Godzilla
David Arnold
" Monster movie gets monstrous score, and a big monstrous release after all these years. "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
It is amazing how film music labels suddenly become addicted to release the most fun albums. I mean those that were found for years on the black market in forms of bootlegs and promos. Within just several years, fans have witnessed I think 50% of their most sought after albums appear on commercial legit soundtracks. What took years for just one, now takes months. Of course this all for the better because due to the current lack of good, strong and above all memorable film music, these releases from the '80 and '90 are what made film music great. After dozens of stunning releases comes Godzilla, perhaps one of the most sought after releases of all.
I think nobody understood why a monstrous and above all brilliant film music score wasn't released at all. Now this has been changed and David Arnolds' wizardry after Independence Day is still after all these years a breathing firecracker of a score. Big, pompous, orchestra and choir, it simply has what made Independence Day so grand, only somewhat lesser in quality. However with two CD's full of new pompous music (comparing with the bootleg), this score just shows one thing so clear. If you ever want a fun album with all the right tricks, Godzilla is your man / monster.
Starting with "The Beginning" Arnold's score already grows to menacing heights with the theme Godzilla itself inherits, a pompous four note motif that growls and bites and electrifies with Stargate epic choir behind it. It's a killer opener for both movie and score. A couple of new tracks follow after that with "Tanker Gets It" getting a monster theme moment, while in "Footprint" Stargate isn't far behind. "Footprints / New York / Audrey" has then two new motifs, an exiting chase theme played slower and the theme for Audrey which will become the love theme further on in the score.
A couple of times music which wasn't used in the film appears, like in "The Boat Gets It", which is a frenetic monster led theme cue. A great new cue in comparison with the bootleg is "Joe Gets a Bite / Godzilla Arrives". It builds with the monster theme to one of those big explosive Arnold cues full of whirling flutes and blazing brass. This is continued in tracks like "Mayor's Speech" and "Animal's Camera", which is a lot of fun with the chase theme in rapid form. In the militaristic sounding "Evacuation" we witness a heroic tune for the army itself. This is saturated in the Independence Day gun ho manner, and thereby is great fun.
The real fun starts from the moment Godzilla enters the city and is under fire ( thereby chasing away). From "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" these moments bring out the best of Arnold's voice. Furthermore in this track we discover another new theme. Namely the wonder theme that shines with big strings and an amazing fanfare, until it gallops into action with the exiting "1st Helicopter Chase / Godzilla Swats a Chopper" (another winner in the Arnold category of exiting film music).
Naturally the love blossoms further on in those too long track titles of La-La Land, namely track 23. In an even longer track title (we'll call this one track 25), we hear furthermore the militaristic theme, this time for the French army led by a brilliant Jean Reno.
The second album naturally goes for the all out explosive finale and here the tracks really deliver on time, testosterone, action and adventure. First off is the third track where the theme for the military competes with the monster theme in awesome brass fights. The second part of this track is more sinister. More fun awaits you in "Baby 'Zillas Hatch" and "Nick Phones for Help" where the rhythm drives once again the action. "Eat the French" is more sinister and atonal on occasions and here you could have the feeling it's becoming too much at times.
The final tracks are too good to dismiss as just sheer noise. With the romantic beginning and noble "Nick's Big Speech / The Garden Gets It", it soon grows to a full blast ensemble performance of the militaristic hero theme. But it is not over, in "He's Back / Taxi Chase & Clue" the fun just continues. Think of an even more relentless cue, but still insanely exciting. In "Big G Goes to Monster Heaven" you however have moments that are still new, like the fun moment on 1:46 where Arnold injects the fun-o-meter with another doses. This is all leading to the sorrowful big choral finale that sends shivers down your spine. This is a finale that shows monstrous potential.
In "The End" the score receives one last blast of excellence with the wonder theme shining off the original album before alternate takes give you extras that are welcome but not necessary.
Why it had to take this long before Godzilla got a proper release is beyond me. We have seen more crap being released the last couple of years that even didn't have a second of potential that David Arnold's ruckus can deliver instead. But I'm glad it happened now after all this time. Because time simply doesn't age on classics, and Godzilla is a monstrous ball of classic fun.
