Toho's long,
long awaited fourth entry in the "Godzilla Soundtrack
Perfect Collection" line. In between this box
and the third, Toho released numerous other soundtracks,
while they also distributed and completely sold out
of a limited release for the popular Gransazers
(2003) show that, like these boxes, was sold only
online and came just a month before the third. All
of this while the first box (GB1)
in the "Perfect Collection" line, which
was released more than two years ago, is still struggling
to even reach the halfway mark on its limited run.
Considering this, one can only imagine that Toho took
a look at these results and realized that perhaps
they needed to adjust their strategy for these boxes,
giving more incentive for collectors to actually shell
out the ¥10,500 (about $90, although importers
will have to pay $125 with shipping and other added
charges) if they already owned one or all of these
scores before. The result, after many delays, is far
and away the best entry in the "Perfect Collection"
line to date, complete with nine discs and almost
ten hours of music (in contrast to the almost seven
hours found in the first box).
For this set, Toho has really dug deep into the vaults
for a lot of rare stuff, releasing tons of material which
has never before been available on CD. This includes a
lot of singles done for these movies, the very rare "Our
Monster Unit" radio dramas and of course the complete
score to Godzilla
vs. Biollante (1989), as it appeared in the film,
among many other things. Unlike previous boxes, though,
this set only focuses on four films instead of the usual
five, and so Toho picks up this slack by including content
for Godzilla and King Ghidorah's appearances on the Zone
Fighter (1973) television show. Overall, the
selections themselves are great, as one can expect, but
they aren't perfect, with this set not having the complete
scores to Godzilla
vs. King Ghidorah (1991) or Godzilla
vs. Mothra (1992), while the previous two disc
set for the 1992 movie (TYCY-5267/8)
is the more definitive release for that soundtrack. It's
nothing for more casual consumers to worry about, although
the more hardcore collectors might certainly take note
of this.
As for the presentation of this set, Toho has really stepped
up to the plate, as they leave behind the faded brown
designs they had used previously in exchange for full
color packaging that really looks fantastic. Well, with
the sole exception being the last disc, as it looks like
the LP cover that was used as the source was not in the
best condition. Anyway, like the previous boxes, the booklets
for each CD is also truly amazing, containing in depth
information about the scores along with interviews with
the individuals behind the films, including director/writer
Kazuki Omori who helmed the 1989 and 1991 Godzilla pictures,
along with writing the script for Godzilla
vs. Mothra (1992).
In terms of the sound quality, this set fares very well.
The fact that the second disc for Godzilla
vs. Biollante (1989) is in mono is a little disappointing,
but it doesn't end up being nearly the problem one figures
it would due to the clarity present in those tracks. It
should be mentioned, though, that this entire set is recorded
at a lower base volume than Toho usually uses, and lower
than they had been using for the previous box sets in
the "Perfect Collection". Looking at some of
the tracks digitally, the reason for this seems to be
due to the fact that clipping occurs (a loss of performance
at the peak parts in a track) if the base volume is increased
even a little bit on a few of these cues; so this was
definitely intentional on Toho's part. As for how the
audio stacks up to previous releases, I'd say it's on
par if not perhaps a little better, with the sole exception
being in contrast to the superior Bandai surround sound
release (BCCE-9001R/2R)
for Godzilla
vs. King Ghidorah (1991); however, the Bandai
set will probably only appeal to the most obsessive audio
aficionados considering it has only 37 minutes of actual
music on it. Directly comparing this stuff with the previous
Toshiba EMI single disc releases from 1993, there are
some differences to note, like some of the instruments
are more pronounced in this set, although if that makes
the particular theme "better" or not will be
up to listener preference. In the grand scheme of things,
I simply don't think there was a great deal of room for
improvement, audio wise, on these soundtracks as the previous
CDs were mastered so close to their actual release anyway.
Suffice to say, any difference is marginal between them;
however, I was very impressed with the audio quality for
the Zone
Fighter (1973) material, as it sounded much more
clear and vibrant than I have ever heard it, even if the
selection is a little disappointing in how much it focuses
on radio dramas.
Finally, it should be noted again that these boxes are
limited, with each being given a run of 1,954 units.
Every unit is also given a unique number on the back
in the form of a sticker placed above the copyright
information. As previously mentioned, though, these
more expensive sets are a tough sell, so there isn't
that much of a need to rush although it's still something
to consider. It should also be mentioned that all of
these sets are sold exclusively online at Toho Music's
site or Arksquare.net.
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