| When
this Toshiba-EMI Futureland Godzilla vs. Hedorah
(aka Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster) soundtrack
was released in 1993, it represented the first time
the full, complete score saw the light of day on CD.
Today, this Toshiba release is now the oldest version
of the soundtrack on the CD format, as it was later
included on VAP's Toho
Champion Festival boxed set from 2001, and
released on Toho Music's Godzilla
Soundtrack Perfect Collection Box 3 in 2005.
However, VAP's release spreads the soundtrack across
two discs, contains no front cover art and has six
less tracks than the Toshiba CD. The Perfect CD sounds
a little bit flatter compared with the other two releases,
but is the most expanded version of the soundtrack.
Featuring the incredible original poster art on
the front cover and packed full with 60 tracks,
this Toshiba-EMI Hedorah soundtrack CD was always
one of my favorites from the ‘93 set, although
not because the score itself is a masterpiece or
anything. I will be blunt - I am not a fan of Riichiro
Manabe's first attempt at creating a Godzilla score,
but I am a fan of Keiko Mari and very much enjoy
the two songs that are featured on this soundtrack,
"Give Back The Sun" and "Defeat Hedorah".
To be fair, I do occasionally check out a few of
Manabe's score tracks once in a while, although
I tend to hit the skip button on the remote an awful
lot, as his score just doesn't work that well as
a stand-alone experience away from the film, and
is also extremely repetitive.
Now, how does this Toshiba-EMI CD sound compared
with the other two releases of the score? Actually,
this one and the VAP CD sound the best overall,
while Toho Music's effort comes off sounding
slightly more "normalized", especially
the stereo record songs. The VAP release was recorded
at a much higher volume level compared with this
Toshiba CD and sounds much louder (and a bit brighter),
giving it perhaps the most clarity of any Hedorah
CD, although the Futureland disc pretty much sounds
on par with it once you turn up the volume, and
has a warm sound all its own.
Overall, if you own either the Perfect CD or VAP's
release from 2001, there is really no reason to
seek out this Toshiba soundtrack unless you are
collecting the 1993 set. The Perfect CD is the most
expanded Hedorah soundtrack available today, while
it also contains two very rare alternate versions
of both record songs. VAP's offering has six
less tracks than the Toshiba release, but probably
sounds the clearest of them all. In the end, there
are merits to each release and all are well worth
owning if you can acquire them. Still, you can't
beat the front poster art of this Toshiba CD, and
unlike the VAP release, the whole soundtrack is
featured on one disc, not two. On a side note, my
rating below reflects the musical score; however,
even though I am rating Manabe's score as only 2
stars, I also feel that Toshiba's overall presentation
of this CD is deserving of a 4 star rating, while
their effort is also capable of giving the Perfect
CD a run for it's money too.
Rating:  |
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