© 1998 Lawrence Tuczynski

This is a greatest hits CD taken from the 1st group of Godzilla movies
Title The Best Of Godzilla 1954-1975
CD Label GNP Crescendo
CD Number GNPD 8055
Music by: Various Artists
Number of tracks 43
Running time 78:44
Number of discs 1
Year of release/manufacture 1998

REVIEW

The title says it all. This is one of many "greatest hits" CD's on this site. This disc focuses on the first Godzilla series of films. If you are new to collecting this music or don't own many of the other CD's, then this is a great CD to start with if you can find it. This particular CD is put out by the U.S. company GNP Crescendo and should still be available at many retail and online stores at an inexpensive price.

Additional review October 24, 2005 courtesy of John Emmons

This nicely made collection of music from the "Showa Era" of the Godzilla series spans from the very first Godzilla movie to Terror of MechaGodzilla. Most of the music is composed by Godzilla regulars Akira Ifukube and Masaru Satoh. I was pleasantly surprised to find that "All Monsters Attack" was written by Kunio Miyauchi, known for his work on "Ultra-Q" and the original "Ultraman" series.

Akira Ifukube's scores have a very traditional orchestra sound, while all of the other composers have more of a then-contemporary sound. Ifukube's scores have a timeless quality to them when compared to the other scores. It's easy to hear his "voice" evolve from the first Godzilla film (which sounds like it has a much smaller orhestra than the later ones) to the last film on this CD. Besides creating the Godzilla theme heard on a number of tracks, I also like this wailing jazzy-brass motif first heard in the track for "Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster" (at about the 1:24 point) and later in "Destroy All Monsters" and "Terror of MechaGodzilla" cues.

With the music are some sound effects which give this album a genuine Godzilla feel to it. It also comes with a nice booklet with the full track listing, descriptions of all of the Godzilla movies featured in the collection, and some background information. It even has the lyrics to the Mothra's Song, performed by the Peanuts. So now, you too can sing along. There's also a bonus track by Neil Norman and his Cosmic Orchestra.

The only bad thing is that this album skips over "Godzilla VS the Sea Monster." Joe Sena, the producer and liner notes writer, remarks that it is "an unremarkable score." I personally would like to decide that for myself. The movie's even skipped over in the movie summaries! The least they could have done was put one track on the CD. The other thing is that it's a very uneven selection. Some movies get four to six tracks while others only get one track.

But petty complaints aside, it is a great introduction to Godzilla music and while it was made to cash in on the then-impending 1998 American Godzilla movie, it's professionally done and great fun to listen to.

    GODZILLA 1954 (music by Akira Ifukube)
  1. Footsteps FX
  2. Godzilla Main Title
  3. Ootojima Temple Festival
  4. Japanese Army March
  5. Godzilla Comes Ashore
  6. Godzilla's Rampage
  7. Ending

    8. GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (music by Masaru Satoh)

  8. Main Title

    9. KING KONG vs. GODZILLA (music by Akira Ifukube)

  9. Helicopter / Man Screams / SOS FX
  10. Main Title
  11. King Kong Roars FX
  12. Planning King Kong's Transport

    13. MOTHRA (music by Yuki Koseki)

  13. Mothra's Song (performed by The Peanuts)

    14. MOTHRA vs. GODZILLA (music by Akira Ifukube)

  14. Mothra FX
  15. Main Title
  16. Sacred Springs

    17. GHIDORAH THE THREE HEADED MONSTER (music by Akira Ifukube)

  17. Main Title / Monsters Appear In Yokohama

    18. INVASION OF THE ASTRO-MONSTER (music by Akira Ifukube)

  18. UFO Approaches / Monsters Fight FX / Monster Battle March

    19. SON OF GODZILLA (music by Masaru Satoh)

  19. Main Title
  20. Godzilla vs. Kumonga
  21. Ending

    22. DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (music by Akira Ifukube)

  22. Godzilla FX / Toho Mark / Main Title
  23. Title Credits
  24. Four Monsters Attack Tokyo
  25. Destroying The Remote Control
  26. Showdown On Mt. Fuji
  27. Ending

    28. ALL MONSTERS ATTACK (music by Kunio Miyauchi)

  28. Cute Kid Theme / Monster Fight

    29. GODZILLA vs. HEDORAH (music by Riichiroh Manabe)

  29. Godzilla's Fight

    30. GODZILLA vs. GIGAN (music by Akira Ifukube)

  30. Main Title
  31. Main Title Repeat
  32. Godzilla March - Record Version

    33. GODZILLA vs. MEGALON (music by Riichiroh Manabe)

  33. Jet Jaguar / Megalon FX
  34. Main Title
  35. Godzilla Of Monster Island

    36. GODZILLA vs. MECHAGODZILLA (music by Masaru Satoh)

  36. MechaGodzilla FX
  37. Godzilla vs. Anguiras
  38. Miyarabi's Prayer

    39. TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (music by Akira Ifukube)

  39. Main Title
  40. MechaGodzilla II
  41. Godzilla's Entrance
  42. Ending

  43. THEME FROM GODZILLA - arr. Neil Norman