Back when I’d only just taken on official library duties, I found this little gem floating around the Rock vinyl. Was this a soundtrack of some kind…? Some sort of fan tribute album? What am I even looking at?
What we have here is Freddy’s Greatest Hits by the Elm Street Group.
This is new wave bubblegum with a tie-in twist. It’s got that ethereal sexiness of a mid-eighties dance floor, coupled with the occasional gravelly vocals of Freddy, delivering the title of whatever song you happen to be enjoying. Delightfully, or perhaps disconcertingly, the Freddy on the record is none other than Robert Englund, the Johnny Depp-murdering, dream-destroying original.
The target audience is vague at best. Elm Street fans that felt obsessed enough to consume any and all merchandise? Up-and-coming serial killers? People who buy records for the weird art? It’s quite unclear. Wikipedia doesn’t even bother to list it on its page concerning franchise products, while counterintuitively its Discogs market value averages around $90.00. Overpriced and extremely obscure; everything a record collector could hope for in a release.
This terrifyingly poppy little number is only the tip of the weirdo iceberg. As the elected Librarian of KZSC Santa Cruz 88.1 FM, it’s more or less my job to have a cursory knowledge of everything on the shelves. Be sure to check back in weekly to learn more about the other tasty treats and revolting rarities that lay dormant in our massive collection.
