The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the original soundtrack album to the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, an adaptation of the musical The Rocky Horror Show that had opened in 1973. The soundtrack was released as an album in 1975 by Ode Records, produced by Richard Hartley.
This low-budget freak show/cult classic/cultural institution concerns the misadventures of Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon) inside a strange mansion that they come across on a rainy night. After the wholesome pair profess their love through an opening song, their car breaks down in the woods, and they seek refuge in a towering castle nearby. Greeting them at the door is a ghoulish butler named Riff Raff (Richard O’Brien), who introduces them to a bacchanalian collection of partygoers dressed in outfits from some sort of interplanetary thrift shop. The host of this gathering is a transvestite clad in lingerie, Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry), a mad scientist who claims to be from another planet. With assistants Columbia (Nell Campbell) and Magenta (Patricia Quinn) looking on, Frank unveils his latest creation — a figure wrapped in gauze and submerged in a tank full of liquid.
With the addition of colored dyes and some assistance from the weather, Frank brings to life a blonde young beefcake wearing nothing but skimpy shorts, who launches into song in his first minute of life. Just when Brad and Janet think things couldn’t get any stranger, a biker (Meat Loaf) bursts onto the scene to reclaim Columbia, his ex-girlfriend. When Frank kills the biker, it’s clear that Brad and Janet will be guests for the night, and that they may be next on Frank’s list — whether for murder or carnal delights is uncertain. And just what is that mystery meat they’re eating for dinner, anyway? In addition to playing Riff Raff, O’Brien wrote the catchy songs, with John Barry and Richard Hartley composing the score. (vy Derek Armstrong)
The album peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard 200 in 1978. It reached No. 12 on the Australian albums chart and No. 11 on the New Zealand albums chart. William Ruhlmann of Allmusic gave the album a star rating of five stars out of five and described it as the “definitive version of the [Rocky Horror] score”.
Following its initial release, the album was not successful, and was deleted everywhere but in Canada. Marty Scott, co-founder of Jem Records, obtained a licensing agreement from Ode Records owner Lou Adler, which enabled the album to be imported to the United States. Scott also obtained a production and distribution license from Adler, which resulted in renewed interest in the album.
The soundtrack omits two of the songs sung in the film: Rocky’s “The Sword of Damocles”, and the Frank-N-Furter-led “Planet, Schmanet, Janet” (often erroneously referred to as “Wise Up, Janet Weiss”). Also omitted is “Once in a While,” which was shot for the film but later unincluded.
“The Sword of Damocles” and “Planet, Schmanet, Janet” are included on the album “25 Years of Absolute Pleasure” however “Planet, Schmanet, Janet” is missing the last verse (don’t get hot and flustered) and they are in mono and ported directly from the film itself and so include all the sound effects and dialogue that would normally be omitted from a soundtrack album.
In 2011 these three songs were released, as MP3 format only, in their stereo, studio mixes on the download only release “The Rocky Horror Picture Show Complete Soundtrack: Absolute Treasures 2011 Special Edition”. The album was later issued on double red vinyl for the film’s 40th anniversary. However, incidental music and cues are not included and “The Sword of Damocles” features an unknown lead vocalist in place of Trevor White. The latter is included with Trevor White’s vocals as a bonus track for the iTunes edition; this is the same version found on the “25 Years of Absolute Pleasure” release, albeit in stereo and contains the dialogue and sound effects from the film. (by wikipedia)
For the 1975 film version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, American producer Lou Adler wisely mixed the best of the London and Los Angeles stage versions, shooting the movie in England with Tim Curry and several of the other original cast members, plus Meatloaf (years before Bat Out of Hell), and Americans Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon as the innocent couple Brad and Janet. Adler also brought back original London stage musicians in place of the slick studio musicians who had marred the L.A. cast album. The film version resequenced the songs and reassigned some of the vocals, with Brad’s song “Once in a While” dropped. But it all worked out fine. The strings that were added to ballads like “Science Fiction/Double Feature” only improved them; the rockers rocked out; Bostwick and Sarandon proved to be the best Brad and Janet ever; the original cast members, especially Curry, reveled in the opportunity to immortalize their portrayals; and Rocky Horror’s potential as a witty parody of cheap movies, rock & roll, and sexual mores was fully realized.
The film soundtrack album became the definitive version of the score, despite lacking the songs “Planet Shmanet Janet” and “The Sword of Damocles.” The Rocky Horror Picture Show was not successful in its initial theatrical run, but then a strange thing happened. In 1976, the Waverly Theater in New York’s Greenwich Village began showing the film at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Soon, a cult of repeat viewers began turning up every week; they began to dress like the characters, call out their own comments at strategic moments, sing along, and add their own theatrical effects. The phenomenon spread across the U.S., with fans rivaling Trekkies and Deadheads for loyalty and eccentricity, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show took on a life Richard O’Brien never could have anticipated. (William Ruhlmann)
Personnel:
Count Ian Blair (guitar)
John Bundrick (keyboards)
Mick Grabham (guitar)
Phil Kenzie (saxophone)
B.J. Wilson (drums)
Dave Wintour (bass)
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background vocals:
Abigale Haness – Susan Morse – Bruce Scott
Trackist:
Richard O’Brien:
01. Science Fiction/Double Feature 4.30
Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon:
02. Dammit Janet 2.51
Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Richard O’Brien:
03. Over At The Frankenstein Place 2.37
Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Little Nell:
04. Time Warp 3.15
Tim Curry:
05. Sweet Transvestite 3.21
06. I Can Make You A Man 2.07
Meat Loaf:
07. Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul 3.00
Tim Curry:
08. I Can Make You A Man (Reprise) 1.44
Susan Sarandon, Little Nell, Patricia Quinn:
09. Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me 2.27
Jonathan Adams, Little Nell, Susan Sarandon, Tim Curry:
10. Eddie 2.44
Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Little Nell, Peter Hinwood, Tim Curry, Trevor White, Jonathan Adams :
11.1. Rose Tint My World :
11.2. Floor Show
11.3. Fanfare/Don’t Dream It
11.4. Wild and Untamed Thing 8.13
Tim Curry:
12. I’m Going Home 2.48
Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Jonathan Adams:
13. Super Heroes 2.45
Richard O’Brien:
14. Science Fiction/Double Feature (Reprise) 1.26
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15. Time Warp (1989 remix – extended version) 5.36
16. Time Warp (music – 1 = background track = U mix) 4.09
All Songs written by Richard O’Brien.
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