:: theLogBook.com Music Reviews ::

It’s no large secret that Godzilla’s popularity has helped him wreak havoc and chaos on Japan for over 50+ years. But while all the action and mayhem is displayed on the screen, one thing tends to get lost on moviegoers: the music. Fortunently, this disc helps rectify that. Containing the best selections from Godzilla’s tenure on the big screen, The Best Of Godzilla: 1954-1975 is the first part of a two disc set (a companion CD was released as well that covers the years 1984-1995).

Like the name implies, this disc covers the years 1954-1975, which ranges from the original Godzilla movie to Terror of MechaGodzilla, and also serves as the first “era” of Godzilla films. The songs here are listed in chronological order, which means that the disc starts off with selections from the original Godzilla, composed by Akira Ifukube. Ifukube’s music lays the groundwork for the film scores to follow: Here, we hear the string-and-horn driven main theme for the first time, as well as the “Japanese Army March” which would later be reused as a continuing theme in the Godzilla universe. “Godzilla’s Rampage” is another fine example of the early soundtrack: its dissonant piano and low, growling horns accentuate the sobering aspect of the giant lizard’s destruction perfectly.

The next major movie to be represented is King Kong vs. Godzilla, which music most Americans never got to hear, since it was replaced in the US with a re-used score from a different film. Akira Ifukube composed the music for this film as well, and keeps the theme that he employed for the previous movies, making the music tense and dramatic.

Mothra vs. Godzilla is next up, and it’s interesting to hear how the film scores have evolved from movie to movie. Ifukube is still onboard, but the music has taken a dramatic leap from the original Godzilla. For example, “Mothra’s Song” sounds like a cross between traditional Japanese music, and the 60’s pop that was so prevalent at the time. It also includes sung lyrics, which was only attemped once before in the “Main Theme” of King Kong vs. Godzilla, but even that didn’t sound nearly as polished as it does here. In fact, out the 3 pieces from Mothra that were selected for this disc, 2 of them have female vocals. This is the film where, I believe, Ifukube really comes into his own style.

Some other top tracks on this disc include the “Main Theme” from Son Of Godzilla, which was composed by Masaru Sato. The shift in musical styles is eminently discernible; instead of the tense, dark mood that Ifukube set with his score, this “Main Theme” sounds more suited to whimsy to gloomy — I can’t help but think this could also double as the theme for The Dick Van Dyke Show! Even though it’s not what you would think of when you think Godzilla, given the subject matter, it works. Another interesting track is the “Godzilla March”, a song specially made for the original LP of the soundtrack to Godzilla vs. Gigan, and composed by Kunio Miyauchi. The song is steeped in 70’s pop/faux-disco that the Japanese seemed to be so found of (see: Lupin ‘78 theme song).

As another sign that the times were changing, compare the soundtrack of Godzilla vs. Megalon (composed by Riichiro Manabe) to any of Ifukuda’s original score. The rock beat that accompanies Manabe’s score may cause purists to turn up their noses. Indeed, while Manabe’s compositions may have worked under any different guise, being a part of the Godzilla canon gives it a weaker feel, and lacks the “punch” needed to add emotion to the Godzilla movie.

There are some other shortfalls on the disc as well. Obviously, to dedicate a complete overview of the Godzilla filmography would require nothing short of a box set, but yet it still feels incomplete in the fact that films like Godzilla Raids Again and Godzilla vs. Hedorah (and several others) only being represented by the obligatory “Main Theme” and nothing more. Another qualm I had was the fact that the disc was peppered with tracks of just SFX — classic movie buffs may dig it, but I felt they were included just to pad the disc’s length. Also included on the disc was a version of the “Godzilla Theme” performed by Neil Norman And His Cosmic Orchestra. It’s inclusion seems wholly arbitrary (why place a “modernized” version of a theme song on an album comprised of original music?), and it’s nothing really outstanding, either.

Your feelings on the disc may be skewed towards which Godzilla era you prefer. But as a primer on the not-so-humble beginnings of Godzilla, it serves as a wonderful introduction, and a nice jumping point for those who may want to explore further into their favorite film’s music, and maybe even try to locate the full soundtrack.

