Customer Reviews

Rocky Horror Picture Show (Dlx)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Rhino put forth a good effort when they released this 25th anniversary version of the soundtrack to coincide with the release of the DVD... but it's not quite perfect.

I will say that this version of the soundtrack includes just about every song (including the outtake "Once In A While"), whereas the original version left out a few cuts.

I will also point out that Rhino added a lot of dialogue to this album. The tracks are led in by the dialogue that precedes it in the film, which can be annoying as some of them are quite L-O-N-G. I know Rhino had good intentions, but I wish they would have done it on separate tracks so you can skip over them if you like. It's not horrible though. You'll live.

So back to the actual songs. As every other reviewer points out, this version has the previously unavailable "Once In A While," as well as "Sword Of Damocles" and "Planet, Schmanet, Janet," which were left off of the original album. And also as noted, the latter two songs sound like they've been recorded right off the television-- with the film's sound effects & everything. I guess the masters are MIA or something. It also abruptly stops on "Planet, Schmanet, Janet" before the "You're a hot dog..." coda, which is a shame! I love that song's ending!

So I guess this anniversary soundtrack suffers from gluttony-- my complaints stem from the fact that there is too much included on here. The dialogue is unnecessary. And the few extra tracks, while I'm glad they're there, could have been mastered properly. As for the rest, it's the same as the original soundtrack (only without that unnecessary "Time Warp" remix). The overall sound quality (those 2 songs notwithstanding) is pretty similar to the original release, if not a tiny bit better. I didn't notice any huge difference. So this is just like the original version + more. No real need to complain. Nothing's missing. If anything, there's just TOO much here.

I will note that the booklet & album art are cool. Some great photos & linear notes.

You might as well go with this version over the original-- this has got everything the original has & then some-- unless you really can't stand hearing the dialogue. Plus this has a great booklet, something the previous release lacked. So I'll give Rhino an "A" for effort.

I went for this new version of the soundtrack because it brings back two songs from the movie that were left off the original LP: "Sword Of Damocles" and "Planet Schmanet Janet" ("you better wise up..."). More good news came with the booklet, which has complete lyrics. This really comes in handy for some songs, in particular Meat Loaf's shining moment "What Ever Happened To Saturday Night" ("Hot Patootie-Bless My Soul" on the LP). I enjoyed the dialogue that's included on the disk, also printed out in the booklet. Hearing Tim Curry gargle his way through that mannered dialogue is almost as much fun as the songs. Also, most of Charles Gray's narrating (also deadpan hilarious) reminds of the songs' context in the movie. Way back when, I had to hunt down a separate book to figure out what the hell everybody was saying. (I still have it: minimum bid = $30. Oh wait, that's another site...) But Rhino just hands that knowledge over to you in one easy package. Change is good. Nice photos from the movie too.

The biggest disappointment, for me, is that Columbia's tap dance "break" in "The Time Warp" is once again MIA. And, as other reviewers noted, the "you're a hot dog" part is left off "Planet Schmanet." I also thought, since it's an anniversary edition, that some "where are they now" info or some cast quotes would be appropriate. Except for a picture of Mr. Gray, with the caption "To Absent Friends" and the dates of his birth and passing, there's only musical credits. Finally, the lack of liner info fails to answer the nagging question as to how and where "Super Heroes" would have fit in the movie. Same question for another new track, "Once In A While", sung by Brad. If screenwriters Jim Sharman and Richard "Riff Raff" O'Brien only knew the greatness Barry Bostwick was destined for in "Spin City"...well...they'd likely still have left this song on the cutting room floor. It's a love/losing-love ballad that doesn't quite suit our Denton sweethearts' soon-to-be-corrupted apple-pie relationship.

So much for details. This music is awesome! Glam-rock, early rock-era and cheesy pop-culture references galore, and Tim Curry forever one-upping David Bowie (at the cost of being typecast in a role that exists nowhere else...but he was great in "Clue", wasn't he?). It's sad that there are people out there who have no idea what these songs sound like. Make sure to buy at least one version of the RH disks and pervert your friends. As for me, I'm off to rent "Forbidden Planet."

Don't get me wrong, I love Rocky Horror and the songs and this is a great album which I just got in the mail today. It includes previously unreleased songs like, Once in a While, Sword of Damocles, and Planet Schmanet, but there is still some stuff missing. I hate the fact that they could put in a whole bunch of quotes from the movie before each song and have two full songs cut out of the movie and still be missing stuff from the original songs. It was missing the last couple of verses of Time Warp and Planet Schmanet. I can live without the last verse of Time Warp, but I love the part of Planet Schmanet where the characters do the last part of the song when they compare Frank-N-Furter to a hot dog, which was not included on this CD. It's part of the song and I think it's weird how that they couldn't have put that in when they put in about a bazillion quotes from the movie. Oh well, other than that this is still a great soundtrack. A big improvement over the previous one that was missing four songs!

Now before I begin, let me just say that the three star rating is for the technical sides of the disc.

Since everyone already covered the music, (and after all, if you're even considering buying this you must already love the music) I'll just focus on a point that has been neglected: the disc itself. Regarding the content though, I will have to say its a solid 5 star musical extravaganza of absolute pleasure!

On to the review then...

I find it somewhat amusing reading through past reviews. It seems some people felt that whoever made this soundtrack omitted too much, while others felt that it added too much. Personally, I think they made a good balance, and its the disc that I would have chosen myself.

