A downside to doing this as I'm doing it is that I can't say much for how each band's sound influences their take, I can only take the song at face value. If and when I familiarize myself with each band I'll go back and add something. In the meantime, if the band means anything to you, feel free to comment. I'm legitimately interested in other people's thoughts on this.
Now, oddly enough given that this is "The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show" and not "The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Picture Show", the overture's been left off, which leaves us with "Science Fiction/Double Feature" as a starting point. This is one of my favorite songs from the show, partially because I get all the references (and yes, the fact that Dr. X didn't feature creature-building of any sort miffs me.)
The guitar at the beginning immediately lets you know you're in for something different, as does the run time—this version is a good two minutes shorter than the original.
The first verse gets off to an awkward start, because they've compounded the shorter lines to make them longer ones and yet sped up the pace, resulting in the first few lines being sort of squished together. I like the echo over "they got caught in a celluloid jam", though, and each line is an improvement over the next in terms of awkward. However, listening carefully tells me that the instrumental track would be a great listen, and I suspect the problem is merely poor coordination. The music was set in stone by the time they started working out the lyrics. I don't know if music actually works like this, but it makes sense to my insomnia-riddled brain.
The chorus, or at least it's first rendition, is hard to fault. If I have one complaint it's that the final line (the title drop) is awkwardly paced. Besides that, it's great. The second verse is an improvement over the first as well, the lyrics flow much better (though "when worlds collide/said George Pal* to his bride" is a bit bunched up.)
The second chorus is really good too, and for some reason the slight Valley Girl inflection on "I want to go" works. Until...what the fuck is FAL? Listening to it again renders it "RKL." Neither of these make any sense in context. RKO* was an actual thing. They do know that, right? They didn't just think it was random initials? It really pulls me out of the song, but I suspect to anyone who legit wonders what a Triffid is it won't affect your enjoyment much.
And...now it's slowing down. With like half a minute left, too, and really suddenly, not just in a "playing out" sort of way. Why? It just sort of kills the most excellent buzz I was on. It's just really jarring and there doesn't seem to be an aesthetic reason for it.
Overall, this song's main problem is pacing. There are quite a few lines that don't get enough breathing room and just barely avoid running into each other. The speed sort of undoes the ability to do anything rhythmic with the lines, instead just sort of running through them. When the pacing does sort itself out, though, it works well, and the music is fun. I definitely recommend this rendition if you want a two-and-a-half minute jolt of energy.
Now, seeing as this an adaptation, I feel obligated to stack it up against the original, and I can't really. They're two very different beasts, and sometimes that's okay. I like both, really.
Sometimes, however, the lyrics demand to be done a certain way or else it's just jarring. But we'll get to that. Just two more tracks first.
