Terry's Reviews
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Music Reviews: |
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Godzilla – 50th
Anniversary Edition Music by Akira Ifukube La-La Land Records – 2004 |
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| This takes me back to the beginning of watching
and appreciating films. GODZILLA was my favorite movie as a child. The first thing I ever
purchased with my own money was a GODZILLA poster at age 4. This started a love affair
with the character that has lasted my whole life. La-La Land Records have done this classic film score justice by giving it royal treatment. The original 1954 soundtrack is here in its entirety, plus we get four bonus tracks. There are 12 pages of linear notes that include tributes by Don (PHANTASM) Coscarelli and web guru Harry Knowles. GODZILLA is a tense, dramatic score that conjures up a giant mythical creature that is born from the effects of the nuclear bomb. GODZILLA is actually quite a terrifying idea of you think of it and Akira Ifukube’s composition doesn’t mince away from helping establishing this. The CD begins with "Godzilla Approaches (sound effects)." This clip features GODZILLA’s footsteps and thunderous roar. I’d dare say that there is nobody who wouldn’t be scared stiff if they heard the awesome roar in real life. Within the framework of this CD it’s a welcome addition and certainly helps make the CD a complete audio representation of GODZILLA. "Godzilla Main Title" is so recognizable that any person who has seen any of the GODZILLA films at some point in their lives would know what it was. The next twenty-five tracks are creepy, action backing and majestic. Ifukube uses clarinets, flutes and brass to make the music of GODZILLA unforgettable. It’s not always the loud pounding music that will get to you. The creepy clarinet tracks "Godzilla Comes to Tokyo Bay", "Last Assault" crawl up your skin like a deadly spider. While the dark piano keys of "Anxieties of Ootojima Island", "Oxygen Destroyer" practically make you squirm in your seat. The scratching strings of "Horror of the Water Tank" could seriously be an inspiration for what was used in THE EXORCIST. You really should have this CD in your collection. |
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