The second
"bonus" disc in the Perfect Collection line is again
another faithful reproduction of an older LP release,
in this case the 1978 record Godzilla 2. Toho
deserves praise for their attention to detail in recreating
the look of the LP for this CD release, including the
appearance of the disc itself and the fold out "poster-style"
inclusion inside the jewel case. The firm has also done
a great job in restoring the audio quality on this release,
giving a presentation that, outside of a few exceptions,
sounds superb. In terms of the contents, like previous
bonus disc, Godzilla,
this CD is a compilation. As far as compilations go,
Godzilla 2 is a pretty solid selection of music
from the 1954-1968 Godzilla movies, with a track from
Godzilla
vs. Hedorah (1971) thrown in. This disc does,
however, inter splice sound effects between cues. Sometimes
this works, such as the sounds of the self defense forces
mobilizing at the start of "Godzilla Arrives at Shinagawa",
but more often than not in sounds cumbersome with monster
roars seemingly tossed after themes with large amounts
of silence around them, creating an awkward experience.
Still, for a compilation this CD features a good sampling
of themes from the franchise during the 1950's and 1960's,
and my rating reflects this.
Unfortunately, like the previous bonus disc, I'm forced
to be brutally honest about this disc and ask: who cares? Compilations
are nice for more casual collectors, but including one
in a set that goes for $125 seems out of place. This
disc might be neat if it featured music from the non-Godzilla
films, so that someone making the sizeable investment
that comes with the perfect collection might be able
to sample those; however, that isn't the case and the
music found here is already available on the individual
discs from the first three sets. On the plus side, at
least the trailer from King
Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) is unique to this disc
from the series, but sadly the audio levels are all out
of whack. I'm not sure what the story is, although I
assume it's due to the multi-channel nature of the original
movie, but the track included way overemphasizes the
music and drowns out the dialogue and special effects
in the process.
Bottom line, in an era of iPods and CD-Rs the inclusion
of this compilation disc feels like a rip off given the
already exorbitant asking price for this set. There might
be a nostalgic attachment for some who have listened
to the original 1978 LP, but I would wager this makes
up an extremely small minority. What's especially tragic
about this disc, though, is the lost potential. There
are so many things that could have been included in its
place, like Ostinato or even a disc dedicated
to the trailers, that it's frustrating to see a second
bonus disc squandered with something that just repeats
the same themes found elsewhere in the "Perfect" series.
On a side note, this CD has different track titles
compared to what's found on the individual discs, such
as "Godzilla on Sollgel Island" compared with "Parent
Godzilla Comes Ashore", so keep this in mind when looking
over the track listing.
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