1. Footsteps FX (Godzilla) (0:36)
2. Godzilla Main Theme (Godzilla) (1:31)
3. Ootojima Temple Festival (Godzilla) (1:19)
4. Japanese Army March (Godzilla) (0:38)
5. Godzilla Comes Ashore (Godzilla) (1:51)
6. Godzilla’s Rampage (Godzilla) (2:25)
7. Ending (Godzilla) (1:42)
8. Main Title (Godzilla Rides Again) (1:24)
9. Helicopter/Man Screams/SOS FX (King Kong vs. Godzilla) (0:23)
10. Main Title (King Kong vs. Godzilla) (1:57)
11. King Kong Roars FX (King Kong vs. Godzilla) (0:13)
12. Planning King Kong’s Transport (King Kong vs. Godzilla) (2:13)
13. Mothra’s Song (Mothra vs. Godzilla) (2:23)
14. Mothra FX (Mothra vs. Godzilla) (0:09)
15. Main Title (Mothra vs. Godzilla) (1:52)
16. Sacred Springs (Mothra vs. Godzilla) (3:49)
17. Main Title/Monsters Appear In Yokohama (Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster) (2:33)
18. UFO Approaches/Monsters Fight FX/Monster Battle March (Main Title) (Invasion Of The Astro-Monster) (2:56)
19. Main Title (Son Of Godzilla) (2:07)
20. Godzilla vs. Kumonga (Son Of Godzilla) (2:16)
21. Ending (Son Of Godzilla) (2:46)
22. Godzilla FX/Toho Logo/Main Title (Destroy All Monsters) (1:35)
23. Title Credits (Destroy All Monsters) (1:23)
24. Four Monsters Attack Tokyo (Destroy All Monsters) (1:46)
25. Destroying The Remote Control (Destroy All Monsters) (0:40)
26. Showdown On Mt. Fuji (Destroy All Monsters) (2:47)
27. Ending (Destroy All Monsters) (1:26)
28. Cute Kid Theme/Monster Fight (All Monsters Attack) (2:43)
29. Godzilla’s Fight (Godzilla vs. Hedorah) (1:09)
30. Main Title (Godzilla vs. Gigan) (2:11)
31. Main Title Repeat (Godzilla vs. Gigan) (1:26)
32. Godzilla March (Record Version) (Godzilla vs. Gigan) (3:09)
33. Jet Jaguar/Megalon FX (Godzilla vs. Megalon) (0:15)
34. Main Title (Godzilla vs. Megalon) (1:27)
35. Godzilla Of Monster Island (Godzilla vs. Megalon) (2:13)
36. MechaGodzilla FX (Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla) (0:30)
37. Godzilla vs. Anguiras (Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla) (2:27)
38. Miyarabi’s Prayer (Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla) (4:03)
39. Main Title (Terror Of MechaGodzilla) (4:31)
40. MechaGodzilla II (Terror Of MechaGodzilla) (1:44)
41. Godzilla’s Entrance (Terror Of MechaGodzilla) (1:14)
42. Ending (Terror Of MechaGodzilla) (1:15)
43. Theme From Godzilla - Neil Norman And His Cosmic Orchestra (1:33)

Released by: GNP Crescendo
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 78:30

Having each lasted well over three years beyond their original planned three-month design life, the two Mars Exploration Rovers are the closest NASA has come, in the first decade of the 21st century, to matching the designed-for-the-short-term-but-built-to-last legacy of the Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. That these two Rovers overcame mishaps and triumphed in the post-Columbia-disaster lull that still stands as the American space program’s lowest ebb is what makes them worthy of their own movie. (Now, we’ll set aside for the moment that the movie was bankrolled by Lockheed / Martin, the aerospace giant that actually constructed the two Rovers for NASA.)

When it came to the music for this low-key documentary about a couple of little robots who could, an inspired choice was made. I don’t really count myself a die-hard Philip Glass fan, but I’m not sure who could’ve done a better job of scoring a Mars Rover movie. With the film’s emphasis on engineering and scientific brilliance, Glass turns in a perfect series of tunes whose musical intricacy matches and melds with the mechanical intricacy of the subject matter. There’s more than a little bit of sentimentality here and there, but Glass wisely avoids pouring on the musical equivalent of anthropomorphizing. His music depicts the Mars Rovers as plucky, determined, patient little machines, and gives them more character (without giving them too much character) than any press release NASA’s ever issued on the subject.

