thing. As you said, there’s just too much good stuff going on to take it all in at once!
Why yes, I went to listen to it in it's entirety after about the third pause because you were going back over the same section so much and stopping in the same place to add even more to the analysis... Of course, that is what you do and everything you were saying was awesome, but I finally had to pause and go through the whole song and come back to your analysis because the suspense was Killing me!! LOL Hearing the whole song from start to finish gave me the framework (and anticipation) to really get into everything you were telling us about the styles and incredible artistry involved in making this! Love the genuine excitement when Geoff does his vocal gymnastics! Also, I am pretty sure the whole thing was filmed at about half speed and then sped up to normal which gave those quick snappy movements to the "chorus" and was just barely noticeable with Geoff's movements being just the barest hint of more "drawn out" looking and yet seeming to be "normal". Definitely gave it a really cool vibe... and the end, LOL with the center "Geoff" being the wolfman maybe? He was doing a sort of "scratching behind the ear" thing as they were waving the two dancers out. Excellent touches!
Another amazing video!! Always love your reactions. If you look real closely, when Geoff drops the D1 on "son", Kathy flinches.
Another great critique! I love the way you can accomplish this without being negative. Hats off to you! My suggestion or recommendation for another band and/or singer critique would be the Canadian band "The Guess Who" featuring Burton Cumming's amazing voice. It is said that he has a natural vibrato of which I'm not sure if that's not possible. Is it? I'll leave that up to you. The band had many hit songs in the 70's and they're almost forgotten. Here's a short list of their great songs: Hand me Down World, Laughing, These Eyes, Undun, No Sugar Tonight, Share the Land and No Time.
So, Elizabeth I have on my Christmas wish list a collaboration between Geoff and Floor. I think they would be spectacular together.
"Oh no, right monster is flossing" Sentences that delight and terrify at the same time.
That tool he’s holding is a hand drill OG cordless drill
you always astonish me with all the little things you catch. I'm over here fan-girling and giggling and going generally insane, and you're over there going, "Ah yes, the intricate tapestry of Euclidian musical geometry is NOOOOoooo DON'T BE OVERRRRRrrrr!!!!"
I had to watch it through 4 times. Each time I focused on a different Geoff, it was spectacular :)
Another fantastic reaction and video. One of the things I especially liked was the surprise appearance of his wife and her short part. It was great. Her scream, the dazed look she gave him as if she just awoke from the dead. The when they danced, her right hand hung limp as he held her by her wrist. The lack of expression on her face as she looked up mesmerized and stared into his face as they twirled off the stage ... very spooky and well done.
If you notice when he hits that low note on "Son" at 13:16 the woman on the couch behind him wasn't even expecting it.
You’d think that of all people, Kathy would be used to Geoff’s low voice by now…
I think I have listened to that song at least 5 times a day since he released it! So glad you listened to it.
Now you can do Geoff's Headless Horseman. Still enough time for Halloween and you'll love how he demonstrates his 'head' voice. :D
It seems to me to be amazingly common that people who do remakes of famous entertainment material don't really understand the original.. latest example, the Addams Family animated movies. In this case Castellucci understands the humor and the deadpan delivery of the original and takes it to the highest imaginable level. What an interesting selection. By coincidence, I stumbled upon this video while i was putting a Halloween playlist together.
from the looks of it i'd say the tool he's holding is an old fashioned hand drill
This beats the original. This is now THE Monster Mash.
Just came home from work (it's almost 6 p.m. here) and saw that this video got uploaded...
Perfect timing! The rest of the day is saved!! ^^
Geoff showed lots of great comedic touches in this wonderful video, and I hope it becomes *the* Halloween anthem on UA-cam! Love all of your reactions, Elizabeth! Hope you get a chance to react to VoicePlay's "Friends on the Other Side" since it features J.None and is also perfect for Halloween!
My favorite version - ever!
Both tools Geoff plays with in this are Hand Drills.
The first is an auger style hand drill.
The one they edited electricity on is gear driven.
This is neat. I dig it. Next he should do the sequel songs- It's Alive, and Monster's Holiday. Oh and Monster Rap. I think that was a sequel too, but i'm not sure. It was Bobby Boris Pickett, though.
