This
is a fairly old compact disc compilation, distributed
two years prior to Toshiba releasing the full scores
to the Showa series of Godzilla films. Sadly, the
quality on this CD sounds a little dated at times
compared with the plethora of releases that followed,
particularly the tracks for Godzilla
(1954). As far as compilations go, there is a pretty
solid collection of music here. The disc has a rather
rigid format of two music themes for each film, but
the cues selected are all appropriate choices. Today,
the real draw of this CD to more avid collectors is
the inclusion of trailers for the first eight Godzilla
films. These tracks, dubbed "Trailer BGM",
feature the music, dialogue and sound effects from
the adverts for the movies. To some this might seem
like a pointless addition, but I will speak from my
own perspective as I always find trailers, even audio
only, to be exciting to listen to. Of course it's
also worth noting that all of these trailers, and
more, can be located on a rare two disc set that was
released in 1996 called SPFX Film Collection
(SP/CR-71004~5).
So there really isn't anything unique about this set,
except that it's the "poor man's" (and the
term is used lightly, as this still fetches a decent
price) means of acquiring the trailers in audio form.
It is worth noting, though, that the audio quality
of these trailers is superior to what's found on the
SPFX collection.
Bottom line, this was a great compilation for its
day, and it still holds some merit more than a decade
later, although not much. It's a shame that they stuck
with such a restrictive presentation style as two
themes per film, as the result is a fairly low runtime
for a compilation. It should be noted, though, that
this is a reissue of an older LP of sorts. In actuality
this release, and the second volume, condense the
content found across three LPs (AS20-11, AS20-12,
AS20-13), something that might account for the shorter
runtime. Still, thanks to the strength of the original
themes, this makes for a good listen on occasion,
although it would be advisable to pick up one of the
many other compilations instead unless one specifically
wants the trailer tracks.
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