Intrada Soundtrack Forum

One of the greatest mysteries of life is why there has never been an official soundtrack issued for Nelvana's 1983 animated cult classic "Rock & Rule." The movie boasted original songs by Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein (of Blondie), and Earth, Wind, and Fire. Sadly, distributor MGM was less-than-thrilled with the film, which received a minuscule theatrical release before being dumped on video. Furthermore, the sound in the theatrical version is muddy, although it's much clearer in an alternate edit that aired on Canadian television. Of course, none of the songs are heard in their entirety in either version (except possibly the finale song, which is tainted by dialogue and sound FX in the CBC version).

The only tunes to attain a wide release were Cheap Trick's (minus a duet with Harry), which were featured in their '90s boxed set. I think Earth, Wind, and Fire's song might've surfaced on an obscure compilation, Harry completely revised "Angel's Song" for a track on a 1989 album, and a cassette was sent out to the press to promote the film featuring a partial soundtrack. Unfortunately, the one complete copy of the cassette that has surfaced in fandom was severely damaged.

According to the DVD, the film elements of the Canadian version were lost in a fire, which has led to rampant speculation that the audio masters were also destroyed. The thing is, Nelvana never had a fire unless it happened in some alternate Mandela-Effect-timeline. And since Cheap Trick's solo tracks have surfaced, I would assume that the various labels that the artists were under contract to probably have copies of the songs buried somewhere in their archives, even if Nelvana's tapes are gone.

I know Intrada primarily releases scores, but there have been a few exceptions -- and Patricia Cullen's score would certainly be a welcome addition to an album. Fans of the film/artists have been waiting almost 40 years for an official release, but it hasn't happened yet. DVD/Blu-Ray distributor Unearthed Films once issued a statement that they wanted to include a CD, but they'd invested so much in the film and its restoration that they didn't have the money to pursue it. Intrada certainly has the resources to track down any surviving tapes, and it doesn't look like anybody else is ever going to take the initiative to do it.

And the fact that there is little info on Patricia Cullen.

From some podcast online about Rock & Rule, Cullen was a trained pianist.

Looking at Discogs, she has some credits as a keyboardist for some artists like Bruce Cockburn. But she was a member of the new wave Canadian band, Rough Trade from 1974-1976.

Later on she worked on various half-hour specials. A frequent Nelvana collaborator.