The highlight is easily “Spirit Vs. Opportunity”, but singling out one piece of music above the others isn’t to imply that there are any that I really didn’t like. Bringing things to a close is a selection of Icelandic rock act Sigur Rós’s patented brew of alternative rock and world music. Roving Mars is a good example of well-judged music for a film that requires a certain sense of wonder.

1. Opening Titles (3:21)
2. Robot Geologist (2:06)
3. Origami Spacekraft (1:20)
4. Spirit And Opportunity (0:49)
5. Eyes, Hands, Wheels (3:31)
6. So Much Of Our Hopes (0:36)
7. 7 Months After Launch (2:52)
8. Unfolding (2:17)
9. Sediments (3:59)
10. Landing (3:41)
11. Opportunity Vs. Spirit (5:23)
12. Floating In Space (2:00)
13. Life Itself (2:02)
14. Glósóli performed by Sigur Rós (6:16)

Released by: Lakeshore
Release date: 2006
Total running time: 40:13

Having given her new studio its shakedown cruise during the recording
sessions for the score of Disney’s inscrutably futuristic 1982 movie Tron, composer Wendy Carlos turned to a new challenge - recording a new series of compositions, directly from digital synthesizers with no samples, microphones or any other acoustic recording techniques, fine-tuned until it souded not completely unlike a new piece for orchestra. Jokingly attributing the sounds to the “LSI Philharmonic” (for the large-scale intregrated chips in her new digital synths and recording gear), Carlos created what was almost a modern-day companion piece to Holst’s The Planets, inspired by the then-recent pictures sent back from Jupiter and Saturn by NASA’s Voyager space probes.

Given that my interest in Carlos’ work started with Tron, I’m almost embarrassed to make the comparison, but it must be made - Digital Moonscapes, recorded immediately after the score from that movie, does indeed sound like it could be music from a lost Tron sequel. (And careful listening makes this similarity more than just a coincidence: the piece devoted to Jupiter’s restless volcanic moon Io is actually a rejected cue for Tron’s light cycle sequence; listening to “Io” side by side with “Light Cycles” from the second volume of Carlos’ Rediscovering Lost Scores reveals the two pieces to be one and the same.) As much as I hate to fall back on a banal comparison, if you liked the music from Tron, Digital Moonscapes is right up your alley.

Trying to get away from that comparison for a moment, Digital Moonscapes is interesting on its own, in some places a little more conventionally classical than that movie soundtrack I keep comparing it to. The other comparison I’ve made, to Holst, deals only with the subject matter. Nowhere in her own liner notes does Wendy Carlos try to draw that comparison, and we’re talking about two completely different kinds of music. As much effort as was put into making Digital Moonscapes sound fully orchestral, there’s no mistaking it for anything but synthesizer music, and ’80s synthesizer music at that. This CD release postdates the original LP by nearly 20 years, though I have an enormous amount of respect for the decision to not tweak the original recordings with more modern technology, because it has a unique character all its own (though I’m a little selfishly disappointed that the thought didn’t occur to add new material to accompany Voyager 2’s discoveries at Uranus and Neptune). In tracks such as “Titan”, “Europa”, and portions of the three-part “Cosmological Impressions” suite, Carlos comes dangerously close to achieving that orchestral sound.

It’ll never shake its distinctly ’80s sound, but in some ways, that’s the charm of Digital Moonscapes, and that’s enough to get a recommendation from me.

Cosmological Impressions
1. Genesis (7:12)
2. Eden (4:30)
3. I.C. (Intergalactic Communications) (3:41)

   Moonscapes

4. Luna (8:20)
5. Phobos and Deimos (3:28)
6. Ganymede (4:25)
7. Europa (4:19)
8. Io (4:26)
9. Callisto (4:29)
10. Rhea (1:51)
11. Titan (3:46)
12. Iapetus (5:50)

Released by: East Side Digital
Release date: 1984 (re-released on CD in 2003)
Total running time: 47:31

Billed as a selection of tracks left out in the cold from one project or another, 8 Bit Weapon’s latest CD - lovingly packaged, as always, in an authentic floppy disk sleeve - is a mix of material from different “eras” of their history. Released at Classic Gaming Expo 2007, Mean Time is perhaps an indication of how busy 8 Bit Weapon has been with commissions for original material from Disney, among others.

