The Steinway Pianola Meets Rocky Horror
The Steinway Pianola Meets Rocky Horror
(1980)
 
*LP*
1980, Recorded Publications Company, RH603
The Steinway Pianola Meets Rocky Horror is probably one of the most unique RH recordings ever released. Since I don't know too much about player-pianos, all I do know is what I've gathered from written exchanges with L. Douglas Henderson, the album's creator. Mr. Henderson created player rolls for each song, and the result is a truly unique recording of TRHS
Personally, I love this recording. Not too many collectors and fans really enjoy this LP, but since it's an original and different approach to O'Brien's classic score, it's something that is really a treat to listen to. It's a very relaxing listen that I find very soothing at times. Also, I respect the fact that Mr. Henderson stayed loyal to the score by including every song from the show. The only missing piece is Brad's verse from 'Over At The Frankenstein Place.'
Since my knowledge on player-pianos and such is non-existant, it may be best to just present the album's original liner notes for a better explanation of this recording.
ORIGINAL LINER NOTES:
This Stereo Album is unique: the first transcription of a complete motion picture musical score to the
medium of orchestrated player-piano rolls. The music rolls were arranged, perforated and interpreted by
L.D. Henderson of The Musical Wonder House [Wiscasset, Me. U.S.A.] and took over a year to
hand-perforate! The player-piano used in this recording is equally special: a 1912 Steinway GRAND
Pianola Piano - that is, a rare 6'6" Steinway grand piano which was custom-fitted with a pedal-player
Pianola action, a sensitive pneumatic player built by the famous Aeolian Company.
Those who are familiar with 'contemporary music' and who attend midnight screenings of the outrageous
cult-film musical, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, should not have to read any more of the text to desire
hearing this album. Here is the first instrumental version of the movie, ready for improvisational dancing and
sing-along activities! It's R.H.P.S. in a completely new form: a 46-minute piano solo for your participation
and enjoyment.
For the many Music Lovers who are unfamiliar with the 'rock music' nature of the score, there are still a
wealth of pleasures. A careful listening with a musical ear and a taste for melodic style will reveal many
phrases which are reminiscent of such tunes as La Paloma, Asleep In The Deep, Blue Tango, The
Charleston, Original Boogie Woogie, Gilbert and Sullivan patter songs, Chopin Nocturnes and silent film
"dramatic agitato"! The scope of music is "astounding" - to quote a line from The Time Warp.
You will hear the clean sounds of the grand piano sustaining notes without the use of a pedal. Whisper-like
pianissimo passages are played with accurate delicacy - yet, the soft pedal is not used once during the
entire score! Chords will crash and sustain in epic proportions, up to 20 notes at a time in certain places in
this piano arrangement! Repetition is at times so rapid that the human eye cannot even focus on the keys as
they move up and down by themselves! The player rolls you will hear on this record are nothing like the
"honky-tonk" variety played on a parlour upright from grandma's day - these are expressive orchestral
transcriptions which use all the resources of a piano to the complete limits, since all 88 notes are played
during the course of the performance! Truly, this album is a SHOWCASE FOR THE PIANOLA!
"So...I hope you enjoy listening to this unusual piano recording. Most of my spare time in 1979 went
into the "creation" of these music rolls. The 1912 Steinway player-piano certainly never had such a
technical workout before!"
- L. Douglas Henderson
Although this recording may not be for all fans' tastes, it is certainly worth a listen or two. I highly recommend it to all die-hard and completist collectors.
MISSING TRACKS: None!!
*****AVAILABILITY*****
This recording was independently released on vinyl only. It had a very limited release, and to the best of my knowledge, only a few RH collectors (myself included) own the original vinyl LP. L. Douglas Henderson has expressed no interest in a re-issue on CD, so the best one can do to obtain a copy would be to get a dub of the original LP.
|
