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If there’s one eternal truth that every composer of film or TV music faces sooner or later, it’s the rejection slip. Everyone gets one eventually. And even a composer of Jerry Goldsmith’s stature gets them, such as the one Goldsmith received when he turned in this score to the already-troubled time travel flick Timeline. However, as much as I love Goldsmith’s work in general, listening to this CD of his rejected score, released by Varese Sarabande, I came to one conclusion: there’s a reason Brian Tyler wound up scoring this movie.

For whatever reason, Goldsmith’s take on Timeline winds up sounding like, well, reheated Goldsmith. Now granted, even well-worn works by this particular composer make for good listening, but there are whole passages that sound almost exactly like music from Star Trek: First Contact. Given that this was one of Goldsmith’s final scores, I almost expected to hear stuff that was more like Star Trek: Nemesis, and thought that maybe I’d find a few things that he salvaged from this unused work for that movie. Nope. There are big stretches that sound a lot like, in particular, First Contact’s “The Dish” cue, particularly the percussive, guttural battle music. (Ironically, I now realize that even when working on First Contact, Goldsmith used a particular kind of action music that dates back to the Logan’s Run score.)

The element that’s unique to Timeline is a strange approach to a brass theme, a clarion call that occasionally dips just far enough out of the dominant key that it seems to be at odds with everything else behind it. It sticks out just enough to be distracting early on, and one can only imagine the reaction of the movie’s director or studio head upon hearing that.

Sadly, I can’t say this is one of Goldsmith’s finer works; as a limited release, it’s clearly intended for Goldsmith collectors and completists only, though even that crowd may find themselves wondering what one of their favorite composers was thinking when working on this one. Then again, at the risk of overlaying my own opinion onto the proceedings, the source material - the movie itself - doesn’t appear to have been terribly inspiring either. This soundtrack-that-never-was is a curiosity for the late maestro’s faithful followers.

1. The Dig (4:10)
2. Cornflakes (2:05)
3. No Pain (3:10)
4. To Castlegard (1:27)
5. Find Marek (1:55)
6. The Rooftop (4:21)
7. A Hole In The Wall (2:27)
8. Move On (6:58)
9. Be Careful (1:28)
10. Ambushed (1:12)
11. Setting Up (2:12)
12. Greek Fire / Light The Arrows (2:32)
13. Prepare For Battle / Victory (11:12)
14. To My Friends (1:40)

Released by: Varese Sarabande
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 46:49

“Subtle” isn’t normally a word used in connection with Godzilla. However, Akira Ifukube’s soundtrack to the original Godzilla movie is deceptively subtle.

Most soundtracks have themes for characters and scenes that echo the main theme. But in Godzilla, nearly every piece of music is the main theme. With shifts in tempo or style, or emphasis on different types or individual instruments, the theme is reformed in many ways, each of them sounding completely unique and original. It’s a testament to Ifukube’s skill that he was able to stretch the theme into so many nearly unrecognizable shapes.

The main theme itself is a brisk and tense thriller, primarily using woodwinds with some brass for emphasis. When he appears in Tokyo Bay and moves on shore, the music becomes slow, dark and ominous using deep, throaty sounding muted trumpets to represent Godzilla and an almost disconsonant piano to highlight the people’s helplessness.

Ifukube often weaves two or more variations into the same piece of music. Among the most interesting are those hiding in a happy military march and tucked away in an island festival. There are even strains of the theme heard in a harmonica played by a sailor on a merchant vessel. The “Prayer For Peace,” which remains one of the most haunting pieces of music I’ve ever heard, brings the theme to a funeral dirge. When we see Godzilla on the ocean floor, the theme shifts to help us realize that the King of the Monsters is a victim as well.

The latest trend on the internet is to create original works in “mashups” of different source material. Akira Ifukube did it the old fashioned way- using only one source and without using “loops.” Godzilla: 50th Anniversary is an excellent achievement that is not only good to listen to, but can also be used as a study guide for budding composers.

1. Godzilla Approaches (Sound Effects) (0:49)
2. Godzilla Main Title (1:31)
3. Ship Music / Sinking Of Eikou-Maru (1:06)
4. Sinking Of Bingou-Maru (0:23)
5. Anxieties On Ootojima Island (0:50)
6. Ootojima Temple Festival (1:21)
7. Stormy Ootojima Island (1:53)
8. Theme For Ootojima Island (0:34)
9. Japanese Army March I (0:42)
10. Horror Of The Water Tank (0:42)
11. Godzilla Comes Ashore (1:52)
12. Godzilla’s Rampage (2:25)
13. Desperate Broadcast (1:12)
14. Godzilla Comes To Tokyo Bay (1:25)
15. Intercept Godzilla (1:27)
16. Tragic Sight Of The Imperial Capitol (2:18)
17. Oxygen Destroyer (3:11)
18. Prayer For Peace (2:48)
19. Japanese Army March II (0:21)
20. Godzilla At The Ocean Floor (6:20)
21. Ending (1:41)
22. Godzilla Leaving (Sound Effects) (1:04)