The laid-back ’80s-style instrumental “Times Changing” kicks things off, while “Chronomancer” is much more in line with 8 Bit Weapon’s first album of game music remixes, as is “Flying Spaghetti Monster” (no doubt an ode to those with noodly appendages everywhere). The newest material, as well as the highlight of Mean Time by miles, is “Micro Boogie”, with its vocoder-ized lyrics making it an insanely catchy follow-up to Vaporware Soundtracks‘ “One Last Mission”. Seriously, just try to get this song out of your head. It ain’t easy.

“64 Gigabit Mario Epic” is a curiously titled instrumental with orchestral samples aplenty; I’ve got a hunch that this may be more Seth solo than 8 Bit Weapon, because it just doesn’t sound like it sprang from a SID chip. (But hey, I could be dead wrong there.) “Die Kintergrunde”, a collaboration with Thomas Margolf (also known as the German micromusic act FirestARTer), combines both the retro and modern approaches interestingly, and is a strong runner-up for the catchiest track on the whole CD.

Following that is a couple of tracks that I remember from Seth’s solo project, Unfortunate Brain Chemistry. It’s just possible that the CD that those tracks come from has faded into relative obscurity for casual 8BW fans, so it’s interesting to hear them here. Though one track is labeled as a “SID Mix”, I really couldn’t detect that much of a difference from the Unfortunate Brain Chemistry version.

“Future Paths” closes things off with a track that once again sounds a little bit more like Seth solo than 8 Bit Weapon, but that’s not a bad thing. Mean Time may not be the most cohesive album in the world (I say album, but running-time-wise it’s more of an EP), but with a spread of material over more than five years, it makes up for it with the Weapon’s uncanny sense of a good, catchy song - and it’ll do the trick nicely in tiding us over for the next CD of all-new material.

1. Changing Times (3:34)
2. Chronomancer (1:50)
3. Flying Spaghetti Monster (1:50)
4. Micro Boogie (3:47)
5. 64 Gigabit Mario Epic (3:14)
6. Die Kintergrunde featuring FirestARTer (4:12)
7. Robot Kindergarten (2:28)
8. Femme Machine (SID Mix) (5:10)
9. Future Paths (2:55)

Released by: 8 Bit Weapon
Release date: 2007
Total running time: 29:00

In 1994, after Babylon 5’s first season premiered in syndication and I was firmly hooked on all aspects of it, I went looking to see if anything had previously been released by Christopher Franke, and promptly found the then-fairly-recent New Music For Films Volume 1. A pretty good chunk of that compilation of cuts from various Franke film scores sounded authentically Babylon 5-ish, so I was more than happy with it. When actual Babylon 5 music finally appeared, I snatched it up eagerly, though I’ll admit to having balked numerous times when the “episodic CDs” appeared with frequently-reused music and an almost trading-card approach to the soundtrack market.

I passed on New Music For Films Volume 2 when it came out - a year after the last of the Babylon 5 episodic CDs - because I was, frankly, Franke’d out. Having now gotten it and listened to it, I wonder if the problem wasn’t that I was Babylon 5′ed out - or maybe Franke was too, resulting in a fatigued composer and a fatigued audience who both needed a break. This second volume of New Music shows that not Franke was stretching his wings further than the B5 signature style already, with much of this music being contemporary with the show’s final season. In other words, there’s stuff on here that doesn’t sound like Babylon 5.

One area where Franke will never be able to escape the similarity is with action music. His signature low pulsing string arrangements give him away like snare-drum Americana gives John Williams away. His action cues tend to sound the same from project to project, and given that there are few such pieces on this compilation, it’s hard not to wonder if he knows that too.

Where this second volume of New Music excels is in this places where it sounds like nothing Franke has done before. There are a couple of tracks with choral sections, but they sound completely different from the operatic choral elements Franke used frequently on Babylon 5. As his label, Sonic Images, had just opened sublabels for world music and electronica at the time, here Franke seems to be trying those styles on for size to see if they fit the project he’s working on. The result is, in places, something that sounds much more up-to-date than a 2000 release. Middle Eastern influences, processed percussion, and more piano than I’m used to from Franke all make appearances.

