Richard O'Brien - Absolute O'Brien (1999)

Absolute O'Brien collects some of the Rocky Horror Picture Show creator's more obscure songs. Many of these were written for post Rocky projects like 1976's Tee Zee & The Lost Race, a futuristic musical about Tarzan, and the Rocky sequel Shock Treatment from 1981. O'Brien's characteristically witty, skewed lyrical stance is evident on tracks like "Ain't That To Die For" and "One Hundred Dollars An Hour," but anyone expecting Rocky's campy musical style will be surprised by this album's arrangements, which cast the songs as jazzy, soft-rock mood pieces. Drykt humorous cabaret pieces like "Fixation" and "It's Up To You" are among the finest tracks here, while the nearly seven minutes-long album opener "Incubus Of Love" tends to drag. A surprisingly subtle, low-key album, Absolute O'Brien may not appeal to all Rocky Horror Picture Show fans, but it does provide a different look at his quirky talent.~© Heather Phares /TiVo