    Bonus Tracks

23. Main Title (film version) (2:03)
24. First Landing (film version) (3:37)
25. Tokyo In Flames (film version) (2:17)
26. Last Assault (film version) (2:21)

Released by: La-La Land Records
Release date: 2004
Total running time: 46:28

Finally out after nine years (just one year shy of the movie’s tenth anniversary) David Arnold’s score for Roland Emmerich’s remake (a 2-CD set, limited to 3000 copies) of Tokyo’s resident bad boy displays all of the pluses and minuses of Arnold’s previous collaborations with Emmerich.

One of the most striking things that occurred to me when listening to this set was the fact that Arnold tends to compose similar music whenever the military is on screen at any given point. In fact, “Military Command Center” is a case in point. The drum beats alone tends to signify “Ten-shun!” whenever a military type enters the scene. Ironically, and much to Arnold’s regret according to the booklet’s liner notes (one of the most illuminating I have come across, by the way), the military in Emmerich’s opus doesn’t get as much screen time as one would expect in a film with the big G.

Another puzzling thing is that about halfway through the production process was the decision on Emmerich’s part to make his CGI big G as much a thing of wonder as of a thing of terror. Perhaps the most significant result of this sudden change of direction is “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner”. At first the piece emphasizes the terror, but around the halfway mark it switches to an almost Williams-style feeling of awe and wonder.

Still, what this score does right, it does very right indeed. “The Beginning” does an excellent job of setting things up and while it’s not going to dethrone Akira Ifukube’s now-iconic theme anytime soon, it manages to display a sense of dread all its own. In fact, in the alternate version of this (no choir in the latter) it almost sounds remarkably similar to Ifukube’s previous work. Also, “Nick and Audrey” has a feel to it that’s more than a little reminiscent of John Barry.

In all, this is an album that many people have been waiting for a long time and whether you like the movie or not, the score itself should be listened to at least once, since it seems unlikely, despite Arnold’s optimism, that he’ll do another job for Emmerich anytime soon.

1. The Beginning (3:29)
2. Tanker Gets It (1:11)
3. Chernobyl (3:13)
4. Footprint (0:33)
5. Footprints / New York / Audrey (0:54)
6. Chewing Gum Nose (0:30)
7. Ship Reveal / Nick Discovers Fish / Flesh (1:39)
8. The Boat Gets It* (2:09)
9. Dawn Of The Species (1:49)
10. Joe Gets a Bite / Godzilla Arrives (3:11)
11. Mayor’s Speech (1:03)
12. Caiman’s Office (0:45)
13. Animal’s Camera (1:39)
14. Military Command Center / New Jersey (1:55)
15. Audrey’s Idea (0:22)
16. Evacuation (2:41)
17. French Coffee (0:56)
18. Subway Damage / Command Enters City (2:50)
19. Fish (1:48)
20. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner? (5:13)
21. 1st Helicopter Chase / Godzilla Swats A Chopper (4:08)
22. We Fed Him / Audrey Sees Nick (1:21)
23. Nick And Audrey / He’s Pregnant / Audrey Takes The Tape / French Breakfast (4:46)
24. He’s Preparing To Feed (0:34)
25. Nick Gets Fired / Nick Gets Abducted / Frenchie’s Warehouse / Nick Joins The Foreign Legion (5:47)

Disc two
1. Chewing Gum (1:51)
2. Rumble In The Tunnel (1:35)
3. Godzilla O Park / Godzilla Takes A Dive / Godzilla Versus The Submarine / Egg Discovery (9:42)
4. Baby ‘Zillas Hatch* (3:51)
5. Nick Phones For Help (1:28)
6. Eat The French (2:14)
7. Phillip Shoots The Lock (1:39)
8. Nick’s Big Speech / The Garden Gets It (7:07)
9. He’s Back! / Taxi Chase & Clue (7:06)
10. Big G Goes To Monster Heaven (4:30)
11. The End (4:05)

    Bonus Tracks

12. The Beginning (no choir) (3:32)
13. Footprints / New York / Audrey (alternate) (0:50)
14. The Boat Gets It (alternate) (1:09)
15. Gojira (Album Version) (2:46)

* contains material not used in the film

Released by: La-La Land Records
Release date: 2007
Disc one total running time: 55:28
Disc two total running time: 53:47

The Best Of Godzilla: 1984-1995 is the second disc in a two-part set of the music of Godzilla (the first disc covered the years 1954-1975). This album contains selections from the films The Return Of Godzilla to Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, which also serves as the second “era” of Godzilla movies. Astute readers may notice a gap of 9 years between discs: This wasn’t a decision on GNP Crescendo’s part not to include those years, there just simply weren’t any movies being made then.