I had to watch it at least 5 times to catch everything that was going on. Once you know Kathy is there you can see her twitch whenever Geoff drops his low notes.
Oh dear... My god lady, i am loving your reactions!!! they removed the line 'tell them Boris sent you' but this was still a fantastic job!!
The dance the ghouls are doing are reminiscent of the monster-verse: arms straight out is Frankenstein’s monster, then the wolf man, the single arm across the chest is Dracula, crossed arms is the mummy. Dracula is on the left, wolf man is in the center, Igor on the right.
I LOVE THIS!!! This showed up in my 'home' section. My boys and I every Halloween time dance and sing to the original (they don't mind my voice lol) I showed this to them and we laughed so much. Thank you! October through December are my fav months and time of the year.
Hi Elizabeth, I loved this performance. As a child, I remember hearing Bobby Pickett's song every Halloween in the late '60s/early '70s, and Geoff's rendition was the perfect re-imagining of this iconic song. Geoff did an amazing job arranging, producing, editing this video, and it was fun to see his wife, Kathy, making her video debut. Thank you, Elizabeth!!! 💙
You're welcome Kirby! It's really incredible how Geoff does it. Thank you for the support always! ❤
Love your reactions to Geoff & Voice Play & Home Free. It's great to get a reaction from a vocal coach as you have so much information to impart(not a singer, wish I was). I'd love you to react to John Farnham an Aussie icon who's been around since the 60's. Most notably in the 80's. I always knew that I loved his songs but I don't think I ever appreciated his talent & vocal ability. It's best to listen to his live performances as he is just amazing and has a wonderful rapport with his audiences. He's also a bit of a larrikin. 'Help'(Beatles) by John & the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra & You're the Voice, Touch of Paradise & Burn for you & so many more. Also, When something is wrong with my baby with Jimmy Barnes (also with Cold Chisel) . Both Aussie legends. Really enjoy your channel.
Also, the 3 dancers represent, in order: Dracula, Wolf Man, and Frankenstein's Monster.
6:10 That tool is just an old hand crank drill the pad on the end is to add sholder presure, wile pushing the drill deeper into the wood wile trying to prevent jank off target. The tool at 8:15 is a basic hand drill most often used for driling smaller detaled holes, nowadays extreamly rarely thrue skulls.
So, from what I understand, that intro "La-la-la" bit is essentially a deconstructed Tocatta and Fuge done in a swing style. I heard someone mention that and I can't refute it. It is just another layer of brilliance on this amazing cover.
But yeah, I'm pretty sure that he's dropping frames on the dancers to get that visual effect on them. As for him getting into the tenor range, from what I've heard, he originally wanted to be a rock tenor... so he does have that kind of upper range. In VoicePlay's Halo theme cover, I've _heard_ that he reaches a B0, though I can't really confirm that independently. His range is truly insane. I can keep up with a lot of it, but I can't match his low end by any stretch of the imagination.
As Always, so funny, and really clever, cheers Elizabeth.
An interesting tidbit that most reactors haven't caught yet....when Geoff goes into the chorus, his three "dancers" are doing poses that are tributes to the four classic Universal monsters, Frankenstein, Wolfman, Dracula, and Mummy (in that order). Love your reactions!
The monsters are, left to right, Dracula, Wolfman, and Frankenstein's Monster. The choreography shows Frankenstein's stagger, Wolfman's claws, Dracula holding his cape up, and the Mummy. They were filmed at a lower speed, then played back at the normal rate. If you check out VoicePlay's Grim, Grinning Ghosts, you can see the same technique. Oh, and the first tool is a "brace and bit" and the "electrode" is actually a old hand drill.
I've been obsessed with the song and the music video since it came out. I love the whole production, Geoff's voice is delightful, Kathy's appearance is god-tier, and the dancing and backing Geoffs are perfection. I especially like Wolfman Geoff discovering the joys of shaking his booty, hahaha!
Both tools used by Geoff are variations of vintage hand drills.
Yes, my grandfather (I'm 65) was a carpenter and he had these types of tools and more that he kept in a heavy wooden chest. His great grandson (my nephew) has them now. They are over 100 yrs. old!
