THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW:
Original Roxy Cast (1974)

*LP*
1974, Ode Sounds And Visuals/A & M Records, SP77026
1988, Ode Sounds And Visuals, ODE-9009 (re-issue)

*CASSETTE*
1988, Ode Sounds And Visuals/JEM Records, Inc.
1990, Ode Sounds And Visuals/Rhino Records, R4 70090 (re-issue)

*CD*
1988, Ode Sounds And Visuals/Pacific Records (UK), ODECD 9009
1990, Ode Sounds And Visuals/Rhino Records, R2 70090

CAST:
Usherette/Magenta: Jamie Donnelly
Narrator: Graham Jarvis
Janet Weiss: Abigale Haness
Brad Majors: B. (Bill) Miller
Riff-Raff: Bruce Scott
Columbia: Boni Enten
Frank N. Furter: Tim Curry
Rocky Horror: Kim Milford
Eddie/Dr. Scott: Meat Loaf
BACKGROUND VOCALS: Jamie Donnelly, Abigale Haness, Kim Milford, Susan Morse, Bruce Scott, and the entire RHS company

MUSICIANS
David Foster, Larry Knechtel, D'Vaughn E. Pershing: keyboards
Daniel Kortchmar, Dean Parks, Thomas J. Tedesco: guitars
Hal Blaine: drums
Joe Osborn: bass
James R. Horn, Trevor Lawrence, Steven P. Madaio: horns
Gary Coleman: percussion
D'Vaughn E. Pershing: musical director

PRODUCER: Lou Adler
ENGINEER: Hank Cicalo
ASSISTANT ENGINEER: Mailt Calice
ART DIRECTION: Ode Visuals
DESIGN: Des Strobel/AGI
PHOTOGRAPHY: Richard Fegley
FRONT COVER ILLUSTRATION: Michael English
RECORDED AT: A & M Studios

RUNNING TIME: 49:15

In the midst of TRHS' newly-found success in London, British actress Britt Eklund convinced Lou Adler to go see the show one night. Adler, an American music mogul responsible for managing and producing hit pop acts like Carole King, The Mamas & The Papas, Johnny Rivers, and Cheech & Chong, went to the show--- jet-lagged and tired. He immediately fell in love with it. In the following 48 hours, he would negotiate the American performance rights to the show, and even secure rights for a motion picture adaptation (!) of the show. The rest is history............(An interesting note: Tim Curry did not play Frank that historic night Lou Adler first saw TRHS......it was none other than Richard O'Brien)

In March of 1974, TRHS opened in Los Angeles at Adler's 500-seat, newly-opened Roxy theatre/nightclub. The show was a hit, and soon it became a hangout for celebrities. (John Lennon, Keith Moon, and Elvis Presley were but a few names of those who attended the production.) Tim Curry revived his role as Dr. Frank N. Furter, but none of the other members of the original London cast performed in this ensemble. It was this company that introduced Meat Loaf to Rocky Horror. Playing the dual role of Eddie and Dr. Scott, he would further go on to perform in TRHPS with several members of the original London cast. Film veteran Graham Jarvis was cast as The Narrator, but the rest of the cast were mainly unknowns at the time.

With TRHS' bolt of success in America, and the fact that it was being produced by an infamous record producer, it seemed pretty likely that a cast recording would come to be. The result: the Original Roxy Cast album, probably the most enjoyed and commonly owned TRHS cast album ever released.

I think what makes this album so enjoyable is that it was professionally produced by Lou Adler, who definitely knew what he was doing. Adler, who is one of the greatest rock and roll producers ever, put together one rocking cast recording. The session musicians who participated were among the best in their field at the time. The album got American distribution by A & M Records, a major label, and the fact that the Original Soundtrack to TRHPS wasn't released in the US until about 1979 made this the only Rocky Horror album available domestically for about five years.

The Original Roxy Cast album is one of the best. Tim Curry has never sounded better as Frank. His performance on this album is energetic, tough, and (in my opinion) better than his performances on the RHS Original London Cast album and TRHPS Original Soundtrack. B. Miller & Abigale Haness make a great Brad & Janet (Haness' voice is lower than most Janets, which seems to bother most listeners, is a pleasant change in my opinion), Bruce Scott is no Richard O'Brien, but he turns in a pretty impressive Riff (with an outstanding range, as well.) Meat Loaf's Eddie sounds almost identical to his Eddie in TRHPS, but his best work here is his Dr. Scott (which I personally enjoy--Meat Loaf and Jonathon Adams are the only Dr. Scott's I've liked).

This album is a HUGE step forward from the Original London Cast album.

COLLECTOR'S NOTE: the VERY FIRST pressing of this album had a pull-out insert of Tim Curry as Frank on one side, and the lyrics to the songs on the other. Every other pressing of this album on vinyl just featured a gatefold jacket with NO pull-out. However, on some vinyl pressings, the lyrics and the pull-out photo were included in the album's inner sleeve. The British CD release, however, duplicates the pull-out and incorporates it into the CD booklet, lyrics and all. The American CD release contains the picture of the pull-out, but NO lyrics. (confused???)