I am not going to write a full review this time...I am just going to share (pieces) of what I've discovered. The CD in question is Katsuo Ohno's Maboroshi no Melody Vol.5 ~Ohno Katsuo maboroshi no Demo Tape ongen~ from 2008. It is the last in a series of demo tapes released by Ohno between 2003 and 2008. This is the only one that is relevant to my little mission--and also the most difficult to find.
I have been looking for this CD for years. It was released quietly in 2008 and after missing the initial run I was left to watch and wait. I had a couple of misses over the years before FINALLY scoring a reasonably priced used copy in March of 2022.
The disc features several tracks that I am completely unfamiliar with...but five that I am *very* familiar with...
Dengeki Sentai Changeman Demo Track Medley
The liner notes give some very basic information on the series, the singer of the final version (KAGE/Hironobu Kageyama) and mentions that Ohno was also responsible for Mermaid & Phoenix as well as Soldier Dragon ~ Yuusha no michi despite not being present in this collection.
I dig the subtle difference in NEVER STOP Changeman...including the more subtle intro. I shared these with Changeman superfan Shogo B'Stard who immediately noticed the different lyrics, which inspired me to just post them up...so here you go:
NEVER STOP Changeman
GREAT PASSION~Jounetsu no arashi~
LOVE FOREVER
I should probably note that the demos for both of these songs are full versions. Pretty neat, huh? I only used snippets for each track because the whole situation seems somewhat nebulous. This CD is *rare* and I don't know if Toei/Ohno really want the whole things out there.
The demo for GREAT PASSION is probably the biggest difference of the lot and it's pretty obvious that Naomi Miyanaga's effortlessly perfect vocals in LOVE FOREVER are what make that song as great as it is.
Gosei Sentai Dairanger Demo Track Medley
These are a ton of fun.
The liner notes on this one are kinda funny. It talks about how Sentai started with either Goranger or Battle Fever J depending on how you look at it. It then goes on to say that these are unusual for Ohno in that they are only short, structural demos for how the lyrics should be sung...which tracks since the end songs match this pretty well. Kenji Yamamoto (infamous plagiarizer) was in charge of the arrangement and brought in more traditional sounding instruments like a shakuhachi for the final version.
That makes a lot of sense since these songs are pretty revolutionary--especially the ending song Oretachi Muteki sa!! Dairanger. Speaking of...the only major lyrical change is in this song where "Oretachi muteki sa!!" becomes "Oretachi muteki da!!". This isn't in the snippet, but you get the gist.
Gosei Sentai Dairanger & Oretachi Muteki sa!! Dairanger
I thought this would be fun to share these virtually unheard demos. Enjoy...and please don't bug me for the full versions. Haha.
-CC
PREVIOUSLY...