"Brace (tool)" on Wikipedia if anyone wants more info.
Yes, Kathy was there the whole time. If you pay attention to his first low note, you'll see Kathy's legs twitch.
In Voiceplay's latest piece "Halo", Geoff hits a B-0! More than once!
Hey Elizabeth! I bet you'd love to check out Colm McGuiness. He has a range just as large as Geoff and is a force to be reckoned with. I'd recommend his video of the song from the movie 1917 and the Cover of Hoist the Colors by Malinda featuring him, Bobby Waters and Lauren Paley.
Colm also composes music for Critical Role (i bet you know who they are). He did the piece that used to play in the art reel for campaign 2 and also the music for the Exandria Unlimited minicampaing intro.
P.S. Old Maui is a very good one of his too! Colm deserves WAY more recognition.
Clicked on the video to hear Geoff sing kept clicking to see him dance ears and eyes both give 10/10.
Hi! Thank you for this analysis! Really enjoyed it!... please, more Voiceplay and Geoff 😍. The Hoist de Colors one is super cool
Hi Ana, Elizabeth should be posting, "Hoist the Colors," tomorrow, Tuesday.
@@kirbys1370 Just a second ago saw the preview... so excited!
At around 12:30 when he hits that low note singing "Dracula and his sons" you can see his wife Kathy twitch. Must have been quite a shock being that close when he hit that note :-) Great reaction.
As a swing dancer, you might notice 'after Drac is part of the gang', they start doing the Charleston :D This is a very fun one, with so many layers. Love it!
Bobby Pickett sung the original version while emulating the voice of Boris Karloff for the majority of the song, and only briefly switches to Bela Lugosi as Dracula asking about his Transylvania Twist.
The characters Geoff is portraying from left to right are: Colin Clive as Doctor Victor Frankenstein the Mad Scientist, Bela Lugosi as Count Vlad Dracula the Vampire, Lon Chaney Jr as Larry Talbot the Wolfman, and Boris Karloff as Adam the Frankenstein's Monster. Pickett's career was mainly that of Parody, and he would further parody his own songs at the drop of a hat. A brilliant man, he will be missed.
Geoff is Amazing. He literally incorporated Bach's Toccata, and Fugue in D Minor into the Three Geoff Intro if you listen carefully. Then for good measure, Geoff goes, and throws a little Beethoven Fur Elise at the end. Considering this was all Produced, Directed, Arranged, Sung, and Choreographed by Geoff just makes it that much more mind blowing.
The tool Geoff has looks like an old-fashioned "brace and bit", which is a manual drill.
Wheee!!!!! I'm so glad you did this one! Thank you for bringing such glee to the reaction. :) I also really enjoyed Geoff's use of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d Minor as the backdrop for the "la-la-la" in the opening. I would say that we have a Dracula, Wolfman and Frankenstein's Monster as the backing "dancers". They are mostly doing the moves of the classic monsters (Drac's cape, the Mummy pose, the Wolfman clawing, Frankenstein's Monster shambling arms), but I love the additional dances, like Frank's flossing. Happy Halloween!
Bobby Picket's performance was very much of its time. Most of us who were kids in the early to mid-1960s were directly familiar with the performances of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff from the Universal horror movies of the 1930s. Non-network television stations would show old movies on Saturday afternoons, while the network programming was wasting its time on professional golf. Being a kid, and given the choice between golf and a monster movie, what were you going to watch (even for the umpteenth time!)? So we knew directly the parodies Bobby Picket was making in _The Monster Mash._ (Some of us were even familiar with "the Mash" being an actual dance.) Geoff does something very smart. He throws that mostly away. Yeah, there is some consciousness left of those old performances, but mostly from faded parodies of parodies of parodies. Instead he depends mainly on his voice range and visuals to get the fun creepiness across.
Okay, hon, THIS time I was actually giggling more than you did! Geoff turned an old holiday song into a *stage performance*! He turned that into a stage musical, but...ya know, with no a camera instead of theater seating. But still! He stayed in character while he recorde each vocal layer, and when Dr. Frankenstein looked at Dracula when he leaned over, Geoff looked at the audience like "Woah! This guy is too close!"
