Released
in 2000, this disc is more or less an ode to maestro
Akira Ifukube's
work on the Godzilla franchise. On paper, the release
is an ambitious concept of attempting to convey the
composer's work through both his own contributions
and from other artists. In execution, the disc is
a huge disappointment.
Rather than commissioning new tracks and new rearrangements,
King Record instead dipped into the archives for previously
released content. In the end, this results in a compiled
selection of music that has a tough time warranting
its existence as a standalone CD. Yes there are a
few stellar tracks here, such as the always great
"Godzilla vs. the Tank Squad", which hails
from the Ostinato release conducted by Hiroshi Kumagai,
and the "SF Symphonic Fantasia Number 1".
The real problem is why would someone choose this
over either the Symphony Fantasia release or Ostinato?
It's true this release will likely be cheaper, but
it really feels more like a sampler.
For a full rundown, the first two tracks come from
the original Godzilla
(1954), while three is "SF Symphonic Fantasia
Number 1" and track ten is "SF Symphonic
Fantasia Number 1", the latter of which was the
original 1983 presentation by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.
However, did the disc really need to include both
versions? They are different, but hardly so all the
same, and those two tracks alone are 30 minutes total.
Track four branches out to include a more "rock-like"
version of the Godzilla theme done by Yaiju Okhoku,
kind of in a style reminiscent of the soundtrack for
the F-Zero games. Following this are two tracks
from Ostinato, and then Kokoo's version of the Godzilla
theme. This version is fairly dreadful and boring,
although Kokoo has its fans so this will likely appeal
to some. This then transitions into Jack Walrath's
jazz-like version of the theme, which is equally dreadful,
especially the start of the track which sounds like
a clash of instruments set to an aimless rhythm that
would make even the most dedicated listener contemplate
hitting skip. After this is Neil Norman's version
of the theme, which is much better, although many
are probably already familiar with it from its inclusion
on The Best of Godzilla 1954-1975 (GNPD-8055).
After this comes track 11, which is a repeat of track
two. Yes, the same theme appears twice on the release,
which was likely done because the track after is a
"secret" one, and what better way to drive
off a few listeners then repeating something they
have already heard and on top of it including a large
chunk of silence to fake out maybe one or two people
into thinking maybe the CD is over. To be honest,
I was never a fan of the "secret" track
approach. It got played out very fast, and was something
that passed the "that's neat" stage to the
"what a nuisance" stage by the second time
one encounters it. Thankfully, the last track is a
real nice and subtle violin heavy theme off the original
Raku release (KICC-179) and makes for a nice closure
piece.
Overall, the disc is hard to recommend. It has some
good music, but it's suggested that consumers instead
seek out the sum of its parts. In particular a full
version of both "Symphonic Fantasia" and
"Ostinato", and possibly Raku if one could
be so lucky, and skip this release altogether and
the less than appealing tracks and presentation style
that comes with it.
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