CD 1: 55.16
1. The Beginning (3.31) Excellent track
2. Tanker Gets It (1.13)
3. Chernobyl (3.15)
4. Footprint (0.35)
5. Footprints / New York / Audrey (0.56)
6. Chewing Gum Nose (0.32)
7. Ship Reveal / Nick Discovers Fish / Flesh (1.41)
8. The Boat Gets It * (2.11)
9. Dawn of the Species (1.52)
10. Joe Gets A Bite / Godzilla Arrives (3.14) Excellent track
11. Mayor's Speech (1.05)
12. Caiman's Office (0.47)
13. Animal's Camera (1.41) Excellent track
14. Military Command Center / New Jersey (1.57)
15. Audrey's Idea (0.24)
16. Evacuation (2.43)
17. French Coffee (0.58)
18. Subway Damage / Command Enters City (2.52)
19. Fish (1.50)
20. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (5.15) Excellent track
21. 1st Helicopter Chase / Godzilla Swats a Chopper (4.10) Excellent track
22. We Fed Him / Audrey Sees Nick (1.23)
23. Nick and Audrey / He's Pregnant / Audrey Takes the Tape / French Breakfast (4.48)
24. He's Preparing to Feed (0.36)
25. Nick Gets Fired / Nick Gets Abducted / Frenchie's Warehouse / Nick Joins the Foreign Legion (5.47)
CD 2: 53.17
1. Chewing Gum (1.53)
2. Rumble in the Tunnel (1.37)
3. Godzilla O Park / Godzilla Takes a Dive / Godzilla Versus the Submarine / Egg Discovery (9.44)
4. Baby 'Zillas Hatch * (3.53)
5. Nick Phones for Help (1.30)
6. Eat the French (2.16)
7. Phillip Shoots the Lock (1.05)
8. Nick's Big Speech / The Garden Gets It (7.09) Excellent track
9. He's Back / Taxi Chase & Clue (7.08) Excellent track
10. Big G Goes to Monster Heaven (4.32) Excellent track
11. The End (4.09) Excellent track
Bonus Tracks
12. The Beginning (No Choir) (3.34)
13. Footprints / New York / Audrey (Alternate) (0.50)
14. The Boat Gets It (Alternate) (1.11)
15. Gojira (Album Version) (2.46)
* Contains material not used in the film
I think nobody understood why a monstrous and above all brilliant film music score wasn't released at all. Now this has been changed and David Arnolds' wizardry after Independence Day is still after all these years a breathing firecracker of a score. Big, pompous, orchestra and choir, it simply has what made Independence Day so grand, only somewhat lesser in quality. However with two CD's full of new pompous music (comparing with the bootleg), this score just shows one thing so clear. If you ever want a fun album with all the right tricks, Godzilla is your man / monster.
Starting with "The Beginning" Arnold's score already grows to menacing heights with the theme Godzilla itself inherits, a pompous four note motif that growls and bites and electrifies with Stargate epic choir behind it. It's a killer opener for both movie and score. A couple of new tracks follow after that with "Tanker Gets It" getting a monster theme moment, while in "Footprint" Stargate isn't far behind. "Footprints / New York / Audrey" has then two new motifs, an exiting chase theme played slower and the theme for Audrey which will become the love theme further on in the score.
A couple of times music which wasn't used in the film appears, like in "The Boat Gets It", which is a frenetic monster led theme cue. A great new cue in comparison with the bootleg is "Joe Gets a Bite / Godzilla Arrives". It builds with the monster theme to one of those big explosive Arnold cues full of whirling flutes and blazing brass. This is continued in tracks like "Mayor's Speech" and "Animal's Camera", which is a lot of fun with the chase theme in rapid form. In the militaristic sounding "Evacuation" we witness a heroic tune for the army itself. This is saturated in the Independence Day gun ho manner, and thereby is great fun.
The real fun starts from the moment Godzilla enters the city and is under fire ( thereby chasing away). From "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" these moments bring out the best of Arnold's voice. Furthermore in this track we discover another new theme. Namely the wonder theme that shines with big strings and an amazing fanfare, until it gallops into action with the exiting "1st Helicopter Chase / Godzilla Swats a Chopper" (another winner in the Arnold category of exiting film music).
