Edgar Allan Poe's stories rank as some of the greatest horror ever written--and that's before the likes of Iggy Pop, Diamanda Galás, Abel Ferrara, and Christopher Walken (chilling, as he reads from "The Raven") got their hands--er, voices--on Poe's words. This two-disc compilation is a success if only for treating Poe's texts in the right manner, with subtle backing music and sounds and restrained, ominous performances from the readers.
1 Alone - Marianne Faithfull 1:30 2 The Raven - Christopher Walken 8:30 3 The Tell-Tale Heart - Iggy Pop 14:26 4 The Conqueror Worm - Ken Nordine 3:00 5 The Black Cat - Diamanda Galas 36:58 6 For Annie - Gavin Friday 5:21 7 To Helen - Ed Sanders 2:29 8 The Haunted Palace - Ed Sanders 5:42 9 Ulalume - Jeff Buckley 6:13 10 Berenice - Doctor John 27:42 11 The City and the Sea - Debbie Harry ... 8:04 12 Annabel Lee - Marianne Faithfull 2:24 13 The Masque of the Red Death - Gabriel Byrne 18:13 14 Raven [Live Excerpt]- Abel Ferrara 1:57