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Title
 Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (Perfect Collection 4)
International Title
 Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Music By: Akira Ifukube
Record Label: Toho Music

Running Time: 69:29 Discs: 1
Release: October 2006 CD Number: G-018 (Set)
Comments
After a more than 15 year absence from the series, maestro Akira Ifukube returns to score Godzilla's 18th outing and also Toho's 60th Anniversary film. For this particular soundtrack, Ifukube dips into his vast "library" of past themes for most of this score, reworking his previous compositions. Normally this might be a bad thing, but with a larger orchestra then he had on previous productions, and with the subtle changes made to the themes, this soundtrack makes for another enjoyable entry from the famed composer. It's interesting to see the evolution of a lot of these cues too, like the Heisei King Ghidorah theme has its roots in both the old Ghidorah theme and also the battle music from King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962); a bridging of themes that was also put to great success in Ifukube's "Symphonic Fantasia" conduction.

In terms of this particular release, Toho has done a fairly good job with it, as pound for pound there is far more actual music here than any previous CD release for the film. On the downside, though, the actual score is not complete. It's missing some cues later in the film, as it makes a large jump in the score after King Ghidorah strangles Godzilla as it doesn't pick up again until the appearance of Mecha-King Ghidorah. Most of this missing music is just rehashes of previous themes already on the score so I don't think many will miss it too much, but a more complete showing would have certainly been more appreciated, especially since two of these "lost" themes were included on the Toshiba EMI disc. Like that disc, this new release also includes the theme for "Mecha-King Ghidorah" as part of the main score, even though it was never used in the movie; however, that's more of a pet peeve than anything else. It should be noted that this release is also in stereo, so the more "hardcore" audio aficionados might still be interested in picking up Bandai's Dolby Surround two disc set (BCCE-9001R/2R), even if that release does only contain 37 minutes of actual music.

Where this CD does shine, though, is its wealth of bonus tracks. To better sweeten the deal, most of these outtakes are being presented here for the first time, as the previous Toshiba CD only had about four, counting the two unused Mecha-King Ghidorah themes. Sadly, most of this isn't very different from what was used in the final score, but it's still nice to have. What is kind of annoying, though, is that some of this music, like "Godzilla Appears", was actually used in the film. So why this wasn't included as part of the main score is anyone's guess. The "Sapporo Clock Tower" is also one of these cues that appeared in the movie, and was even part of the main score in the previous Toshiba release; however, given that this cue could be described more as a sound effect than anything else, as it's simply the bell being rung when Godzilla is approaching, it seems to feel more at place near the end of the disc.

In conclusion, this release isn't perfect, but beyond my nitpicking it certainly is the best offering of the score on CD to date.
- Anthony Romero 
Tracks
  1. Opening (M1A)
  2. Main Title (M1B-T1)
  3. UFO in Flight (M1C-T1)
  4. Remembering Lagos Island (M2)
  5. The UFO at Fuji (M4)
  6. The Photographs of a Dinosaur (M5)
  7. The Self-Defense Force Mobilizes (M6)
  8. 3-D Image I (M7A)
  9. 3-D Image II (M7B)
  10. The Conversation with the Futurians (M8)
  11. The Birth of Godzilla (M9)
  12. MOTHER (M10)
  13. Dorat (M11)
  14. The Lagos Island Garrison (M12)
  15. The Garrison Charges (M13A)
  16. Godzillasaurus Appears (M13B)
  17. The Revival of Godzillasaurus (M14A)
  18. Parting with the Dinosaur (M15)
  19. The Dorats on Lagos Island (M16)
  20. The Shadow of the Future Destroyer (M18A)
  21. King Ghidorah Attacks Fukuoka (M18A + M18B)
  22. Terasawa and Emmy (M19)
  23. A Sign of Godzilla (M20)
  24. Android M11 (M21)
  25. A Huge Column of Water (M23A)
  26. Godzilla Appears (G Head 5 Measure Slow)
  27. Get King Ghidorah (Ostinato "Get Rodan")
  28. Godzilla Lands in Hokkaido (M25)
  29. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah I (M27)
  30. King Ghidorah's Neck (M29A)
  31. Mecha-King Ghidorah Appears (M35A Normal)
  32. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah II (M18B)
  33. Good-bye, My Homeland (M37)
  34. Ending (M38 + M23A + M Ending)

    Bonus Tracks
  35. Main Title (M1B-T2)
  36. UFO in Flight (M1C-T2)
  37. Mecha-King Ghidorah Appears (M35A)
  38. Godzilla's Attack (M Slow March)
  39. Ending I (M38)
  40. Ending II (M Ending)
  41. Sapporo Clock Tower (M31A)
  42. Main Title (M1B-1)
  43. Remembering Lagos Island (M2-1)
  44. The UFO at Fuji (M4-1)
  45. The Self-Defense Force Mobilizes (M6-1)
  46. 3-D Image I (M7A-1)
  47. 3-D Image II (M7B-1, 2, 3, 4)
  48. The Birth of Godzilla (M9-2)
  49. MOTHER (M10-1)
  50. The Garrison Charges (M13A-1)
  51. The Revival of Godzillasaurus (M14A-1)
  52. Terasawa and Emmy (M19-1)
  53. A Sign of Godzilla (M20-1)
  54. Android M11 (M21-1)
  55. Godzilla Appears (G Head 5 Measure Slow-1)
  56. Good-bye, My Homeland (M37-1)
  57. Ending I (M38-1)
  58. Ending I (M38-2)
  59. Ending II (M End-1)
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