I've been meaning to get to this one for awhile.
To round out this double-header with the song collection from Uchuu Keiji Shaider, I'm now going to take a listen to the final Super Sentai theme song of the 1980s...or rather the first Sentai song collection of the Heisei era. Hmmm... Which one does it fit in better with?
For this post I'll be listening to my copy of the Kosoku Sentai Turboranger Complete Song Collection from 1997. I briefly talked about that disc here in the past.
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01. Kosoku Sentai Turboranger / Kenta Sato
I know I say this often, but this is what you want for your series theme song. Fast-paced, full of action, and something that will sound great all year at the Korakuen Yuenchi show. I wonder if any nannies ever got PTSD from a Tokusatsu theme song after years of working at Korakuen Yuenchi...
...anyway.
Enough great things can't be said about this theme song. Series lead Kenta Sato did such a dynamite job on this song and several other tracks from the series that he was later invited back to sing the theme song for Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger--a series that he isn't even in.
This song doesn't win on his vocals alone, however. The forceful track contrasts nicely to the somewhat bleak tone of the Liveman theme song. This is a great, great, great example of a tokusatsu theme song.
02. Kokoro yo shinayaka ni mae! / Kenta Sato
One of those songs that got a bump in popularity from Gaoranger vs Super Sentai. Heh.
Much like the opening theme song, this is a superb example of what to do for a series action IN song. Really, I love this song to bits. It was a perfect montage choice for Gao vs SS, but even as a song there is a lot to appreciate. The production is dense and loud.
03. Yosei Monogatari (Fairytale) / Kyoko Obikawa
OK, this one I usually skip over. It's just cutesy and boring. The name kinda implies that this isn't going to be a belter, so yeah.
04. Uraa no urami / Koorogi '73
I love the frantic, fun-house feel that this song has.
I know I don't have many nice things to say about Koorogi '73, but I think they're in their weird element with this one. It's a shame that this song is one of the two that they neglected to include a Karaoke version of.
05. DANCE tokimeki kokoro / Kenta Sato
This song served as the ending theme song in the final episode of the series. It's a bit more chill, but I really enjoy the perfect coupling of music and Sato's singing. It's a fun song!
06. Cutie Turbo Lady / HANNAH
It's pretty early on, but I can say from experience that this is the final deadspot in the song collection.
The heroine song is a genre itself much like the mecha theme song. While it may have subsided a bit with the rise of the character song in the past fifteen-ish years, I like to revisit these songs on occasion. I could never get into this one. The music doesn't really do much for me.
It's alright, but when you remember that it's sandwiched between Liveman's Spark! umi e and Fiveman's Kung Fu Dance, it's a hard sell.
07. Turbo Victory / Kenta Sato, SHINES
Another great action song. Maybe spelling out T-U-R-B-O P-O-W-E-R is a bit much, but I can't complain too much.
The only thing I don't really care for in this song is the dopey chime-ins from time to time.
08. Yuuki wa mantan! Turboranger / Kenta Sato, SHINES
This one is in the same frantic style as Kokoro yo shinayaka no mae!, but just a little bit less good. Really, it is a pretty good facsimile of the earlier song, but just a bit less involved and somewhat shorter.
09. Ashita ni Accel! Turborobo / Koji Kaya
Koji Kaya returns just to sing the Turborobo theme song. While Kenta Sato has done a great job thus far, it's great to have an expert in the driver's seat. Ugh...sorry.
As it shares a singer, this song is incredibly similar to the mecha songs of the previous year. It would have been nice if they splashed in some engine noises or something though to give it a little flavor with the mecha theme.
10. Zig Zag Seishun Road / Kenta Sato
The series ending song. I love how dense the music track is. There is a ton of little nuance that you'd never really notice without listening to the Karaoke version.
I like the attitude here. Fun and a great send-off to the weekly adventure.
11. Tackle! Turbo Rugger / Shinichi Ishihara
Shinichi Ishihara was around prior to 1989, but I really feel like the year was his official debut. Not only did he provide a song for Ultraman USA in the same year, but he also provided songs for Kyoshoko Soko Guyver AND backed Akina Nakamori on stage. This guy really came out of nowhere!
This is his Tokusatsu debut right here, and I have to say it's one of the best debuts out there. I really hope I don't get any hate, but I loooove this song. More so than the Turborobo theme even. Sure the mecha it's based on is a dud, but damn...what a theme song.
It's always great to go back an see the start of a legend. Guys like Masato Shimon and Ichiro Mizuki had been there from the start, but it's the start of the middle generation that really interests me.
12. Kosoku Sentai Turboranger [Original Karaoke]
13. Kokoro yo shinayaka ni mae! [Original Karaoke]
14. Yosei Monogatari (Fairytale) [Original Karaoke]
15. DANCE tokimeki kokoro [Original Karaoke]
16. Cutie Turbo Lady [Original Karaoke]
17. Turbo Victory [Original Karaoke]
18. Yuuki wa mantan! Turboranger [Original Karaoke]
19. Ashita ni Accel! Turborobo [Original Karaoke]
20. Zig Zag Seishun Road [Original Karaoke]
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It should really come as no surprise that I think that this is a damn fine song collection. Perfect? Nah, but it's up there. The high-energy feel and complete lack of ballads really makes for a great listen. Need to do some cardio? Pop this on. You won't need to skip around too much to keep the blood pumping.
To answer my original question, is this an 80s album or a Heisei album?
100% 80s. This is the most 80s song collection of them all, in fact. I really recommend listening to this one, for sure!
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I hope you enjoyed this and my post on the Shaider song collection. For more of these song collection posts, check out my CD Collection page.
That's all for now. Stay safe and keep in touch!
-CC
Previously...
