…an ongoing series of articles spotlighting movies, music, art, comics, and other assorted media that we at Rooster Republic Press find ourselves enjoying. Once a week, on Thursdays, we will showcase new and old works and, hopefully, help spread the word on great stuff you might otherwise miss out on.
RoosterVision was previously the name of our non-fiction imprint, and since those titles and that line of books are no longer, we have decided to resurrect RoosterVision for the purpose of this showcase. Enjoy!
January 20th, 2022, and today’s “RoosterVision” article is about John Harrison’s CREEPSHOW score. We’re showcasing the Waxwork Records release, in particular, but the score has seen previous (and some well-worth seeking out) releases since it was originally pressed in 1982.
For our money, John Harrison’s work on CREEPSHOW remains one of the absolute best scores ever recorded for a horror movie. 34 tracks, this release collects all of Harrison’s work for George Romero’s classic horror anthology. And the Waxworks Records release sounds gorgeous!
According to Waxworks Records, they were able to locate the master tapes recorded in 1982, which they were then able to remix and remaster for this release. That Harrison also had involvement with this remastering means that this release is, likely, the definitive version of his work that listeners will ever get their hands on.
There is, of course, music cues in CREEPSHOW that are not included here, but those pieces were sourced from music libraries, and were not written by Harrison. Those pieces, sometimes referred to as “stock music,” make up for only a handful of tracks, though they are themselves quite memorable. There is a previous release of the CREEPSHOW score that does include these tracks, and you can find that via La-la Land Records. We are a bit obsessed, and we know some of you out there are likewise. Don’t beat yourself up for owning two different versions of one of the greatest horror scores ever produced. It’s okay.
And, par the course for Waxwork Records, their packaging is incredible. The gatefold jacket opens up to liner notes from both John Harrison and George Romero. Beautiful layout work, featuring stills and artwork from the film.
There’s also a beautiful 11″x11″ print of “The Creep” tucked into one of the gatefold sleeves. To the best of my knowledge, all the artwork produced for this release was done by Gary Pullin. We covered the Vinegar Syndrome release of SPOOKIES in a previous “RoosterVision” article, and Gary Pullin produced artwork for that release as well. Pullin maintains a pretty great website if you’re interested in checking out more of his work.
You can visit Gary Pullin’s site HERE.
Of course, we can’t showcase a vinyl release without a look at the record itself. This edition came with a deep red, marbled vinyl. The center sticker features the creepy, crawly roaches from the film’s memorable segment “They’re Creeping Up On You.” The red vinyl was limited to 2000 copies, but you can still find it on the secondary market. Currently, Waxwork Records offers the same package/release but the vinyl is a lovely green.
You can grab your copy direct from Waxwork Records HERE!
And that’s that for this week’s “RoosterVision” article. Thanks for checking in, and remember…
