THE FILTHY HORROR SHOW (2007)
review by Kev J.B., a Rocky Horror audio addict

Another Rocky Horror tribute album was released this Halloween by the Filthy Little Angels label. These kind folks have made the album available for free on their website, which I must say is really fantastic. Without even listening to the album, I have to applaud the folks at Filthy Little Angels for producing a tribute album that isn't meant to cash in on the popularity of Rocky Horror.

Before I go over each track individually, I want to preface this review by saying that I've heard a lot more Rocky Horror recordings than the average fan. A LOT more. I own every known cast album, too many bootlegs to admit to and tons of cover versions and singles of Rocky Horror songs. The 17 songs that make up Rocky Horror are very near and dear to my heart and I tend to be very critical when I listen to these tribute albums. Personally, I am the kind of fan who believes in leaving the classics alone. There's no need to remake something that is enjoyable thirty-some years after it was recorded. But I can also understand and appreciate the desire to pay tribute to something by performing/recording/re-working your own version.

The only thing I am curious about is if the artists featured on this collection are fans or just bands who recorded these songs so they could be on an album. Because I would be very disappointed if some of these artists are Rocky Horror fans. If Shock And Awe (the group that covers "The Time Warp") call themselves Rocky Horror fans, they should be ashamed of themselves.

I have to admit that I am not familiar with this kind of music. I know the songs in Rocky Horror, but I do not know independent rock/punk music, so I may be much more critical of these songs than the fan who digs this kind of music.

There have been a few of these tribute albums now, and they all have good and bad covers on them. The Filthy Horror Show is no exception. There are some good tracks and there are some horrible tracks:

Science Fiction Double Feature by Captain Polaroid
Not bad, but not great. The distortion on the lead vocal is very annoying and unnecessary. It starts out okay, but it never goes anywhere. The artists do not sound like they're putting anything into it at all. Not the worse cover of this song I've heard, but definitely nothing memorable about it.
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Dammit Janet by Control-R
This has a real garage band sound to it that I kinda dig. The male vocalist isn't that great but he's much better than the female singer. Why is it so difficult for women to sing this song without sounding like they're in labor? Interesting, would give it a better rating if it weren't for the bad female singer and the unnecessary use of "Oh shit".
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Over At The Frankenstein Place by Kelly Kapowski
Nice guitar opening. Pretty good vocalists too. I wish this one were more upbeat. This song kicks ass when the tempo is picked up a bit (as in the Roxy cast.) This one's pretty good though.
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The Time Warp by Shock And Awe
Holy crap is this bad. How can you take the most popular song and make it the worst song on the compilation???!!!???? Personally, I've always felt that there are only two good versions of this song (the film and the original London cast) so I usually don't like ANY versions of Time Warp (even when Richard is singing them.) But this is BAD. I can't believe I made it through the whole thing. The artists name is good: Shock And Awe, indeed.   Rating = NO LIPS

Sweet Transvestite by Roman Rappak Feat. Ian Simpson
I don't know exactly what you'd call this style of music. I don't particularly enjoy it, but it is unusual and a different take on the song. Most covers of this song try to rip off the movie. These guys did their own thing, which I have to say is commendable.
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The Sword Of Damocles by Glasgow Glam Bangers Feat. Scunner
The music sounds like The Cranberries and the singer is really bad. What is with these people using voice distortion? Did Gene Chiovari produce this? Get rid of the fucking vocal distortion!
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I Can Make You A Man by Later
What is with the strange vocal effects!!????!! The vinyl sounds are cool, but the song is horrible. Is that music they're playing? Why can't anyone fucking sing? I really don't follow independent/punk music so if this is normal, I apologize but I want to hear the fucking vocalist sing in a microphone, not a tin fucking can.  Rating = NO LIPS

Hot Patootie-Bless My Soul by Billy Ruffian
Good music, great sound, good guitar work. Sounds kinda synthesized, but it's not bad. The vocalist isn't the best, but I can at least hear him.
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I Can Make You A Man (reprise) by The Star Fighter Pilot
What the hell song is he singing? "Pour the wine...ring the bells?" Hello?? Once again, more vocal effects that RUIN the song. The echo is annoying. Sounds like someone masturbating with a Casio. 
Rating = NO LIPS

Touch-A Touch-A Touch Me by Colette McKendrick
Great cover. I like the guitar work. A highlight on this collection. I would like to hear this girl sing other Rocky tunes.
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Once In A While by Start The Fans Please!
Not bad. It doesn't really go anywhere, but OIAW is not the easiest song to work with. The vocals are decent and the song has a very Hawaiian kinda groove to it.
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Eddie's Teddy by Alex Tornado
Is the singer trying to sound like Mrs. Miller? The backing track is not bad but the vocals are just too campy to be entertaining.
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Planet Schmanet, Janet by Scunner
A very unusual take on this song. I love the ukelele. These guys made the song very soft and smooth. I like it a lot.
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VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: "Rose Tint My World" is NOT three songs. The film soundtrack put the song into three parts and ever since then people tend to consider that to be the way it is. I hate when these tribute albums take one song and split it into different tracks.

Rose Tint My World by The Housewives
What the hell is this? It sounds like The B-52's meet Sonic Youth meet Japanese Pop all on crack. This song gave me a headache and I gave up trying to follow it thirty seconds into it. I listened to the whole thing and I wish I didn't. I don't know what you'd call this kinda music, I'm sure this falls into a category, but I call it CRAP. Rating = NO LIPS

Rose Tint My World (Don't Dream It/Wild And Untamed Thing) by The Sexual Hot Bitches
Just vocals and a guitar. Not bad at the beginning, I enjoyed it somewhat until they started in with the obligatory vocal distortion. I hate when bands/artists work the name of their band into their songs.
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I'm Going Home by Glasgow Glam Bangers Feat. Scunner
This one sounds out of place on this collection. It sounds like a club remix. It also may very well be the longest version of I'm Going Home ever recorded. It's not bad. I give them credit for doing something different. It's not a style of music I like, but I think it does have something to offer.
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Super Heroes by Kissing Kalina
The music is fantastic. The backing track really kicks ass and I love the bass. The vocals are mind-numbingly awful. This would have been a perfect track if it was an instrumental.
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Science Fiction Double Feature (reprise) by Wojtek Godzisz
A great ending cover. A very lovely tribute to the original film arrangement. The guy is a good singer and I really enjoyed this one.
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Overall, it's hard to pass up an album that is free. I would encourage all to go download it now. Who knows when there will be another free Rocky album? (Even Adam Clarke's tribute CD wasn't free.) You may love it or hate it, but it won't cost you anything.

I'd give the entire collection 3 lips. It's not bad. There's some good tracks here that make up for the horrible ones. I would definitely consider playing a few of these songs before our show. I would also consider playing some of these songs in my garage to help get rid of the rodents.

The Rating System:

= BAD
  = Not Good
  = Not Too Bad
  = Pretty Damned Good
  = PHENOMENAL