So if Cheap Trick can be a suitable exemplar for seventies excess in the field of music then Rock & Rule can be seen as similar exemplar for film (even if it wasn't finished until 1983). Sure it wasn't Heaven's Gate but this cartoon (a retread of Nelvana's earlier rock n' roll fairy tale The Devil and Daniel Mouse which I saw on CBC TV on Halloween 1978) almost bankrupted its studio and ended an era in film, in this case the era of adult-orientated animation. The whole weirdly fascinating movie (which seems to be out-of-print) can be viewed on YouTube.
The film's soundtrack (it's greatest road block to re-release) featured Cheap Trick, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Lou Reed and, in their sole appearance on MRML, Earth Wind and Fire. Like the film, it's promising and frustrating. The main players here, all key early punk influences with that one blatant exception, all had wildly erratic outputs in this era and this soundtrack is perfectly erratic. Cheap Trick are perhaps the most erratic band is music history, frequently switching from perfect power-pop ("Come On, Come On") to passable covers ("Ain't That a Shame") to joyless filler ("I'm the Man" one of their three songs herein). The Debbie Harry tracks are nice but forgettable, the Iggy track is pointless and while the first Lou Reed song "I'm Mok" is one of those expository songs common to old soundtracks, the second, "Triumph" is just that and it's one of his best solo rockers.
(Image of the Marvel Comics adaption borrowed from the Vinnierattole's excellent blog, make sure to read his history of the movie.)Rock & Rule OST
