© 2004 Lawrence Tuczynski
All information provided by Robert Storch
| Title: | Works Of Riichiro Manabe |
| CD Label: | Polystar/Toho Music |
| CD Number: | PSCR-5887 |
| Music by: | Riichiro Manabe |
| Number of tracks: | 21 |
| Running time: | 59:18 |
| Number of discs: | 1 |
| Year of release/manufacture: | July 26, 2000 |
| REVIEW |
7/20/2004 Review by Robert Storch (updated 02/13/2006) I picked up this CD from Arksquare as a curiosity but in retrospect I should not have been so curious. Riichiro Manabe is not my favorite Godzilla composer but I do sometimes enjoy his GODZILLA VS MEGALON score. I am not too familiar with these movie themes or the movies they were recorded for but most of the tracks are typical of Manabe's style and have a dated sound to them.. Overall I found most of the music to be somewhat dreary with almost no upbeat tracks to speak of (perhaps due to the organ that seems to play on almost every track). Track #2 offers a female vocal or a duet (I think I hear another voice but it's hard to make out clearly), Track #16 has a male vocal and Track #20 is probably the most upbeat one with a child singing the lead vocal and adults singing the chorus. There are also two more vocal tracks, one each from GODZILLA VS MEGALON and GODZILLA VS THE SMOG MONSTER. I was hoping to find some themes from his Vampire Trilogy but they don't seem to be on here. His complete scores to those films can be found on the Toho Champion Festival Boxed Set. The problem is very simple - clocking in at almost 60 minutes, there is just way too much Manabe to take in during one sitting. For those of you who are interested in hearing something *catchy* by this composer, I would recommend his GODZILLA VS MEGALON score - that one can actually grow on you and is much more enjoyable than Smog Monster. I found this compilation to be an interesting listen, but it is only a disc I would recommend to the diehard Manabe fan. |
|
THE WORLD OF RIICHIROU MANABE
|