In 1993 Toshiba went through a huge push for the Godzilla series. In December of that year they released every movie score to CD, from Godzilla (1954) to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993). While some of these entries had their scores released to CD previously, a few saw their debut to the format. Among those was the 1974 entry in the series, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, which prior to this just had select tracks and suites released to disc. Given what a high point the score is within Masaru
Sato's long career, it's amazing it took this long for the full soundtrack to get a release on CD. Suffice to say, the music for the 20th anniversary
film of the Godzilla series is a real treat.
Sato definitely shows his range as a composer with this
score, creating both soothing themes like the "Sea
Coral" while also crafting more energetic music like
"Mechagodzilla Appears." His cue for "Godzilla
vs. Anguirus" is also one of the more memorable,
and enjoyable, from the series as Sato gives the soundtrack
a very big band style. In fact, even though Sato's range is on display, it's his more bombastic themes that take center stage The score puts it on full display right from the start too, with a great drum beat to kick things off before giving a solid theme that still maintains a sense of the unknown to link up to the scene of Anguirus in the arctic.
Oddly enough, this soundtrack also
has two stock cues from previous films. One of these themes
is the riveting "Godzilla vs. Kumonga" cue from Son
of Godzilla (1967), which doubles up here as
the "King Caesar vs. Mechagodzilla" theme with
impressive results. The other is a piece from the 1965 Judo
Saga that is used during the skirmish inside
Miyajima's residence. Unfortunately, this cue is incredibly
repetitious and it's easy for the listener to long lose
interest before the track finishes, making it an odd choice
for why this theme was picked from the huge backlog of
work by Sato.
The disc rounds out its runtime with three
extra tracks that total a little under ten minutes. The
first is the Okinawa Song heard during the opening scene
of the movie before the vision sequence, which isn't a
bad theme although it tends to be far too long. Next is
the original record single of "Miyarabi's Prayer"
done by Beru-Bera Lin, while the final track is another
from the singer called "Defeat Mechagodzilla".
As for this release compared to the later day one found in the Godzilla Soundtrack Perfect Collection - Box 3, the Toho Music release is superior. It has more tracks, thanks to some additional outtakes and movie edits, along with generally improved audio quality. Generally is the key word as, for example, the Beru-Bera Lin record tracks sound better on this Toshiba release. For the majority, though, the Toho Music one does come out ahead for the clarity in the audio.
Overall, a fantastic soundtrack. It belongs in every fan's collection one way or another. While the Toshiba release has been overshadowed by Toho's later day release, it's still a fine way to enjoy the soundtrack today. |