Rare CD Round-up 3!!!

IMPORTANT: Before you proceed...please check out my 2013 video schedule. I've been hard at work on those videos...and I will do my best to stick to that schedule!

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It's time for yet another edition of Rare CD Round-up! For those of you who are new to the game, this is a feature where I find obscure CDs from my collection and share them along with some thoughts. If you'd like to catch up, here is the first edition and the second edition.

 

>>Rare CD Round-up 3!!! Extreme Cyclone~Rebirth of Superheroes<<

 

This is a strange album. I'm not entirely sure why this album was released and I'm not exactly familiar with any of the DJs involved in this project...but in 2000 this collection of ten remixes of a pretty ecclectic range of Tokusatsu theme songs was released. It includes theme songs from Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Metal Hero, Ultraman and even some Henshin Hero themes. All bases of the Columbia musical range were covered here. So let's dive in.....

 

01. Let's Go!! Rider Kick! [Heavy Boost Mix]

 

To get things rolling we have...a pretty bland remix of one of most memorable theme songs in Tokusatsu history. To make matters worse, it's six minutes long. It just goes on and on. Not bad, but certainly not great. It sounds pretty dated now. Meh.

 

02. Uchuu Keiji Gavan [Power R&B Mix]

 

So let's follow that boring remix up with another boring remix of another fan-favorite theme song. The most exciting thing about this remix is it's probably illegal samples of Snap's "The Power" and Black Box's "Ride on time". Let's take a song from 1982...add a basic beat and mash some samples in from the late 80s/early 90s. Very strange combination...and once again a little on the long side.

 



03. Ultraman 80 [Star Ocean Mix Ver 5.0]

This is easily my favorite song off of this album. This song is much more conceptual than the previous mixes and does a much better job of not being lazy. An entirely new beat sprinkled in with some of the infamous UM 80 lyrics. It is very layered and holds up pretty well IMO. This is my perfect rainy day song. I remember hearing the sample for this song on Columbia's website back in 2000 and immediately securing a copy of this CD as a result. I can understand if this isn't for everyone, but damn...I love it.

04. Tokusou Exceedraft [Bad Experience Mix]

OK, so this song kind of reverts back the formula used by the first two tracks. It's pretty much the Exceedraft theme with the guitar hook looped on top of a kind of dated beat. I like this one, though. There was some decent effort put into this one...and Takayuki Miyauchi's vocals sound pretty damn cool when they're isolated in spots. Stamp of Approval!

05. Kagaku Sentai Dynaman [Millenium Beat Mix]

This is the first of two Sentai tracks on the album. It's similar in style to the Ultraman 80 theme in that it focuses on a new beat with some lyrics sprinkled in. It isn't as well done, but I still like it. The bass and horns chime in to make everything alllll riiiiiight. I just kind of wish there were a little more lyrics...and a lot more explosions...

06. Amazon Rider koko ni ari [SKA Mix]

A big 'ole MEH from me. I did here a much worse remix of Amazon's theme on a different remix album, but let's focus on this one. How is this Ska? I hate ska music, so I guess that helps. The source track is a little too intrusive during long stretches of lyrics. The beat is pretty lazy, but has some nice little horns thrown in for the hell of it.

07. Kamen Rider BLACK RX [Twin Turbo 2000 Mix]

The final Kamen Rider mix on this disc. This is my second-favorite track from the album. It took me a couple of times listening to notice that the lyrics were part of the beat at parts. The lyrics "Hikari no oorora mi ni matoi", etc are so distorted at the beginning of the song that it's easy to miss them. The beat is drum'n bass coupled with some furious scratching...piano...synthesizers...this is a pretty dense remix. I love it.

08. Chojin Sentai Jetman [Out of Control Mix]

Second Sentai remix on the disc--I like this one as well. This remix is very similar to the Exceedraft remix, but with emphasis on horns rather than guitar. Kageyama's vocals are definitely not as graceful as Miyauchi's...but hey, he's a rocker. One day I'll try to find out what the hell they're sampling in the middle. I have an ear for this sort of thing, but I'm drawing a blank on the "Y-You don't stop.".