True it does have lengthy buildups to the songs since dialogue is culled directly from the film, but they also wisely omit the needless sound effects (such as the tap-dancing in Time Warp, bits of dialogue in the introduction between the young couple and Riff-Raff, etc).

But in doing so, they also omitted the hilarious line: "Your... wet." "Yes... it's raining.". But then again, I guess this was necessary since those lines did take some time. However, its beyond me why they omitted my favorite *musical* line (in the Medusaizer scene) "Your a hotdog... but you better not hurt her... Frankfurter."

And another issue that I had when playing the disc was that all the songs except "Science-Fiction/Double-Feature" seemed to have been muted. It just gets a little frustating having to turn up the volume right after the introductory song, but I guess that's just the penalty for the soundtrack desginer having culled the songs right from the original prints.

I glanced over the cover/booklet, and it included the lyrics for all the songs included. No insights from Richard O'Brien were included though, as stated on the Editorial Review.

As I've never owned any other RHPS soundtracks, I can't really comment on whether this is better than the others, but what I can say is that I can't imagine anything better than this. Sure it does have its faults, but they are far and few. If your a new fan to the show like me, this is a must-have.

Even at this point, the influence of Rocky Horror rises to the surface when someone in our school merely utters the words, "Time Warp." Those who haven't seen it should hitch a ride with some friends and visit a local showing right away! But in the mean time, one thing that anyone can appreciate of this classic title is the music!

The music of Rocky Horror is an experience unto itself. Campy, yet filled to the brim with talent, zest, and erotic/bizarre lyrics to go. But enough on that. I don't need to go track by track to simply say that the whole package is GREAT! So what are the highlights? Songs not previously released on the first soundtrack, and a rare song sung by Brad, a sad melancholy song of his feelings towards Janet and his sadness. Then there's Planet Schmanet Janet, and the Sword of Damocles. You can tell they've been ripped from the film as sound effects abound, but still, it's so nice to listen to them freely now. Finally, we have the missing pieces to the puzzle! (With the exception of Little Nell's tap dance routine in Time Warp and that lovely Hot Dog section that fits alongside of Planet Schmanet)

I admit that the dialogue can be a bit grating as it comes with pretty much every track, but in a way, a lot of it accents the music and creates a portrait of the movie for your car, stereo, or hidden portable in the middle of study hall. If any of what I've said sounds appealing, this CD will not disappoint! This is the fullest Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack out there, so "[g]ive yourself in, to absolute pleasure!"

...buy something else. This CD is a let-down from start to finish. Note the following important factors: 1) it IS NOT the complete soundtrack. Sword of Damocles and Planet Schmanet Janet are taken straight from the film's soundtrack, complete with bad sound quality and sound effects. Planet Schmanet Janet is of course, as always, missing the "Plant Hot Dog" part. 2) Sword of Damocles, Over at the Frankenstein Place, and The Time Warp are missing parts (granted, SoD and OatFP never had those parts recorded, but they could have still given us the "vocal-less" verse for us to sing along with. 3) Each track is loaded with snippets of dialog from the movie, not just the song. No offense, but if I want to hear dialog from the movie, I'LL WATCH THE MOVIE! This track listing here is somewhat misleading, as there are no "untitled" tracks, the CD cover is just labeled wrong. In fact, there are 19 tracks.

In short, it's nothing more than a badly doctored version of the original soundtrack. You're better off buying that and saving your money on this dud.

This CD is great. It includes more than just the music from the movie. It has some of the dialogue as well. It also includes a song that was not in the actual motion picture, but it is a nice addition. Anyone wanting to be able to remember going to this midnight movie would truly enjoy owning this CD.

Why is it so hard for someone to just release all the songs from this movie on CD?!?

The movie version of "Time Warp" is STILL not here. It is ridiculous that in 2004 you can't buy the entire version of the Time Warp on CD. If they wanted to include the edit, they could have included both versions.

And record companies wonder why people have to download music from the internet.

This album is so close to being a worthwhile release.
I don't regret buying it, because my copy of the soundtrack was the older release on tape.
I'm very happy to have the otherwise unreleased songs on this album. The sound quality is good, but not especially noteworthy.

But the dialogue clips are insufferable. A soundtrack album is supposed to be the music, not an "album of the movie." These clips drastically decrease the likability of this recording - that and the missing end of Planet Shmanet.

There's also the plus that those silly remixes of the Time Warp are absent. And splitting up the Floor Show music sequence is a real plus.

I am glad this came out but wish that the 1 minute missing of Time warp was in here and the You're a hot dog part of Planet Schmanet Janet.

KUDOS: For including Planet Schmanet Janet (albeit in edited form) I love the beat on it and love the part where Riff Raff and Magenta are laughing and he tells her to shut up.

I think the reason I like the movie (Which I consider more of a Rock Opera than a musical) is the music. Although some of it is better with the pictures it goes to, The songs are great for random singing. Whoever the session drummer was on this was really good as well. Nice fills. I actually enjoy the movie and dislike going to the theater to see it.

Unless you want an idiotic remix of Time Warp, this is the definitive (for now) version to get. We complain but come on, you don't think at some point they won't do another anniversary edition?

Mr. O'Brien, if you read these sites, I heard you wanted to do a sequel, PLEASE DO! just give us more groovy music, be in it and bring back some of the characters from the first one and I'll see it!