This compliation starts off with The Return Of Godzilla, which (as the name implies) marked the return of Godzilla to the big screen after a 9 year break. The first thing you will notice about the music is that, even though it was composed in the mid-80’s, it doesn’t contain the slick production style that marked so much of the music that came from this decade. The composer, Reijiro Koroku, also decided to keep the musical style of the earlier Godzilla films intact. This is a welcome change from the ’70s pop/disco-infused music that marred such films as Godzilla vs. Megalon.

This would not last, however. In the next film, Godzilla vs. Biollante, composer Koichi Sugiyama uses electric guitars and a heavy rock beat on the song “Bio Wars”, which makes it feel more like Cheap Trick than Godzilla. Needless to say, it’s sorely out of place, considering also that the other two songs that were taken from this film are more of a standard orchestrated style. Video game buffs will also recognize Sugiyama’s name — he’s the principal composer of the Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior series.

Out of the remaning five films represented on this disc, four of them contain a nice surprise: original composer Akira Ifukube is back on board, and it’s easy to see why. His music is so quintessentially “Godzilla”, it’s hard to think that anybody would try to take his place. This stuff is easily the best on the disc, although he does occasionally lapse into a case of “of the times” and uses synths and other modern sounds and techniques (his remake of “Mothra’s Song” from Godzilla vs. Mothra sounds like it could have easily been performed by Todd Rundgren). Of particular interest is the song “Requiem” from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah: after a dissonant piano/string part, a lone instrument slowly builds up with a few strings until an entire string section plays while a female vocalization sings over it. That description really doesn’t do it any justice — it’s very beautiful, and shows how Ifukube was capable of putting not only suspense and action into his music, but also emotion as well.

This disc is a bit different than its precedessor. Since this compilation only covers 9 years of Godzilla movies, more selections from each movie were included, giving the disc a better overall feel. One wishes that GNP Crescendo could have split the first disc into two parts and not had to include 21 years worth of music on just one disc. Another thing I thought was strange, but welcome — the SFX that were liberally peppered on the first disc are nowhere to be heard here. Maybe it’s because the SFX from these movies weren’t as memorable, but I was glad they decided to focus on the music this time around. One thing, however, that I wish they would have gotten rid of: The closing track, a remake of “Monster Zero March”, once again performed by Neil Norman And His Cosmic Orchestra. Like the first disc, its addition seems wholly arbitrary, and adds no real value (especially on a compilation of the original soundtrack).

So, if you could only buy one of these discs, which one would it be? I would have to give the nod to 1954-1975 because it contains the original Godzilla music, but listening to that disc alone paints an incomplete picture. Both discs are essential to each other to give a complete overview of the music of Godzilla, and both casual Godzilla enthusiasts and hardcore kaiju fans will find this collection enjoyable. One wonders if GNP Crescendo will be onboard to give us a 1999- compliation sometime in the near future…

1. Main Theme (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah) (3:18)
2. Main Title (Return Of Godzilla) (1:49)
3. Take Shelter/Godzilla vs. Super X (Return Of Godzilla) (2:15)
4. Japanese Army March (Return Of Godzilla) (0:47)
5. Godzilla’s Exit (Return Of Godzilla) (1:51)
6. Ending (Return Of Godzilla) (1:47)
7. Scramble March (Godzilla vs. Biollante) (4:27)
8. Bio Wars (Godzilla vs. Biollante) (4:36)
9. Ending (Godzilla vs. Biollante) (5:00)
10. Main Title/UFO Invasion (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah) (2:57)
11. King Ghidorah Attacks Fukuoka (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah) (0:37)
12. Get King Ghidorah (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah) (1:41)
13. Main Title (Godzilla vs. Mothra) (1:25)
14. Mahara Mothra (Godzilla vs. Mothra) (0:55)
15. Mesa March (Godzilla vs. Mothra) (1:55)
16. Rolling Title Ending (Godzilla vs. Mothra) (3:40)
17. Mothra’s Song (Godzilla vs. Mothra) (3:47)
18. Main Title (Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla II) (1:35)
19. G-Force March #1 (Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla II) (2:50)
20. Prologue/Main Title (Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla) (2:35)
21. Bass Island (Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla) (1:21)
22. MOGERA vs. Space Godzilla #1 (Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla) (1:28)
23. MOGERA vs. Space Godzilla #2 (Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla) (2:37)
24. Crystal (Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla) (5:33)
25. Main Title/Hong Kong’s Destruction (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah) (3:09)
26. Attack Of Super X-3 (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah) (3:00)
27. Mesa Tank Super Freeze Attack (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah) (1:55)
28. Requiem (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah) (3:49)
29. Ending Title (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah) (2:48)
30. Monster Zero March - Neil Norman And His Cosmic Orchestra (3:04)

Released by: GNP Crescendo
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 78:31