Welcome to another round of Song Collection reviews by CCLemon99. This time around I wanted to go random--two series that had ZERO connection. So I threw two darts at my mental dart board and landed on Seiun Kamen Machineman and Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. That's right...two series that have *nothing* in common...
...until you realize that Noboru Sugimura wrote for both series. Well, at least the song collections have nothing in common...
...until you realize that not only does Machiko Soga have a role in both series, but she has a song on each of these song collections.
The topic today is "Series that have a song by Machiko Soga and had Noboru Sugimura as a writer...!".
For this review I'll be using my copy of Seiun Kamen Machineman Song & Music Collection from 2015. I briefly covered this set on this page.
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Disc One
01. Seiun Kamen Machineman / MoJo, Columbia Yurikago-kai
The series theme song. It's impossible for me to listen to this tune with fresh ears, but I like to try to imagine what this sounds like to the uninitiated. For 1984 this slick jazz theme song to a Tokusatsu series is something of a novelty. I'm going to say it, though...it's easily the best of the three theme songs of the year (Yes, three. Dragon Road was released in 1982...not my problem if Toei didn't bother to release the ZX special until January, 1984).
Uchuu Keiji Shaider comes up in second since it's a perfectly serviceable theme song. I may get some extreme hate for this, but the Bioman theme song is trash. Miyauchi is great and the guitar work is excellent, but good lord is it a dull song...with a flippin' xylophone! In 1984...not 1974!
So what makes the Machineman theme song so good? MOJO was certainly on a hot streak with his work on Goggle V and Dynaman, but that isn't the answer. Legendary composer Yuji Ohno had a deep hand in both the song and music collection for the series. A brass-heavy sound is something usually reserved for some pretentious anime series (and, well, Lupin III, of course). To hear this kind of jazz in something as goofy as Machineman is almost so wrong that it's right.
This theme song is way too good for the series. MOJO's vocals on Yuuji Ohno's skilled guidance is just perfect.
02. Denko Action Machineman / MOJO, Koorogi '73
The standard, upbeat action song that every song collection needs to kick off with. Again, MOJO and Ohno are an awesome pairing. Sometimes Koorogi' 73 can be a little intrusive with their backing vocals, but they're very minimally used here.
03. Ooinaru hito Machineman / MOJO, Koorogi '73
A really well-done disco jam. Koorogi '73 is a little more prevalent on this one, but it works well for this type of song. The only thing wonky about the whole affair is the lyrics. A lot of "Zigzag-Zigzag.....Smash/Flash/Dash!" and the like. Hahaa.
04. Uchuu kara kita daigakusei / Yumi Ishii, Koorogi '73
A weird little song that sucks. The music is great, so skip to track 14. The juvenile singing by Ishii is just shrill and annoying. I enjoy the janky pianos and lone horn.
05. Ball Boy no uta / Machiko Soga, Columbia Yurikago-kai
The nice thing I can say is that Machiko Soga has a nice and extremely consistent voice. It's alright. Every 80s song collection has a song like this for the Director of Levity Assistance and Marketing (annoying robot friend/assistant), so whatever. Again, it's alright.
06. OH! Child / MOJO
This song is spectacular.
If I had to name a song where I think MOJO is at his absolute best, it's this one. Not even the Segata Sanshiro theme can touch this. Seriously, this song is one of the greatest Tokusatsu image songs ever. The music is delightful...Koorogi '73 was swapped out with the house background ladies...and again, MOJO just crushes it like no other time.
I give this song a coveted Angel Mark.
07. Fighting Explosion [Instrumental]
This sort of thing used to be more common prior to this, but here is a random instrumental track that landed in the song collection. I wouldn't even say that this is the last since Winspector had a not-song as well.
This is a nice little track with, you guessed it, some excellent brass.
08. Hashire! Dolphin / Koorogi '73, Columbia Yurikago-kai
Something of a corny action track, but it's really good. The music is excellent and weirdly pitting the two gangs of background singers together in one song sounds pretty good. I'm impressed at how decent this song.
09. Bokura no Machineman / MOJO, Columbia Yurikago-kai
This has the markings of a bland song, but it's just really good. The kids singing (which is Columbia Yurikago-kai...sometimes I just assume everyone knows these things, but now you know), is pretty aggressive. The song is really good outside of that. It's chill.