09. Bokura no Baroum-1 [Friendly Ghost Mix]

¡RANDOM ALERT! I guess they absolutely needed a theme from Ichiro Mizuki to be included [Spielban, dammit, SPIELBAAAAN!]. This one isn't very good. The lyrics sound like they're underwater. I mean, that makes sense since the song is from 1971...but so is "Rider Kick!"... Atleast the mixer did a decent job masking the original music. The disco beat is a little out of place. I just keep waiting for this song to go somewhere and it never does.

10. Go Go Kikaider [Mechanic Hippy Mix]

This is the CD ending with a thud. I never cared for the Kikaider theme to begin with, so I may be biased. Drum and bass beat with snippets of the original song dropped on to it. It does a good job giving Kikaider dark and menacing cred he never deserved I guess. I really don't have much else to say other than I can totally see why this song was slotted last. I guess ending on a high note wasn't the plan. Heh.

All-in-all I am really glad I own this disc. Some more tracks would've been nice...some better mixes of the tracks on here would've been nice as well. There are about a hundred questions I'd like to ask the producers behind this album, but I think the top question is.....what the hell is up with the names of these mixes?? Bad Experience? Mechanical Hippy? Out of Control?? They add an extra layer of intentional/unintentional humor I suppose. Seriously, though.

Ohhh, and I should note that there is a sister remix album to this. It is called Iron Fist~Rebirth of Super Robots. It was released by Columbia on the same day.

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I hope you enjoyed listening along to this round of Rare CD Round-up. I'll be back with Part IV [that's right! I'm switching to roman numerals JUST for Part IV] sometime soon.

Stay tuned for my sixth anniversary stuff at the end of June!

-CC

The Definitively Tentative 2013 Schedule! (I hope you like Figures!)

Hellllloooo!

I will be back next time with new blog content. I just wanted to give an update about my MASSIVE video schedule for the Summer and Autumn... So here it goes...

#319 DX Aston Martin DB5 [26.May.2013]
#320 DX Gaburevolver Part 1 [02.June.2013]
#321 DX Gaburevolver Part 2 [02.June.2013]
#322 5 Dai Seijuu Set [09.June.2013] %
#323 DX Jizaiken Kiba [16.June.2013] %
#324 DX Chogokin Bull Taurus [23.June.2013] %
#325 SIX-YEAR VIDEO [25.June.2013]
#326 Kamen Rider 1 Figuarts [30.June.2013]
#327 Kamen Rider 2 Figuarts [07.July.2013]
#328 Kamen Rider V3 Figuarts [14.July.2013]
#329 Riderman Figuarts [21.July.2013]
#330 DX Gaburichanger [28.July.2013] @
#331 DX Kyoryujin [04.August.2013] @
#332 DX Zakutor [11.August.2013] @
#333 DX Parasagun [18.August.2013] @
#334 Mercedes Benz 190E 2.5 16v Evolution II [25.August.2013]
#335 Kamen Rider X Figuarts [01.September.2013]
#336 Amazon Rider Figuarts (Amazon.co.jp Edition) [08.September.2013]
#337 Kamen Rider Stronger Figuarts [15.September.2013]
#338 DX Won Tiger/Kibadaioh [22.September.2013]
#339 DX Gao Lion [29.September.2013] *
#340 DX Gao Kentaurus [06.October.2013] *
#341 Power Animal Round-up [13.October.2013] *
#342 Skyrider Figuarts [20.October.2013]
#343 Kamen Rider Super-1 Figuarts [27.October.2013]
#344 Red Hawk Figuarts [03.November.2013]
#345 Black Condor Figuarts [10.November.2013]
#346 Tyrannoranger Figuarts [17.November.2013]
#347 Dragonranger Figuarts [24.November.2013]
#348 Ryuuranger Figuarts [01.December.2013]
#349 Audi Quattro LWB [08.December.2013]
#350 350th VIDEO [15.December.2013]