Naturally the love blossoms further on in those too long track titles of La-La Land, namely track 23. In an even longer track title (we'll call this one track 25), we hear furthermore the militaristic theme, this time for the French army led by a brilliant Jean Reno.
The second album naturally goes for the all out explosive finale and here the tracks really deliver on time, testosterone, action and adventure. First off is the third track where the theme for the military competes with the monster theme in awesome brass fights. The second part of this track is more sinister. More fun awaits you in "Baby 'Zillas Hatch" and "Nick Phones for Help" where the rhythm drives once again the action. "Eat the French" is more sinister and atonal on occasions and here you could have the feeling it's becoming too much at times.
The final tracks are too good to dismiss as just sheer noise. With the romantic beginning and noble "Nick's Big Speech / The Garden Gets It", it soon grows to a full blast ensemble performance of the militaristic hero theme. But it is not over, in "He's Back / Taxi Chase & Clue" the fun just continues. Think of an even more relentless cue, but still insanely exciting. In "Big G Goes to Monster Heaven" you however have moments that are still new, like the fun moment on 1:46 where Arnold injects the fun-o-meter with another doses. This is all leading to the sorrowful big choral finale that sends shivers down your spine. This is a finale that shows monstrous potential.
In "The End" the score receives one last blast of excellence with the wonder theme shining off the original album before alternate takes give you extras that are welcome but not necessary.
Why it had to take this long before Godzilla got a proper release is beyond me. We have seen more crap being released the last couple of years that even didn't have a second of potential that David Arnold's ruckus can deliver instead. But I'm glad it happened now after all this time. Because time simply doesn't age on classics, and Godzilla is a monstrous ball of classic fun.
CD 1: 55.16
1. The Beginning (3.31) Excellent track
2. Tanker Gets It (1.13)
3. Chernobyl (3.15)
4. Footprint (0.35)
5. Footprints / New York / Audrey (0.56)
6. Chewing Gum Nose (0.32)
7. Ship Reveal / Nick Discovers Fish / Flesh (1.41)
8. The Boat Gets It * (2.11)
9. Dawn of the Species (1.52)
10. Joe Gets A Bite / Godzilla Arrives (3.14) Excellent track
11. Mayor's Speech (1.05)
12. Caiman's Office (0.47)
13. Animal's Camera (1.41) Excellent track
14. Military Command Center / New Jersey (1.57)
15. Audrey's Idea (0.24)
16. Evacuation (2.43)
17. French Coffee (0.58)
18. Subway Damage / Command Enters City (2.52)
19. Fish (1.50)
20. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (5.15) Excellent track
21. 1st Helicopter Chase / Godzilla Swats a Chopper (4.10) Excellent track
22. We Fed Him / Audrey Sees Nick (1.23)
23. Nick and Audrey / He's Pregnant / Audrey Takes the Tape / French Breakfast (4.48)
24. He's Preparing to Feed (0.36)
25. Nick Gets Fired / Nick Gets Abducted / Frenchie's Warehouse / Nick Joins the Foreign Legion (5.47)
CD 2: 53.17
1. Chewing Gum (1.53)
2. Rumble in the Tunnel (1.37)
3. Godzilla O Park / Godzilla Takes a Dive / Godzilla Versus the Submarine / Egg Discovery (9.44)
4. Baby 'Zillas Hatch * (3.53)
5. Nick Phones for Help (1.30)
6. Eat the French (2.16)
7. Phillip Shoots the Lock (1.05)
8. Nick's Big Speech / The Garden Gets It (7.09) Excellent track
9. He's Back / Taxi Chase & Clue (7.08) Excellent track
10. Big G Goes to Monster Heaven (4.32) Excellent track
11. The End (4.09) Excellent track
Bonus Tracks
12. The Beginning (No Choir) (3.34)
13. Footprints / New York / Audrey (Alternate) (0.50)
14. The Boat Gets It (Alternate) (1.11)
15. Gojira (Album Version) (2.46)
* Contains material not used in the film