Back in the Dark Ages we had these clunky round slabs of black vinyl called records or LPs. This album, from Moondance Productions, was one of them.
Sometime around 1974 a guy named Alan B. Goldstein had a dream. He wanted create a radio series devoted to the adventures of Conan the Cimmerian. The pilot program was a 17-minute dramatization of the Howard story "The Frost Giant's Daughter," adapted by Goldstein himself.
The next step was to produce a second program, so the two could be issued on limited edition LP, in hopes of drumming up interest for the radio series. For the second show, Marvel Comics' REH substitute, Roy Thomas, was brought on board to write the script.
For whatever reason, the show never got off the ground. But it's pretty cool to have this album. I'm posting "The Tower of the Elephant" for a limited time only. ("The Frost Giant's Daughter" is good, too, but "Tower" is ten minutes longer and more interesting.) You can either listen to it here or download it for later. I'll try to keep it available for at least a week.
Conan is played by Paul Falzone, with narration by Owen McGee. Paul Donlon plays Yag Kosha and the Kothian. Carl Penke plays Taurus and Yara.
The Tower of the Elephant - listen now:
The Tower of the Elephant - download for later:
TOWER OF THE ELEPHANT - DOWNLOAD
For more of this week's Overlooked Films, Etc., visit Todd Mason's Sweet Freedom!
It certainly gets across the passion of Howard's writing, and takes its task seriously and executes it at least as well as most '70s radio drama...almost a surprise that it didn't fly, and had it been tried again in, say, 1978, as the reverberations of STAR WARS and the rocketing sales of THE SIMARILLION were all around, it might well've gotten farther along.
ReplyDeleteThanks Evan! :D Now i have something to make my morning a bit mor eintresting. ^^
ReplyDeleteI remember this album was advertised in the backs of old Marvel magazines or maybe famous Monsters of Filmland. Right next to ads for Elfquest. It was my first inkling of a lot of little tiny businesses that were never going to reach my small town life.
ReplyDeleteAnd now something so obscure as this is just a click of the mouse. Thank you.
Dan Luft
Oddly enough, I've been reading Conan on my Kindle for about a week, and have only gotten through 7% of the material.
ReplyDeleteoooh, thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteI've been listening to the audiobook of the first Ballantine volume. That's taking a while, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to hearing this; I didn't know it existed. Does anyone know where to get hold of--in any form--the 1970s Alternate World recording of Ugo Toppo's readings of Howard, FROM THE HELLS BENEATH THE HELLS?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know From the Hells Beneath the Hells existed, but I checked WorldCat, and see four college libraries have the LP. Michigan St U, U of Missouri, Trinity U in Texas, and York U in Canada. Unlikely they'd send it out on InterLibrary Loan, but it's worth a shot, so I put in a request.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Alternate Worlds records, a very impressive set, fell into a black hole when Roy Torgeson died, or so I gather.
ReplyDeleteYouse guys still looking for FROM THE HELLS BENEATH THE HELLS?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.megaupload.com/?d=EQM531BM
Tex
(Howard audio aficionado)
I bought this album when it was new. I probably still have it around here somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 albums numbered 541 and 542, one of which is still sealed that my father gave to me along with his entire comic book collection from the 60's and 70's.
ReplyDelete