The VVers have been very modest on this here blog about their love/obsession with Godzilla and his cohort monsters from Toho Studios. Just take their word for it and spare the details. What prompted VVer #2 to order a Godzilla record from Discogs last year? A good guess would be for DJing a Halloween party where monster soundtracks were needed, oh, and her costume for the night: Mothra. Regardless of the reasons (the VVers do not need to justify their record purchases!), a plush-packaged, 1978 Toho
Godzilla Original Soundtrack arrived. Behold, the iconic Godzilla-eating-a-train scene gracing the cover sleeve, foldout Godzilla poster, info sheet (all in Japanese), and record with an adorable illustrated Godzilla gracing the label, and all in pristine condition! Holy monster party! Pop it on the turntable and hear classic sounds from a smattering of Godzilla movies' scores (not soundtracks):
Gojira,
Mothra vs. Godzilla, and
Terror of Mechagodzilla. Most tracks on this collection are from monster entrance scenes or battle sequences which heavily feature monster sound effects (which are in fact AMAZING). Only problem is that the VVers do not read Japanese (yet) and have no idea what they are listening to (again, the ENTIRE track listing is in Japanese). Some tracks are recognizable, like the original 1954
Gojira theme and "RRRRAAAAARR" noises, but most leave you wondering what movie they are from. Never has there been a more perfect time to try out the Google Translate app that VVer #2 never uses! Just choose Japanese, snap a picture, and let the app do its thing. While the translation is less than perfect, the VVers (using their extensive and in-no-way-useless knowledge of Godzilla movies) were able to get the gist of the track info. The liner notes are plush with battle scene pictures, a nice touch, but the true kicker is the included poster... which is totally ridiculous. For one, it is huge (actual poster size). Upon closer examination, the VVers notice that Godzilla is holding a lady-person a la King Kong. What is this horse shit?! That didn't happen in the movies! Everyone wants to know who is responsible for such a historically inaccurate depiction of Godzilla on this poster! Regardless, the whole package is a fine purchase to ogle at and to use for backing music to a Mothra Halloween costume (and just general listing, because, you know, GODZILLA).
Who cares about the score anyways? Well, you should, especially that of the original
Gojira. The emotionally charged score is beautifully laden with string and horn instrumentation making it dramatic and spare in all of the right ways. Akira Ifukube pretty much created Godzilla via the original entrance and theme music, which continued to be used throughout much of the Toho
Godzilla franchise. In addition, he went on to create original scores for many other regarded films (including the Japanese
Godzilla movies made through the 1990s). However, his most indelible contribution may be the idea to use musical instruments (not recorded animal noises) to create that iconic Godzilla "RRRRAAAAARR." Kaiju fans everywhere are forever indebted to Ikukube's monster sounds.
In the months since Halloween, the VVers finally watched the original 1961
Mothra movie (SPOILER ALERT: Godzilla doesn't show up in this one folks -- and in no way is that a problem). Besides the namesake giant moth monster, two of the main stars of the film are tiny, magical twins who provide much of the music for this soundtrack. The actresses are actually twin sisters, Emi and Yumi Ito, a musical duo that performed under the name The Peanuts. Their melodic and hypnotizing voices make for some pretty catchy tunes in
Mothra that the VVers had stuck in their heads for days.
A month or two passes again, and the VVers find themselves in the tiny, yet wonderful,
Musique Plastique in Portland, OR. Near closing time, VVer #1 is poking around the store and pulls out a record. Handing it over to VVer #2, "Interested?" Gracing the cover is Godzilla (in color) on a
Deluxe Edition Godzilla record. VVer #2 thinks to herself, "Meh, I just got a Godzilla record, how many do I need?" The inner sleeve this time is only 98% in Japanese, save a handful of track names, so she opens it to see what is written on the vinyl. "RRRRAAAAARRR!" The vinyl A side is a picture disc with the B side as a painted Godzilla/King Ghidorah/Rodan scene. Pretty sweet (is the understatement of the year). At what is now an 85% certain purchase, a study of the tracks looks promising. There is at least one track, "Infantians" which VVer #2 is certain comes from the original
Mothra movie (Mothra lives on Infant Island and there were more than a few song/dance scenes summoning Mothra). Well, looks like Mothra has sealed the deal and this deluxe 1985
Godzilla record made the journey home with the VVers.
The music on this one is far more "musical" than the other
Godzilla record. Side A includes quite a few "overture" type songs from the film series as well as the mecha-goofy "whhaaaa whaaa whaaa" clown music entrance to
Godzilla. This stupid trombone entrance theme was featured in later movies when the King of the Monsters transitioned from foe into friend of humankind. Thankfully, this is followed by a surfer-esque track which temporarily erases the memory of that. Side B features a few songs by The Peanuts from the
Mothra movie. One is the magical "Mothra" song the twins sing which starts off acoustic and is later accompanied by some taiko drums, harp, and percussion. The somber "Infantians," as sung by The Peanuts in the movie is about the natives from Infant Island and their idol Mothra. "Native Son" is from the elusive
King Kong v. Godzilla movie which similarly to
Mothra, includes natives from the island of King Kong's home chanting/praying to their monster. The last song "GODZILLA" is pretty horrendous and sounds like it is entering the 1980's musically. There are synths, bad female vocals, and bad lyrics. At one point you realize the lyrics are in English and then hear "Godzilla is our friend" or something to that effect.
Godzilla, he spans many a generation and many a genre. Combined, the two records cover over thirty years of
Godzilla films and there isn't overlap between the two. "RRRRAAAAARR!"
