The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Soundtrack LP

Label: Ode Records; Year: 1975; Format: Vinyl LP

Even though Halloween was yesterday it is still the season and when I was sitting down last night to write the review after having listened to the LP I was plain tired hence a twenty-four hour delay it is. I don't exactly remember how old I was when I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time, but I was very young. Over the years I have seen the movie several times again and always loved it for its celebration of trash culture and B-Movies. It has been years since I saw it last hence it's time I catch it again some time soon. Since I am not a movie buff and definitely don't consider myself knowledgeable when it comes to the world of cinema I read up about the impact of the Rocky Horror Picture Show on the intranet and have come away with some interesting angles. First and foremost since this blog of mine concentrates so heavily on punk rock it is interesting to see how the costume designer Sue Blane has directly or indirectly influenced early punk rock fashion, especially when it comes to the torn fishnet stockings and colorfully-dyed hair. Let's also not forget that the movie spawned the musical career of Meatloaf as two years after the release of Rocky Horror Meatloaf released his most popular album ever, Bat Out of Hell. At the same time the movie launched careers of actors like Susan Sarandon or Tim Curry amongst others. But how about the music on this record and so crucially important to the movie itself? Everybody will have heard "The Time Warp" at some point in their lives, there is no doubt about it. It is definitely the hit song on the record and of the movie, but let's not fool ourselves to think that the rest of the music is not interesting. All the music was written by Richard O'Brien aka Riff Raff in the movie and I shall just conclude that his dialogues for the movie and the accompanying music make this movie and soundtrack so much fun that it should not come as a surprise that almost fifty years after its original release the movie is a cult classic and has a worldwide following. I'll put on "Time Warp" again now and raise a glass to everything outside the norm. Please do yourself a favor and watch the movie and let's do the time warp again!! 

The Warriors - Movie Soundtrack LP

Label: A&M Records; Year: 1979; Format: Vinyl LP

Back in 1982/83 I was a 12-year old living in the suburbs of Zurich, Switzerland. At some point I saw this gang-related movie from New York City called "The Warriors" for the first time on TV, dubbed from English to German. I remember that one of my friends that lived on the same street saw it also and we instantly became huge fans of this cult movie trying to figure out how this Coney Island gang navigated their agonizing trip from the Bronx all the way down to the Ocean. Of course we had no knowledge whatsoever about the geography of NYC but to the two of us the movie remained an all time favorite until today. Forward thirty years after that experience and in 2012 I actually moved to "The Big Apple". Little did I know back in the early '80s that one day I would live where they filmed "The Warriors", but you never know where live takes you. Even though I don't reside there anymore but still live in the state of NY, a little part of me will be a New Yorker for the rest of my life. I have fond memories of my wife and I taking the bus from Bay Ridge in Brooklyn to Coney Island to take a walk on the boardwalk and grab some unhealthy but yummy food from Nathan's while taking in the fresh air from the Ocean. In 2015 I was lucky enough to witness one of the reunions of some of the actors from the movie. If I am not mistaken the person that organized the event had punk rock roots which is not surprising at all taking into account that quite a few bands took their band name from the movie. Sick Of It All headlined the musical aspect of the event and John Joseph of the Cro-Mags was the interviewer at the end of the event when there was a Q&A with the actors (see photo). But this entry is really about the music on the movie soundtrack LP. I am by no means an expert on soundtracks and in general not even a movie buff but "The Warriors" is always worth an exception. So today I sat down on a trip down memory lane and gave this a spin and if you ask me for the most part it's just a really enjoyable record. If you are a fan of the movie then you will know the big hits announced throughout the movie by a female DJ we never learn much about. Barry De Vorzon, a progressive Disco producer of the time was tasked with the soundtrack to the movie and succeeded on all levels in my opinion. From his own electro-disco themed tracks to the heavy soul hitter of 'Nowhere To Run' by Cleveland born Artist Arnold McCuller to the fantastic Joe Walsh written song about making it in the city entitled 'In The City', a song that later ended up on an Eagles album to Desmond Child's 'Last Of an Ancient Breed' the soundtrack immensely helped carrying the movie. Maybe a little less known are the equally great 'You're moving too slow', an energetic blues-rock stomper or 'Love is a Fire' by Polish-born Solo Artist Genya Ravan. Interesting was also the inclusion of Bed-Sty, Brooklyn based band Mandrill who in 1971 started to fuse Afro-Carribean sounds with Jazz, Latin and Rock, something that would in years and decades to become known as World Music. Walter Hill's movie based on a novel by Sol Yurick is not just a great watch but also a great listen people. Warriors, come out to plaaaaayyy!