My word, I was in tears! This was so funny! I've been lazy and hadn't gone over to Geoff's own channel and subscribed to show my appreciation for his talent before, but now I am going to do so immediately! I laughed like this was a comedy skit, srsly! 🎃 🤣👻🏆👻🤣🎃
He's playing with a hand drill, great for super clean and controlled holes.
I used to despise this song, my highschool would borderline psychologically torture students with it.
The entire month of October, my school would play it over the intercom, on repeat, before and after school, during any breaks between classes and during lunches. As "motivation" to sign up for the student blood donation. And they would play it continuously until their donation goal was reached.
I couldn't listen to it for the last few years. Geoff fixed that and I'm in love with his cover
The tool his playing with at the beginning is called a "brace and bit". It's a manual drill, the type used before electric drills. Have one myself.
Monster Mash also had a rare feat of making the Billboard Top 100 3 different times, in 1962, 1970 and in 1973. (In 1962 it went all the way to #1.)
Hello Elizabeth. The tool is a carpenter s brace and bit .before electric drills .I have watched this a dozen times and still watch the dancing, he's brilliant as are you.
I love your excitement: "This has been on my list for a very long time..." It's only been released for like 3 weeks! But very excited for this reaction. Geoff did not disappoint as usual and I'm fully expecting to hear "let's go back" about a hundred times.
I think Elizabeth meant the song itself, rather than this version specifically... 🙂
Also, Elizabeth is a Patron, meaning that she has had the pre release of this for a week longer than the rest of the world and has had to avoid spoilers from that release until she got to sit down and record. I know as a patron, every minute I am not watching one of Geoff's new releases feels like a year, so I imagine this HAS felt like a Looonnngggg time.
It's fun to see your reactions! They mirror my own! Sooooooo many fun things to see and hear in that video, I'm sure I've watched it no less than 100 times...every time noticing something new!
Great review! 👍👍
I have never really liked this song, but I'm loving this
Bobby "Boris" Picket is supplanted as the Monster masher .....i can match his Hz but not that brilliant tone.... his arranging and production skills are astonishing
Watching your reactions is like watching an 8 year walk into FAO Schwarz for the first time. Makes me smile and have a better day.
I love your reactions, both the analysis, and watching your expressive face ;)
I could be wrong, but I believe the "monsters" from left to right are Dracula, Wolfman, and Frankenstein. I've watched it numerous times and am still caught off-guard by new and wondrous things. Do you notice how the monsters become more fluid in their movements as the video moves along? 'til, as Elizabeth picked up on, Frank was flossing at the end. Just a masterpiece.
I learned a lot from listening to your music analysis. Thanks!
Oh, and please do Halo!
If you go back and view Bare Necessities and Saddle Up and compare the simplicity of those two videos to this, you can easily see how much Geoff has learned and grown in such a short time.
Liz, you are so right, you need to watch this more than once or twice. I've viewed it at least six times and found something new each time. Geoff is so subtle in his crafting of these gems.
"Who knows, maybe we'll see some dancing too"... -sips drink smiling in anticipation🤗
The first tool Geoff used was a drill called a brace, also called a "brace and bit". The second drill he had is called a "wheel brace".
At 6:30 - the "weird tool" is an old manual drill. That's what drills looked like before the appearance of power tools. ;)
My source? 23 years married to a carpenter. We have a few of those in the house. We still use them. It's a perfect choice for this video as far as the "time period" setting.
As far as Kathy's entrance. Go back and watch closely. She twitches on his low notes, too! LOL.
I'm only 5 mins into this & loving it already!
It's very cool & Really well done...
Thanks for sharing Elizabeth!
Great reaction by you as well,
Always great to see you not only enjoying the song but also having a blast with it.
Ok back to the song Lol
Agreed, It does have a bit of The Beach Boys flavour to it..
Cheer's
Kevin
First time I had watched this video and I think it should be at the top of the list to be played each Halloween.
The best version ever!
Another fact ... Shortly after the song was released, a new dance-move was soon created called ... ready? ... THE MONSTER MASH!