Intrada presents its 12th album recording project—Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein/Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops. The project was generously funded through a Kickstarter campaign, and again proudly features the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the baton of William T. Stromberg. It was an oft-requested title ever since Stromberg conducted scores to earlier titles in the horror series, including House of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and many more. The recording occurred in early September 2024, with a delighted orchestra commenting on how refreshing and fun it was to perform the music. The score was reconstructed by the late and sorely missed John Morgan, Bill Stromberg and Anna Stromberg. The album was mixed and edited by Leigh Phillips and mastered by Ray Faiola and Chris Malone, featuring liner notes by Faiola as well. It's the long-awaited release of some truly effervescent film music.
For scoring duties on Frankenstein, composer Frank Skinner, who had worked on earlier pictures in the series, largely kept it serious. His sophisticated score is the straight man to the antics on screen, giving the film a rich dimension by following in the footsteps of Franz Waxman, while at the same time making everything even funnier. As a bonus, Intrada is pleased to include the hyped-up antics of Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops, featuring theme and score by William Lava with additional scoring by Henry Mancini and Herman Stein. It's a packed album full of vigorous and inspired performances by the RSNO and a proud addition to Intrada's Excalibur Collection.
A huge thank you to all Intrada's Kickstarter contributors, without whom this release truly would not have been possible.
