Cinema-Kan continues their re-release of past Toho soundtracks with this two disc set for Prophecies of Nostradamus. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of hearing this score before, Isao Tomita gives an incredible performance, turning out a dated but absolutely phenomenal soundtrack. As a result, it’s been a popular subject for media releases, already featured on five different LPs and three different CD releases prior to this. That’s particularly impressive given the self-banned nature of the movie. So how does Cinema-Kan’s release stand out?
First, I want to warn that I’m going to talk more about the presentation here rather than the music itself. That out of the way, this release is probably the best way to experience the soundtrack. It doesn’t actually feature anything new, although there is one debatable track which we’ll cover, but does compile everything in a centralized place rather than having to purchase multiple CD releases.
To give context, let’s dig a bit into the back story. When this film was first released there was a record that was sold around the same time. This featured two stereo themes: “Main Theme” and “Love Theme”. A month later, an “original soundtrack” was released on LP. These were actually stereo tracks that weren’t the movie versions at all, but using mostly the same theme motifs. Fast forward to 1996 and VAP, for the first time, releases the original mono soundtrack on CD (VPCD-81173).
This Cinema-Kan release compiles all of this music, which previously you’d have to either get VPCD-81173 for the bonus tracks and the Toho SFX Champion Festival box set or the ultra rare Victor CD release for the stereo material.
Now in terms of breaking it down further, Cinema-Kan has two very full CDs for this release. As a result, in the booklet they even admit they had to cram some stereo material with the second mono disc due to space issues. Anyway, the first disc is largely the “stereo disc”. This includes the original, unedited stereo tracks from the LP which mean you have two 20+ minute tracks. That is followed by 17 isolated tracks from that same LP selection. This is a bit overkill, as the isolated tracks are straight from the LP, amounting to 33 minutes out of the 44-minute total. Still, this presentation is a step up from the messy handling on the Toho SFX Champion Festival set, where the music was awkwardly split into 24 tracks. Interestingly, a few of the isolated tracks here appear slightly different from the LP versions. For instance, "Subway Disaster ~ Mutation" and "The Natives Attack" feature different intros without the fade-ins found on the LP. In addition, "Moonlight on the Coast" and "Everlasting Love" lack the added wave effects present on the LP versions. This suggests that Cinema-Kan may have had access to some of the original source material used in the LP's production.
The second CD is devoted to the original mono soundtrack, bonus mono material and the two record themes that were released separately in 1974. There is nothing new here compared to the prior CDs, save one unreleased track. This is “Main Theme (Mono)”, which according to the booklet is a mono version of the record single that was created for use in the movie. To be honest, though, it just sounds like the “Main Title” but with more clarity in the audio at the start of the track. In fact, it sounds very similar to how the “Main Title” sounds on the earlier VAP releases.
In terms of the music itself, I’ll only cover it briefly but suffice to say that this Tomita score is a treasure, although that’s an odd way to talk about this haunting soundtrack. While both the stereo material and mono stuff is solid, the mono selection is slightly more well rounded and overall feels a bit more refined in its motifs. It also avoids some of the early “in your face” stereo techniques that were popular at this time, like sounds that overtly travel from one speaker to the other. For the best themes on this disc, the amazing “Main Title” and “Second New Guinea Expedition” lead the way. The tracks show off a great range, using big band style music, guitars, synthesizers and even chorus work. It’s a huge mishmash of styles, but Tomita not just pulls it off but constructs something that is distinctively unique. There are varying styles of music on this score as well, such as the soothing and slightly sad “The Death of a Loved One” track which strikes a more subdued tone.
Overall, a solid release of a great soundtrack. If someone doesn’t own this score already, I’d highly recommend this release. If someone had purchased the prior VAP CD (VPCD-81173), this is a recommended upgrade thanks to all the stereo material. If someone had purchased the Toho SFX Champion Festival box set, though, this is a harder sell. While it has an infinitely better presentation of the music, about the only new material is a handful of bonus tracks that were previously exclusive to the VAP single CD.
As a side note, Cinema-kan has largely kept using the same track titles from earlier releases. There are a few exceptions though where they have altered the titles. Sometimes this is mild, like for example they denote here that it’s the “Second New Guinea Expedition” on that track title rather than just “New Guinea Expedition”, which is accurate. On occasion, though, they have simply redone the title, like “The Natives Attack” which used to be the quite artsy “Mad Demon”. |
