It’s that time of year again when the ghosts, ghoulies, skeletons and zombies have finished their laundry and ready themselves for the annual celebration that is Halloween. Arriving just in time for the ghoulish festivities is a new compilation to shakedown those dancing limbs from Koko Mojo. With a track list providing a new slant on this rockin’ theme with black artists from the genres of blues, rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll. One aspect worth celebrating here, apart from the exciting music on offer, is the focus on less obvious tracks to celebrate this time of year. With no time for the obligatory Screamin’ Jay Hawkins ‘I Put A Spell On You’, what the listener receives instead is the same artist but with equally compelling ‘Frenzy’, complete with cartoon vocal expressions setting up this compilation for more great expectations. ‘Black Halloween: Bo Didley Is A Zombie’ certainly delivers with more measured, yet equally thrilling performances by the likes of Lord Luther and ‘(I Was A) Teenage Creature, The Hollywood Flames’ ‘Frankenstein’s Den’, and wonderfully bluesy-trippy version of ‘The Shadow Knows’ from The Coasters. With Johnny Fuller assuming a plucky stance in relation to ‘Haunted House’, to soulful numbers from Ike Turner, The Cadillacs and The Naturals, not to mention more predictable entry from Bo Diddley (‘Who Do You Love?’) who manages to bag the front cover despite appearances looking a tad unhealthy. Of course, no rockin’ Halloween album is complete without its eccentricities and this arrives upon its conclusion with intriguing Philly Joe Jones’ ‘Blues For Dracula’. Clearly, it’s not only the living who are rockin’ because there’s enough evidence to suggest the dead are enjoying the dance via ‘Black Halloween: Bo Didley Is A Zombie’.