PRINTER FRIENDLY VIEW
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•	2004 Toho Album

•	2004 LLL Album

•	2024 Album

•	2014 Album

•	2004 Toho Album

•	2004 LLL Album

•	1993 Album

Ifukube's main theme for Godzilla wasn't originally intended to serve as such, but the series of three menacingly descending notes over a stomping rhythm became the memorable anthem for the monster. Its driving determination and easily recognizable repetition is easy for any audience to recall after so much history, though it's a rather simple construct that doesn't evolve significantly, at least not in the 1954 film. There's a sense of raw abrasiveness to the original film's score that matches the primitive but evocative imagery, and while the theme has been re-recorded brilliantly in the many decades to follow, especially during the Digital Age, there will always be a place for the brooding force of the original recording. From the patriotic march of the Japanese Army, performed by trumpets in unison, to the epic scenes of destruction with excruciating strings, the agony of the people and the monster are both reflected well in the scope of the score. While the concept is one of high familiarity for those around the world, relatively few soundtrack listeners outside of the Godzilla fandom appreciated this music for many decades. Long residing on solely Japanese albums of obscurity, several of those products were essentially bootlegs. The most widely attainable album in the Digital Age was the official 1993 release by Futureland/Toshiba EMI of Japan. Unfortunately, even this release suffered from the artifacts of dialogue mixes, poor renderings of the sound effects, warbles, and even the sound of a screaming baby that somehow managed to work its way onto the release. Because the recording was made in mono, not to mention the limited recording quality available to the project in 1954, both the composition and recording phases of the original Godzilla were extremely rushed, which proved to be a recurring problem for the sequels as well. Under these circumstances, the sound quality is perhaps poorer than its contemporary counterparts no matter how much anyone attempts to clean it up. For some listeners, and especially those who are simply not interested in the historical magnitude of the score and film, the distant and muffled sound quality could significantly restrict any enjoyment of the music. Unless the score maintains a relatively conservative volume for a lengthy period, as in "Godzilla at the Ocean Floor," the distortion levels are prohibitive.

During the lifespan of the 1993 Futureland album as the only official representation of the score, there didn't exist an adequate re-recording of the entire work to suffice in place of the original. It was only a matter of time, though, before Ifukube's music rose from its purgatory and was fully remastered on internationally available album releases. To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of Godzilla, two different remastered and expanded CDs for the soundtrack hit the shelves in the summer of 2004, finally providing readily available options for this influential music. In 2004, La-La Land Records edited the best available mono sources of the music from the Toho music vaults and remastered them to remove all of the most annoying artifacts heard on the Japanese versions. With a detailed package and four new tracks, this 46-minute expanded edition was the most definitive Godzilla album ever to hit the shelves, and it joyously came as Ifukube was still able to actively see his music enjoyed by the masses. At the same time, Toho Music released a 50th anniversary set (the "Perfect Collection") of their own that included 7 CDs and 53 minutes of music from this first score in particular. While the equal-sounding contents of the two 2004 albums is slightly rearranged, the La-La Land product was by far the better deal despite lacking about six minutes of lesser music by comparison. Its presentation was re-issued by Harkit Records in 2014 for European distribution at the 60th anniversary of the film. Then, in 2024 for the 70th anniversary, Universal Music Japan offered a straight re-issue of the original 1993 album as part of a $300+ 22-CD set of music from the franchise. There really wasn't as much of an audience for this immense product, as many of the scores represented on it, especially the original 1954 entry, had been released in better sound on less expensive options. Though limited, these massive sets costing hundreds of dollars didn't sell out, exposing that the rather small audience for them was largely satisfied with the albums they already owned. Any enthusiast of the concept will want to seek either of the 2004 albums or the 2014 re-issue for the best experience from this film, and while the recording is extremely muffled in any of the offerings, it's an easy one to appreciate because of its strong balance between emotional appeal for the beast and its destructive tendencies. Too many have shamelessly imitated this distinctive sound since.  *****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download