10. Ore no na wa Machineman / MOJO
The series ending song. I would say that this is MOJO's weakest outing of the set, but I guess this can be considered his warm-up track...or cool-down track. Whatever. He isn't bad, he just sounds a little bit uninspired.
This is an incredibly smooth groove, though. I love it as a song. Not a Tokusatsu song...a song -full stop-.
11. Seiun Kamen Machineman [Original Karaoke]
12. Denko Action Machineman [Original Karaoke]
13. Ooinaru hito Machineman [Original Karaoke]
14. Uchuu kara kita daigakusei [Original Karaoke]
15. Ball Boy no uta [Original Karaoke]
16. OH! Child [Original Karaoke]
17. Hashire! Dolphin [Original Karaoke]
18. Bokura no Machineman [Original Karaoke]
19. Ore no na wa Machineman [Original Karaoke]
20. Seiun Kamen Machineman [TV Size Karaoke]
21. Ore no na wa Machineman [TV Size Karaoke]
22. Seiun Kamen Machineman [No Chorus Version] / MOJO
Now this is a treat.
This is the series theme song minus the Columbia Yurikago-kai (the brats). Normally I can tune out the kids, but they kinda step on MOJO's toes in this song. Especially the "Are wa! Are wa! Are wa bokura no Machineman!". It really transforms the song once the kids scram.
23. Ball Boy no uta [No Chorus Version] / Machiko Soga
Pretty much the same as the previous track. This is Machiko Soga without the kids. Honestly, this one just sounds weird without the kids. The weird gap after "Ball Boy!" is just odd. It could be weird because I'm just used to the normal version.
24. Denko Action Machineman [TV Size]
I didn't skip over this track for one very good reason. Why does it exist? I think I may have missed something.
25. Seiun Kamen Machineman (2015 Version) / MOJO
A newly recorded version of the theme song featuring all the same elements. MOJO is here, and a little more soulful. The kids are back...and so is Yuji Ohno. I dig it. There are very few changes over the original version. I guess it's a celebration of consistency.
Disc Two
01. Seiun Kamen Machineman [TV Size] / MOJO, Columbia Yurikago-kai
OK, so the second disc of this set is largely devoted to the background music of Machineman. I'll talk about this set in better detail in my conclusion, but this song was one of the things I was looking forward to the most upon release.
They don't do it this way anymore, but back until the mid-80s, the TV Size version was an entirely different recording track. Eventually the TV Size track became an edited down version of the full size theme. For series like Machineman, there are some pretty big variations between the TV Size and full versions. The intro is much more fleshed out in the TV Size version...like completely different. The full version has an abrupt start, but there is this cool little bass build-up here.
I know it's extra nerdy, but I love the intro of the TV Size version.
02~20 Series BGM
21. Ore no na wa Machineman [TV Size] / MOJO
Like the opening theme song, this TV Size version has some substantial differences. MOJO's singing sounds...different. The outro is also quite different for very little reason. I guess to avoid sounding somewhat abrupt.
22~25 Series BGM
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The Machineman song collection, for several years, was one of those song collections that sturggled to exist. It has so, so much going for it and yet it was virtually buried for twenty years. If you were an mp3 scenester back in the day, you could score these songs...but they were terrible rips from the Drama vinyl. Yeah, that the only way they existed until 2003...vinyl and cassette. It was a major, major score when most of the songs were released on CD in 2003, but it was only a cruel taste of the forbidden fruit.
I don't think I've been more excited about a CD release from Columbia this decade. My original write-up of the set was one written on a giddy high of the excitement of finally...FINALLY getting all of these songs, their Karaoke tracks, AND BGM in one efficient package.
The songs are amazingly underrated and the BGM is simply too good for the series. It took over thirty years to get a proper release, but here we are.
I can't recommend this set enough.
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It way nice to talk about Machineman's wonderfully auditory side once again. Be sure to also check out my Zyuranger post as well as my CD Collection page for more song collection reviews.
Later!
-CC
Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger Song Collection
Dai Sentai Goggle V Song Collection
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