% Gingaman Month
@ Kyoryuger Month
* Gaoranger Month 2

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FIGUARTS

You might have noticed something strange on the list. I have kinda fallen for Figuarts in a bad way. I ended up with two Red Hawk Figuarts for very cheap (1000 yen) and was given an excellent donation of Super-1 and Stronger. I may have fallen into a trap... I ended up scouring the net for cheap figures (I managed to get all of the Riders for reasonably cheap prices outside of 2 and a pre-order for X)...(oh, an I went with the Amazon.co.jp edition of Amazon Rider because it's the most meta thing in the universe even if the figure is almost completely unchanged. I like weird variant boxes, so it was up my alley).

The problem I always had with Figuarts lied in the first two that I ever saw: BLACK and BLACK RX. To this day I think those two figures are abominations. I'm always reminded of a certain line from an episode of The Simpsons when Marge tries to fit in at a country club. "That's the trouble with first impressions. You only get to make one.". That sums up everything I've felt about Figuarts all this time. The recent Sentai figures have given me reason to go back and *really* take a look at the Showa Riders that I love. Well, they look good. I didn't realize that all of the Showa Riders were out except ZX (Really? So what if he only had that lame movie...he's the 10th Rider for Chrissake!). So I have been secretly amassing a small army of figures. I can assure you, though... I have no interest in going past ZX for Rider unless they get their shit together and do better versions of BLACK and BLACK RX. If they ever did the 90s movie Riders...OK, I'd get those too. Beyond that, none of the newer ones look that good to me either, nor am I attached to anything outside of Kuuga and Agito.

Sentai-wise... Well, I can be picky. Ryuuranger was a definite preorder and the two Zyuranger ones listed above were a given.

With all that said, I still stand behind my previous declaration... Action Works Metalder is the best Tokusatsu figure out there. Now I have some clout to back up that claim.

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So there you have it. There is my near-complete calendar for 2013. Naturally, things can be shuffled around...but seeing that I am well past making and uploading the Gingaman month stuff, it is safe to say I'll be sticking to that calender as best as I can. I better get back to work!

-CC

The Top 7 Super Sentai Ending Songs

Welcome to the list of my Top 7 Super Sentai themes! Previously I did a list of my favorite Super Sentai Opening theme songs. It was my first top seven list actually. I am going to approach this list a little differently. Instead of breaking things up into groups of seven years, I am just going to do a straight list. This is my favorite ending songs between 1975-2013!

Also, keep in mind that this is MY list. If you want to tell me that I'm wrong, save your time and don't comment. It's not my problem if you don't have any taste. : p I should also note that this was a very difficult list to put together...Super Sentai has a lot of fantastic ending songs. The same can't be said about it's opening themes a lot of the time.

07. Miyo! Goranger (Goranger 1975) LINK

Of the two Goranger ending songs, this is my favorite. I didn't really like how it was used in the show, because (IIRC) it was just played over the same footage from the first ending song, Himitsu Sentai Goranger. I just like the 'roll-call' style songs of the past. It's pretty catchy, too.

06. Tao (Gekiranger 2007) LINK

I'm not crazy about the beginning of this song, but once it starts it's great.  It also has Ichiro Mizuki! It's also a fact that any song with the lyric "JUST FEEL IT" has to make my top seven list. It's the law.

05. Kokoro wa Tamago (Jetman 1991) LINK

Of the quartet of Sentai ending songs by Hironobu Kageyama, this is by far the best. It has always been a fan favorite and for myself as well. This is one of like three mellow ending songs in the history of Super Sentai (Heal'n You from Gaoranger and Hadashi no kokoro de from Gingaman being the others--both great songs too, BTW). The fact that I've heard more than one cover of this song says volumes about it's staying power.

