Rocky Horror Picture Show: 25 Years of Absolute Pleasure [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [SOUNDTRACK]

Rocky Horror (Related Recordings)

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 3, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 3, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00004YR3I
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,600 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Another installment of the Cult Show That Will Not Die, the 25th anniversary edition of the Rocky Horror soundtrack has, of course, the kinds of things one would expect of an anniversarial edition. These include previously unreleased tracks and a CD booklet that attempts to explain the inexplicable: how character actor Richard O'Brien's little slice of weirdness became such a hit that, a quarter of a century later, it's a Broadway production once again. Even today, there are people out there being, well, exposed to the phenomenon that is Rocky Horror for the first time, and the reaction is always the same: either utter enchantment or utter mystification. There's no denying that the show has a certain appeal. Creator O'Brien has called it "something any 10-year-old can enjoy," and maybe that's the secret: something about Rocky Horror's barely controlled insanity connects with our inner children. Maybe it's Tim Curry's magnetic performance. Maybe it's the music. Maybe it's '70s nostalgia. Whatever the reason, Rocky Horror has proved that one need not be mainstream to become an icon of popular culture. While the images and ideas contained therein might hardly turn a head today, there's nothing else like it that's quite as much fun. --Genevieve Williams

Product Description
Inexpensive UK remastered reissue of the soundtrack to the late-night cult phenomenon. Deluxe packaging includes booklet with rare & unseen photos. 2001. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Perfect, But Pretty Darn Close, December 12, 2003

By	mattyp4 (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

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.

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let The Party And The Sounds Rock On, October 26, 2000

By	Jeff Pearlman (Lakeland, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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."

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Soundtrack... Almost, October 4, 2000

A Kid's Review

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!