BWW CD Review: THE ROCKY HORROR SKIVVIES SHOW THE ALBUM Opens The Door For The Skivvies' Recording Career

A popular animated holiday special tells the tale of a flying pumpkin that brings presents to little kids on Halloween, obviously parodying the Christmas tradition based on the legend of Santa Claus. Well, it doesn't have to be a present from The Great Pumpkin or from Santa Claus, it doesn't even have to be a gift from somebody else, but it should be a gift, maybe just from you to you, and it is available right now because THE ROCKY HORROR SKIVVIES SHOW THE ALBUM cd was just released... and, kids, it is worth owning.

This is the first cd from The Skivvies, whose live shows are consistent highlights throughout the cabaret seasons, whatever the time of year or occasion, but there can be no denying that the ROCKY HORROR SKIVVIES SHOW is their most popular outing, and it's not because it's Rocky, and it's not because it's The Skivvies - it's because of the irresistible combination that is both. Any group of actors could get together and sing songs from The Rocky Horror Show, they could do it in or out of costume, and people would want to go out and hear it. What The Skivvies do is unique because of the way that Lauren and Nick (Molina and Cearley) arrange the songs, featuring little melodic nuggets here, and little musical mash-ups there, and then they invite the most insane lineup of guest artists to perform with them. And then they all do this on a live stage in their underwear. I mean, who doesn't want to see that? So all their iterations of the Rocky Horror Skivvies Show sell out, no matter where they play the show.

But what happens when you are putting a musical program like that onto a digital format? What happens when you're asking people to buy a disc or download your recordings when they are used to seeing you and your Fierce AF friends in a sexy, silly, salacious state of undress? To wit: what happens to a live music act when they are, effectively, stripped of their gimmick? Will the audience still want to spend the money?

YES. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Underline it. Bold it. The album is sensational. The album is sensational because Lauren Molina and Nick Cearley are master musicians who have taken this beloved musical score and made it even better. Let's face it, you can always listen to the album of The Original Roxy Cast and get all you need from a Rocky Horror recording. But when Nick and Lauren get their hands on that fabulous score and add in all those special Skivvies touches, it becomes like an Easter Egg hunt, with fun little tidbits popping up everywhere throughout the recording, a recording that the liner notes inform was made partially in-studio and partially by remote. Thanks to the mixing skills of Debbie Christine Tjong and the mastering abilities of Tom Rogers, the album is as crisp, clear, and balanced as one that came out of Motown or Columbia Records or Verve. If this is the quality of CD you can get by marrying a myriad of tracks recorded in DIY home studios and hall closets, then the recording industry is in for a big shake-up, and no mistake. Speaking purely technically, the album gets a gold star.

Speaking artistically and aesthetically, THE ROCKY HORROR SKIVVIES SHOW THE ALBUM gets all the Halloween treats. And the Christmas treats. It gets all the treats, period. With guest artists like Marissa Rosen, Nathan Lee Graham, Alice Ripley, and Michael Cerveris, Cearley and Molina couldn't go wrong. Every vocal performance is more than an acting achievement or a vocal technical triumph: they are fun. So. So. So. Much fun. Speaking personally, this writer was very impressed with the Will Swenson "Sweet Transvestite" track - surprised, too, since the only (the one and ONLY) version I will listen to is the Tim Curry Roxy cast recording. This is some good sh*t, man, and no mistake. And what Skivvies outing would be complete without an entry from Nick Adams? Natch, the Skivvies' resident Hunka Hunka Burning Love was on hand to perform the role of Rocky, he with the Sword of Damocles poised for release, but beyond the inclusion of their good friend and regular cohort, Lauren and Nick have curated an impressive cast for this recording, in order to create an accurate representation of what audience members will see when they catch the live show. They've even included photos in the booklet to provide a visual for the mind, to capture the lights, the colors, the costumes, the wild makeup, and the fun... Not to mention the skin for which The Skivvies are so well known and loved.

But let us not forget that the skin is the gimmick. The Skivvies is The Underwear Band, and the underwear is great, the skin is great, the implied illicitness of the band is great... but it's a gimmick, one that we all love. And this album proves that which we all already knew - that, without the gimmick, Nick and Lauren are musical artists of the highest order, that their artistry is worth listening to, nakedness or not. So, in the opinion of this writer, everybody should pick up their copy of THE ROCKY HORROR SKIVVIES SHOW THE ALBUM... and then we should all be thinking of what album we would like to suggest that The Skivvies do next. I'm thinking songs from epic rock and roll story albums like The Wall and Paradise Theatre... and definitely some Supertramp. But that's all further down the road. Right now, it is time to enjoy this inaugural recording of The Skivvies, in all its glitzy, glittery, glory and splendor.

Get your copy of THE ROCKY HORROR SKIVVIES SHOW THE ALBUM at The Skivvies website HERE.

The Skivvies will perform THE ROCKY HORROR SKIVVIES SHOW at Joe's Pub in New York on November 1st. Get tickets HERE.

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