© 2004 Lawrence Tuczynski
| Title: | Godzilla 3 |
| CD Label: | Toho Music Corporation |
| CD Number: | GX-3 |
| Music by: | Various |
| Number of tracks: | 27 |
| Running time: | 73:26 |
| Number of discs: | 1 |
| Year of release/manufacture: | April 25, 2005 |
| REVIEW |
June 10, 2005 Review Courtesy of Sam Scali This is the third in a series of special bonus discs included in the Godzilla "Perfect Collection" boxed sets. As before, the disc is a faithful reproduction of a classic LP, in this case GODZILLA! 3, originally released by Toho Records in 1978 (catalog number AX-8147), and later reissued on Star Child (K22G-7247). As with the previous disc, this edition marks the album's first appearance on CD, accurately duplicating the original LP cover, blue label, folded insert and silver-and-red obi strip. Like the previous two volumes, the album features highlights from the "Showa" series of Godzilla films, with occasional sound effects sequences introducing some of the selections. The arrangement of tracks on the third disc abandons the chronological format of GODZILLA! 2 for a more random order, jumping from the monster roars of 1954's GODZILLA directly to the "Monsterland" theme from 1968's DESTROY ALL MONSTERS - one of only a handful of cues on the album composed by Akira Ifukube. The bulk of the music is by Masaru Satoh, Riichiro Manabe and Kunio Miyauchi, including pop songs from GODZILLA VS. GIGAN, GODZILLA VS. MEGALON and GODZILLA VS. MECHA-GODZILLA. The audio from the Japanese trailer for MONSTER ZERO also makes an appearance (Track 11). The CD also includes seven bonus tracks not included in the original LP, all taken from vintage Japanese 45 RPM singles (which are pictured inside the front insert). Musically they are a mixed bag, from children's songs to synthesized pop tunes. The first of these, "Godzilla Christmas" (Track 21), may be the strangest of the bunch. It begins with a Latin-tinged Tijuana Brass-style melody, accented by sparkling sleigh bells. A cartoonish male vocal soon chimes in, followed by a children's chorus of "la-la's" sung to the tune of "Jingle Bells". There is also a version of "Mothra's Song" (Track 23), a pair of more traditional-sounding children's numbers and a couple of slices of suave 70's pop. As with the previous GODZILLA! bonus discs, this CD is an entertaining collection of choice tracks, punctuated with matching sound effects and monster roars. The sound quality, while not perfect, is probably the best of the three restored LPs, most likely because of the focus on later-period Godzilla films (The bonus tracks, on the other hand, sound noticeably better, since they were probably remastered from the best existing source tapes). Once again, Toho Music has done an excellent job of recreating the look of the original LP, and the disc neatly compliments the remastered soundtracks in the boxed set. |
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GODZILLA 3 (GX-3) Track Titles Courtesy Jolyon Yates
Original Soundtrack
Bonus tracks Music
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