If you watch The Lost Tales and find yourself yearning for more of the Christopher Franke sound than can be found on the somewhat brief Lost Tales CD, this is certainly an album that can deliver, and maybe it’ll introduce you to a whole new Christopher Franke sound as well.

1. Opening (3:17)
2. Morning Ride (2:23)
3. Attack On The Village (2:40)
4. Damaged Goods (1:49)
5. Jane’s Arrival (5:10)
6. The Dam Breaks (1:05)
7. Broken Dreams (2:55)
8. Escape (2:05)
9. A New Friendship (1:40)
10. The Chase (2:13)
11. Deadly Flight (6:31)
12. Near Death (1:38)
13. Dance Lesson (1:17)
14. The Race (4:05)
15. Fight For Opar (5:10)
16. Finale (3:32)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 2000
Total running time: 47:31

Returning to the musical world of Babylon 5 for the first time since 2002’s one-off Legend Of The Rangers pilot, Christopher Franke makes it seem as though he never went away. The Lost Tales’ music is rife with sounds that I associate with late 80s and early 90s electronic music, which takes me right back to the beginnings of Babylon 5 itself, while his compositional style feels like season 5 is still running Wednesday nights on TNT.

As has already been noted in the DVD review, The Lost Tales is split into two segments on a single DVD, and as such the soundtrack follows suit. At just under 40 minutes, The Lost Tales may seem like a throwback to the days of the one-score-per-disc “episodic” CDs of the late ’90s, but as The Lost Tales itself is abbreviated, with both of its stories not quite racking up 80 minutes total, this isn’t a complete surprise. The music is presented in order, starting with the underscore for the incredibly effective intro sequence and going straight into Lochley’s side of the story, Over Here. Comprising the first 13 tracks, Over Here is largely a rumbling, menacing low drone, with a few moments of apocalyptic flavoring (the church organ in “Energy” and the heartbeat-as-rhythm in “Devil Threat”). While it all sounds authentically Babylon 5 just by virtue of being Christopher Franke music, it’s subtly different from his episode scores of the past.

As with the DVD itself, things really kick into gear starting with track 14 and Sheridan’s story, Over There. The music becomes quite a bit more active, with Franke bringing some of the industrial rhythms and pulsing strings into play that characterized the music from the first season of Babylon 5. In that way, the music from Over There almost goes back in time further than the story itself does, but it’s good stuff. But the end title music, which had no dialogue or effects to compete with, is where Franke finally cuts completely loose, hitting us with apocalyptic choir that surely would’ve spruced things up in Over Here. The Lost Tales on CD is a soundtrack where I got to the end and suddenly thought that the composer was holding back too much during the body of the show itself.

Curiously, while there are opportunities to quote material from the show’s past, Franke chooses only to return to the theme from the end of Sleeping In Light and the opening title theme from season five. Sheridan himself had quite a striking theme in season two, and the show itself had a more enduring theme early on than the season five variant.

The good news is that, as with the DVD itself, the music of the Lost Tales has room for improvement in the future, provided of course that this direct-to-DVD series drums up sales figures that merit its continuation (and if the same holds true for the soundtrack). While I didn’t think the DVD (or its musical score) was perfect, I’m enthusiastic enough about the potential of the Lost Tales to come along for another ride - and another listen.

1. Intro 1 (0:51)
2. Main Title (0:33)
3. Opening (1:23)
4. The Priest (1:24)
5. Exorcism (1:13)
6. The Stench (0:54)
7. Your Name (4:07)
8. Energy (1:24)
9. Devil Threat (2:15)
10. The Dream (0:57)
11. Log Search (1:18)
12. Send Back (3:15)
13. Epilogue 1 (1:39)
14. Intro 2 (1:36)
15. Londo (0:44)
16. G’Kar (1:57)
17. Hyperspace (0:34)
18. Destruction (1:05)
19. Kill (1:58)
20. I’m Save (1:00)
21. Describe (1:16)
22. The Station (1:08)
23. Starfury (1:11)
24. Prepare (2:28)
25. Landing (0:36)
26. Party (0:30)
27. Epilogue 2 (0:36)
28. End Credits (1:32)

Released by: Varese Sarabande
Release date: 2007
Total running time: 39:25