 |
Title |
| King Kong vs. Godzilla
(Perfect
Collection 1) |
| International Title |
| King
Kong vs. Godzilla |
Music
By:
Akira
Ifukube
Record Label: Toho Music
| Running
Time: 70:49/66:40 |
Discs:
2 |
| Release:
September 2004 |
CD
Number: G-003 (Set) |
|
| Comments |
Another
gem from composer Akira
Ifukube comes this 1962 film which pits two of cinema's
most popular monsters against one another. The score for
this particular movie is probably best remembered for
pioneering the Godzilla theme, crafting it from the army
march heard in Godzilla
(1954). Of course, there are a number of other noteworthy
tunes here as well, including the excellent "Main
Title" theme along with the "King Kong vs. Godzilla"
and "The Devil of the South Seas" cues. The
score is overall one of the better entries in Ifukube's
long career, and is definitely diverse enough to keep
the listener's interest from beginning to end time and
time again.
As for this particular release, Toho really rolled out
the red carpet for this score by giving it a two disc
set that contains over two hours of music. Across these
two discs listeners will find both the mono presentation
and the original stereo score. Of course there are fans
of both, particularly those who grew up with the mono
presentation on video, but for me the added depth to the
stereo tracks really blow away the single channel ones.
Still, regardless of preference, this release really caters
to fans of both presentations while also presenting a
nice array of bonus tracks. This includes outtakes and
alternate tempos for the chants on the mono disc, and
then separate presentations of some of the stock cues
from the film found on the stereo disc. Speaking of which,
I really love Sei Ikeno's work, and this soundtrack takes
two of its themes from one of his older scores: Use
the Handcuffs (1959), which seems to be a popular
stock choice as Ghidorah,
the Three-Headed Monster (1964) also lifted a
cue from this film. The other stock theme is the song
heard on the radio, "Southern Island Tale",
which was originally composed by Hachiro Matsui for the
film The Boss and the Explosive Daughter (1959).
Suffice to say, this two disc set really blows the older
Toshiba CD out of the water, but how does it fare compared
to La-La Lands Records release (LLLCD-1041)?
Well, in all honesty, in terms of audio quality I think
the remastered La-La Land disc is the best the soundtrack
has ever sounded, as it definitely adds even more depth
to that stereo score. This disc also has some rather abrupt
endings to a few of its cues on the stereo disc, such
as "The Seahawk in Crisis", which the La-La
Land CD avoids by merging the theme with the start of
the next track. So, more avid collectors will of course
go for this release for its incomparable amount of added
content (although it's missing the main title as done
by Bukimisha that is found on the La-La Land disc), but
true audio aficionados will still likely prefer the US
release of this score.
|
| Tracks |
Disc 1 - Mono
- Main Title (M1)
- Series of World Wonders (M2)
- The Sparkling Iceberg (M3)
- The Seahawk in Crisis (M4)
- The Seahawk's S.O.S. (M5)
- Faro Island (M6)
- The Natives (M7)
- Thunder and the Devil (M8-T2)
- Fumiko's Misgivings (M9)
- Godzilla's Resurrection (M10)
- The Cry of the Devil (M11)
- A Prayer to the Rolling Thunder (M12)
- The Drums of Battle (M13A)
- The Devil of the South Seas (M13)
- Giant Octopus vs. King Kong (M14)
- The Sleeping Devil (M15)
- The Terror of Godzilla (M16)
- The Invincible King Kong (M17)
- Preparation for Operation "Burial" (M18)
- King Kong vs. Godzilla I (M19)
- Preparations for Operation "One Million Volts"
(M20)
- Operation "Burial" (M21)
- Operation "Burial" Fails (M22)
- Operation "One Million Volts" I (M23)
- Operation "One Million Volts" II (M24)
- Kong Shows Up in Tokyo (M25)
- The Plan to Rescue Fumiko (PS-71+M26-T2)
- The Plan to Transport King Kong (M27)
- King Kong Advances on Fuji (M28)
- The Confrontation at Fuji (M29)
- King Kong's Resurrection (M29A)
- King Kong vs. Godzilla II (M29B)
- Ending (M30)
Bonus Tracks
- Faro Island Expedition (M6A)
- Thunder and the Devil (M8-T1)
- The Plan to Rescue Fumiko I (PS-71)
- The Plan to Rescue Fumiko II (M26-T1)
- The Plan to Rescue Fumiko III (M26-T2)
- The Natives (For Tempo Selection) (PS-43-T1)
- Thunder and the Devil (For Tempo Selection 1) (PS-46-T1)
- Thunder and the Devil (For Tempo Selection 2) (PS-46A-T1)
- Thunder and the Devil (For Tempo Selection 2) (PS-46B-T1)
Disc 2 - Stereo
- Main Title (M1)
- Series of World Wonders (M2)
- The Sparkling Iceberg (M3)
- Pashin Commercial
- The Seahawk in Crisis (M4)
- Great News Gathering Team Departure (Use the
Handcuff PS-1-1)
Composer: Sei Ikeno
- The Seahawk's S.O.S. (M5)
- Faro Island (M6)
- The Natives (M7)
- Thunder and the Devil (M8-T2)
- Fumiko's Misgivings (M9)
- Godzilla's Resurrection (M10)
- Faro Island Expedition (M6A)
- The Cry of the Devil (M11)
- A Prayer to the Rolling Thunder (M12)
- The Devil of the South Seas / The Drums of Battle
(M13 · M13A)
- Giant Octopus vs. King Kong (M14)
- The Sleeping Devil (M15)
- Taking the Devil to Tokyo (M28)
- Godzilla Advances South (M16)
- The Terror of Godzilla (M16)
- The Invincible King Kong (M17)
- Preparation for Operation "Burial" (M18)
- King Kong vs. Godzilla I (M19)
- Preparations for Operation "One Million Volts"
(M20)
- Operation "Burial" Begins (M16)
- Operation "Burial" (M21)
- Operation "Burial" Fails (M22)
- Operation "One Million Volts" I (M23)
- Operation "One Million Volts" II (M24)
- Kong Shows Up in Tokyo (M25)
- The Plan to Rescue Fumiko I (PS-71)
- The Plan to Rescue Fumiko II (M26-T2
- The Plan to Transport King Kong (M27)
- King Kong Advances on Fuji (M28)
- The Confrontation at Fuji (M29)
- King Kong's Resurrection (M29A)
- King Kong vs. Godzilla II (M29B)
- Ending (M30)
Bonus Tracks
- Fujita and Fumiko (Use the Handcuff PS-48B)
Composer: Sei Ikeno
- Great News Gathering Team Departure (Use the
Handcuff PS-1-1)
Composer: Sei Ikeno
- Southern Island Tale (The Boss and the Explosive
Daughter PS-32-1)
Composer: Hachiro Matsui
|
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