The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the original soundtrack album to the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, an adaptation of the 1973 musical The Rocky Horror Show. The 1975 soundtrack album was released by Ode Records and produced by Richard Hartley. It should not be confused with The Rocky Horror Show album, a recording of the theatrical music by Tim Curry and the original cast from The Roxy Theatre. The latter album was released in 1974, also by Ode Records. 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 retrospective star rating of five stars out of five and described it as the "definitive version of the [Rocky Horror] score". This version of the soundtrack was certified Gold by the RIAA on 23 February 1981.
I don’t think musical theatre soundtracks should be included here buttttt this is basically a rock album anyway and it’s a damn great one. Incredible musical, incredible film, iconic songs - got to be a 5
One of my absolute faves of all time. Discovered this many years ago- a timeless/timewarp classic. Of course listening is not as good as watching as well but hey, you can't have everything......
The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a live musical (or with a good crowd at the movies) is a five star experience. Watching the movie is a four star event, especially with friends. The album alone with mostly mediocre songs is barely three stars. It's not Jesus Christ Superstar or any other musical with mostly great songs. It's a lot of fun, but not the music specifically.
Absolutely brilliant, and timeless.
Probably doesn’t help I’ve never seen this movie so listening to this kind of leaves me clueless. The songs seem alright. You can really tell how significantly more talented meat loaf is at singing compared to everyone else. Other than that it feels like a movie soundtrack. I’m sure if I saw the movie I would possibly like this more but as an album it’s nothing special. 4.4/10
Fantastic! I hadn’t thought of this being a candidate for the list but an amazing soundtrack for an amazing movie that is such a giant of the cult movie scene. I watch this multiple times a year - it is a Halloween tradition in my household - so I am intimately familiar with the music but any chance to spend an hour in this world is a treat! 50 YEARS! There ain’t no way I’m not giving this cultural masterpiece a 5! TERRIFIC!
This definitely was a good choice and rates a 5 from the point of view as a pop culture "must-listen." Although I've never been a huge fan myself (I think I missed out on the whole RHPS phenomenon by being in the wrong time and places), I like that people are crazy for this. That said, I quite loved listening to the songs on the album today.
Favorite songs: Time Warp, Sweet Transvestite, Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul, Over at the Frankenstein Place Least favorite songs: "Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me" 4/5
What can you do with this? I mean I literally went to see Rocky Horror at midnight on prom night. There's no separating the music from the memories.
I've always had sort of a weird relationship with Rocky Horror Picture Show, since I didn't really understand the concept of camp when I was younger. The songs are fun, though this drags a bit as an album towards the end. However, all things considered, this album is well executed for what it is, and I think I have to give it a 4 for its influence on the sexuality of multiple generations of misfits either way 4/5
Perfect album, great inclusion!
There is a lack of musical theatre on the original list. It's not something I'll listen to without watching the movie, but it was a nice addition. It deserves a spot on my personal list
So can we all agree that the story of Rocky Horror doesn’t quite make sense? Now we have that elephant in the room addressed, we can acknowledge that the music is fabulous. I don’t think I could ever go to see it live because of the type of people who go and see it live would ruin it. I want to see the show not the audience. “I’m going home” is beautiful. Tim Curry is a national treasure and Richard O’Brien deserves all the riches this has afforded him.
Feels like kind of a “follows the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law” to include this on here. RHPS is a quintessential cinematic/live theater experience. It’s one that can easily be argued everyone needs to experience before they die. And it has catchy music. But is the soundtrack really an album? Is it one that needs to be *heard* before you die? Can it even really be appreciated fully in absence of having seen/experienced the show? I’m not so sure about that. For what it’s worth, I love RHPS and I love all these songs, so I’ll err on the side of a charitable interpretation here.
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Science fiction/double feature, Time warp, Hot patootie bless my soul, Touch-a touch-a touch me
I mean yeah I guess
I know I watched the film through at least once... On VHS I think, to put a very rough date frame on it. Never caught one of the modern screenings. I was surprised by how well the music had stuck with me. It holds up for what it is - campy musical theater - and you have to admire the production generally for going way out there for its time. I'm not the type to listen to musical soundtrack, and the tropes of the genre can get annoying to me, but this was an amiable enough trip down memory lane.
I saw this movie once. I'd made no sense. But Time Warp rules.
Well my girlfriend really likes this
I have never actually seen the rocky horror show, but still enjoyed listening to this, and I think the list could have a few more musical soundtracks on it.
Rocky Horror is one of those things where it's kinda fun, but people who like it have absolutely ruined it for me. But the soundtrack is still pretty cool. 3/5.
Shaming myself here as I’m nearly three decades old and haven’t seen Rocky Horror yet. Had some familiarity with a few songs before going in but enjoyed this LP, even without the context of the movie. There’s a strong sense of melody throughout, and the Broadway-style lyricism only elevates the memorability. Most importantly, the whole album is just fun – this made me look up local showings as I’d like to put the whole thing in context.
OK, I swear I'm no prude or anything, it's just that this movie didn't do anything for me. Didn't hate it, even tapped my toes a few times. The story just isn't my preferred genre; although I understand its significance in musical history. If you haven't seen the movie, do yourself a favor and watch it before listening to the soundtrack (or just watch the movie instead of listening to the soundtrack itself). The soundtrack won't make any sense otherwise. Anything with Tim Curry and Meat Loaf is worth seeing, too. That being said "Time Warp" is a pretty fantastic and fun song.
I've never seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show but I am well aware of the whole history of the thing. As a queer person, the movie and culture around it have never connected to me in ways that it does for others. It's for the latter reason I think this could be included. As for the actual music, it's fine and pretty musical. Nothing super catchy which is surprising that I didn't recognise any songs. Some of the lines have made it into pop culture, but the melodies haven't. It is risky at how many musicals should be included. I can't remember if there are any on the original list, but someone submitted Hadestown and I'm fine with having a handful of musical soundtracks on the list. Given the history RHPS has had, it's worthy of being included. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3.5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Yes.
A little too silly The anticipation joke in Sweet Transvestite is peak Huge win for the trans community
Never saw the movie. These 'musical' songs don't really work as standalone songs too me. It feels like they are missing moving images