Tales of Heaven & Hell

by William Ruhlmann"Contains genuinely scary material," reads a sleeve note. "Use caution when listening alone or in the dark." The warning is akin to the kinds of ads they used to run for 1950s horror movies, and Carlos' album of largely instrumental, classically influenced music often recalls the scores of those movies, complete with Latin recitations, creepy sound effects, and whimpering and moaning female voices. But the effect of this "musical drama" is more likely to be mirth than terror, if only because such clichés have been so overdone in soundtrack music. While there are passages of genuine musical interest, the overall conception of Carlos' first album of new material in 12 years is just too silly to take seriously. (Carlos has titled one passage "Clockwork Black," a reference to her score for the film A Clockwork Orange.)