Old Navy's Halloween CDs [2001-2003]

Clothing retailer OLD NAVY is one of several merchants who have used the music branding agency Rock River Music to offer a little something extra for customers to impulsively buy at checkout: seasonal CDs for Valentine's Day, Summer, Christmas and Halloween.  HERC has a small stash of discs for each season but today he's shining the ever-loving light on three of the chain's Halloween offerings.

Haunted Hits - Get In The Spirit [2001]
[15 tracks = 11 songs + 4 "SPOOKY" sound effects tracks]

Obvious Halloween connection for most songs featuring something for everyone.  Music choices range from the Fifties through the Eighties.  Bonus points for digging up Wilson "Wicked" Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour" and Pilot's power-pop "Magic". Some of the sound effects, possibly all of them, had been featured on earlier Rhino Halloween discs. Produced in conjunction with Warner Special Products.

Monster Mix - Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun [2002]

[16 tracks = 12 songs + 4 sound effects tracks]

An Eighties themed party mix with tenuous Halloween ties which allows the disc to be played just about any time unlike a lot of once a year Halloween themed discs. The track that surprised HERC was Cameo's "Candy" - never associated it with Halloween until hearing it on this disc. Manufactured by Universal Music Special Markets.

Do The Funky Pumpkin - 
Halloween Hits From Ghost To Ghost [2003]

[12 songs - no sound effects]

This time around, all sound effects were ditched so we get 12 tracks spanning four decades like the Haunted Hits disc above.  Nothing out of the ordinary to hear here: there are three television show themes and one movie theme song though only two of those tracks are performed by the original artists. Another interesting cover is Dusty Springfield's "Spooky".  Universal Music Special Markets again handled the manufacturing.