A Score To Settle

Greetings listeners! On the scaly heels of my previous episode, I now present the second entry in this "Listening To... " sub-series, covering the music of GODZILLA, the long-lived monster movie series from Japanese film studio Toho. This franchise currently encompasses 38 movies, spanning over seven decades of cinema history and is considered by Guinness to be the longest running continuous film series.

 

I first focused on the music of revered composer Akira Ifukube, who scored roughly half the movies during this original era of the GODZILLA series, called the Showa era, and now in this episode I will explore music from the guest composers. This includes Masaru Sato, Richiro Manabe, Kunio Miyauchi and Yuji Koseki, who, respectively, wrote scores and songs for beloved and even controversial classics of the series such as EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP, GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH and GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA.

 

How did each of these composers approach scoring a Godzilla movie - was it in deference to Ifukube’s style or was something tonally far removed presented? You might be surprised hear the sounds of big band, swing music and surf rock from these guest composers!

 

Title playtime index:

Intro - 00:00

GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (aka GIGANTIS, THE FIRE MONSTER) (1955) (Masaru Sato) - 00:03:41

MOTHRA (1961) (Yuji Koseki) - 00:08:00

EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP (aka GODZILLA VS THE SEA MONSTER) (1966) (Masaru Sato) - 00:10:33

SON OF GODZILLA (1967) (Masaru Sato) - 00:21:27

ALL MONSTERS ATTACK (1969) (Kunio Miyauchi) - 00:31:13

GODZILLA VS HEDORAH (aka GODZILLA VS THE SMOG MONSTER) (1971) (Richiro Manabe) - 00:37:05

GODZILLA VS MEGALON (1973) (Richiro Manabe) - 00:49:05

GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA (1974) (Masaru Sato) - 00:58:54

Wrap up - 01:11:16

 

Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other! 

 

Connect with the podcast on Facebook, Twitter and Bluesky:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod

https://bsky.app/profile/score2settlepod.bsky.social

 

Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com

Hello and welcome back to the podcast! Starting with this episode, I present another entry in my "Listening To... " sub-series, this time focused on that long running film franchise with a massive pop cultural footprint, GODZILLA!

 

While it’s a pop culture reference known the world over, GODZILLA is perhaps best understood by one country and culture, that being Japan and its people. But what does GODZILLA music sound like? We might know it when hear it, but where did it begin? The scaly behemoth has been a towering figure of science fiction and monster movie cinema ever since the original movie, GOJIRA, premiered in Japan in 1954, inadvertently beginning what emerged as a popular sub-genre called "kaiju eiga".

 

During the more than 70 years of big screen adventures, this series has journeyed from apocalyptic, black & white installments, to colorful kid-friendly monster mashes, topical storylines and splashy, big budget epics. Keeping pace with this is a great wealth of musical variety, from a number of talented composers, but the originator of it all is Akira Ifukube, a legend in Japanese film and music circles. It is Ifukube's music for the Showa era that is the focus of this first episode.

 

Title playtime index:

Intro - 00:00

"Modern Monster Movie Music Suite" - 00:05:33

GODZILLA (1954) (Akira Ifukube) - 00:13:23

KING KONG VS GODZILLA (1962) (Akira Ifukube) - 00:20:30

MOTHRA VS GODZILLA (1964) (Akira Ifukube) - 00:32:46

GHIDORAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1964) (Akira Ifukube) - 00:36:42

INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER (1965) (Akira Ifukube) - 00:40:48

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968) (Akira Ifukube) - 00:47:44

GODZILLA VS GIGAN (1972) (Akira Ifukube) - 00:54:33

TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (1975) (Akira Ifukube) - 01:04:30

Wrap up - 01:14:22

 

Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other! 

 

Connect with the podcast on Facebook, Twitter and Bluesky:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod

https://bsky.app/profile/score2settlepod.bsky.social

 

Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com

Just as James Bond was promised to return at the close of each of his installments, I am back with a sequel to part 1 of my extended interview with Neil S. Bulk, soundtrack album producer and editor. In Part 1, I caught up with Neil specifically about his work on the expanded and remastered soundtracks from these select James Bond movies - GOLDFINGER, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, MOONRAKER and LICENCE TO KILL. 

 

Here in part 2 we turn our attention to two album releases from earlier in 2025 - THUNDERBALL (1965) and ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969). My thanks to Neil for talking with me for an extended time and thanks to all of you for listening and the continued interest in and support of the podcast!

 

Below are the films and artists represented in this episode, with the time index for quick reference:

Intro - 00:00:00

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969) (songs and score by John Barry, song lyrics by Hal David, vocals by Louis Armstrong on "We Have All The Time In The World" and Nina on "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?") - 00:03:50

THUNDERBALL (1965) (songs and score by John Barry, lyrics by Don Black, with vocals by Tom Jones on "Thunderball" and Dionne Warwick and Shirley Bassey, respectively, on "Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") - 00:30:14

 

Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other! 

 

Albums discussed now available at:

La La Land Records

 

Connect with the podcast on Facebook, Twitter and Bluesky:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod

https://bsky.app/profile/score2settlepod.bsky.social

 

Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com

Greetings everyone! No need to adjust the streaming app on your device, this is indeed the podcast returning (briefly) from hiatus - and with two brand new episodes! This is to engage in a lengthy conversation with soundtrack album producer and editor, Neil S. Bulk, about his work on the remastered and expanded editions of selected James Bond soundtrack albums, released by La La Land Records. 

 

Since I last spoke with Neil, a fistful of more James Bond titles have received the deluxe treatment. In order to freefall into the excitement and labor involved in producing the definitive editions capturing this timeless music, I will be devoting two episodes to my discussion with Neil. Please enjoy Part 1 today and expect Part 2 to be published before the end of the year!

 

Below are the films and composers represented here, with the time index for helpful reference:

Intro - 00:00:00

GOLDFINGER (1964) (song and score by John Barry, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, vocals by Shirley Bassey) - 00:07:18

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974) (song and score by John Barry, lyrics by Don Black, with vocals by Lulu) - 0:20:35

MOONRAKER (1979) (song and score by John Barry, song lyrics by Hal David, with vocals by Shirley Bassey) - 00:42:59

LICENCE TO KILL (1989) (score composed by Michael Kamen, title song performed by Gladys Knight) - 01:15:28

 

Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other! 

 

Albums discussed now available at:

La La Land Records

 

Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod

 

Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com

Welcome all listeners out there to the new year and also to the inaugural episode of 2024! To launch into this new year, in this episode I am accompanied once more by perennially popular soundtrack album producer and editor Neil S. Bulk, to continue our conversation in recapping his standout projects from the prior year, in this instance 2023. His work can be heard on album releases from the La La Land, Quartet and Varese Sarabande record labels. As always, I appreciate when Neil can spend time to share the details and experiences on these albums!

 

Below are the films and composers represented here, with time index for helpful reference:

 

Intro - 00:00:00

GORKY PARK (1983) (James Horner) - 00:02:36

DAD (1989) (James Horner) - 00:13:15

SNEAKERS (1992) (James Horner) - 00:20:01

THE MASK OF ZORRO (1998) (James Horner) - 00:26:01

MULAN (1998) (Dolby Atmos album releases, score by Jerry Goldsmith, songs by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel) - 00:38:12

LIVE AND LET DIE (1973) (music by George Martin, title song by Paul McCartney & Wings) - 00:45:34

OCTOPUSSY (1983) (music by John Barry, title song "All Time High" by Barry and Tim Rice) - 01:00:00

 

Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other! 

 

Albums discussed now available at:

La La Land Records

Quartet Records

 

Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod


 

Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com