41. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Rocky Horror Picture Show (Ode, 1975)
Stop laughing--one reason why this ridiculous, sublime film became an unprecedented Midnight phenomenon was its music. More so than his oft-dubious peers, Richard "Riff-Raff" O'Brien expertly blended '50s doo-wop nostalgia, Broadway show-stoppers and '70s rock opera and ran it all through a campy/fabulous sci-fi sheen. Plus, unlike a VHS or DVD copy of the film, it holds up well without the whole interactive theater experience. Highlights include a very young Susan "Janet" Sarandon cooing "Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me" like a liberated, sex-crazed Olivia Newton-John and Meat Loaf (at his least bloated and most palatable) howling "Whatever Happened To Saturday Night", but the show unquestionably belongs to Tim Curry. "The Time Warp", "I'm Going Home" and the should've-been-covered-by-Bowie "Sweet Transvestite" made his career--everything he subsequently recorded (including the minor novelty "I Do The Rock") inevitably exuded a whiff of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
Stop laughing--one reason why this ridiculous, sublime film became an unprecedented Midnight phenomenon was its music. More so than his oft-dubious peers, Richard "Riff-Raff" O'Brien expertly blended '50s doo-wop nostalgia, Broadway show-stoppers and '70s rock opera and ran it all through a campy/fabulous sci-fi sheen. Plus, unlike a VHS or DVD copy of the film, it holds up well without the whole interactive theater experience. Highlights include a very young Susan "Janet" Sarandon cooing "Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me" like a liberated, sex-crazed Olivia Newton-John and Meat Loaf (at his least bloated and most palatable) howling "Whatever Happened To Saturday Night", but the show unquestionably belongs to Tim Curry. "The Time Warp", "I'm Going Home" and the should've-been-covered-by-Bowie "Sweet Transvestite" made his career--everything he subsequently recorded (including the minor novelty "I Do The Rock") inevitably exuded a whiff of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
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