04. Denjiman ni makasero! (Denjiman 1980) LINK

This is a song I *have* to include on my list. I might not think it's the greatest song ever, but I whistle it ALL.THE.TIME. It's implanted in my brain. The horns, especially at the end, really make this song for me. There is no denying that this is one of the greats.

03. Kinkyu hasshin! Ohranger (Ohranger 1995) LINK

There is something about Ohranger and Turboranger songs that have superior sound engineering. That's not to say that other Sentai songs don't sound great, but these two series stick out for having rich sounding songs. That said, I really like the energy and depth of this song. It's very nicely put together...it even has that cool little intro--completely unnecessary, but fun. Speaking of which...

"M-A-T Seven-Eight" What the hell is that supposed to mean? In my mind I always pictured that as an Ultraman reference. "M-A-T" standing for MAT (Monster Attack Team) from Kaettekita Ultraman and the "Seven, Eight" standing for M-78, Ultraman's home world. Is Ultraman this "Enemy Flying Object" that she is speaking of?? Did Ohranger secretly kill Ultraman when we weren't looking??? I may be on to something here...

Oh, right...the song. Great song.

02. Ashita ni ikiru ze! (Liveman 1988) LINK

The original Sentai dance hit. It made total sense to have leading man Daisuke Shima sing the themes to this show. He was an established singer before the series and he certainly delivered the goods on both themes and the image song he did. Of the three the ending is definitely my favorite. It was definitely a new direction in tone for Sentai ending songs. I like pretty much all of the ending songs prior to this, but they were all kind of stuffy. This could've been a regular pop song..and it happens to be from my favorite era of Jpop ('85-'90).

Like I said, this was the original Sentai dance hit...minus the corny dancing in the video for it.

01. Oretachi muteki sa!! Dairanger (Dairanger 1993) LINK

The Dairanger single was one of my first and most prized Sentai CDs. As I mentioned in my top seven opening theme list, I love the opening song...but I loooooooooove the ending song. It might not have the depth that I mentioned previously in the Ohranger and Turboranger endings, but it's been my long-standing favorite song. It is the cherry on the top of each episode of my -second- favorite Sentai series of the 90s. I listen to it pretty much daily. It's 20 years later and if I haven't gotten tired of it now, I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.

Honorable Mentions: Basically every song I didn't mention from the 70s, 80s, and 90s plus a few from the 00s...like Timeranger, Gaoranger, and the first Dekaranger ending.

THE ABSOLUTE FUCKING WORST: Super Sentai Hero Getter (Gokaiger 2011)

This song is awful. It's not even a song--it's a sped-up narration set to some shitty techno-fart beat. I understand that they had to deal with blowing through 35 different shows in a single song, but this song is not passable as decent on any level. It's like this guy singing. That guy should never-ever sing...

Moero! Super Sentai Tamashii was waaaay better.

Well...there you have it. My top seven Super Sentai ending songs. If you want to see my other Top 7 lists, here is a convenient link to a page that has them all listed.

See ya!

-CC

M-E-G-A Mega!

So you may be wondering what in the world is going on at the end of my review of the Cyberslider from Megaranger. Allow me to explain...

What you just heard was a coded message. I won't get much into details on how it can be translated into words, but I will say that it will be very helpful if you watch my next video...which is the DX Popynica Degitank.

Basically what I did was create my own Numbers Station to send out my own little harmless secret message. If you've never heard of Numbers Stations, I suggest taking a gander at the Wikipedia article and maybe checking out a few videos on Youtube of captured broadcasts. This video of a BBC broadcast also explains them as best as they can be explained.

A few notes on the coded message. All sounds come from the DX Degitaizer and DX Keitaizer (music). I really wanted to wash the sound out to make it sound like it was really transmitted over shortwave radio, but without modification the numbers are hard enough to understand (hence the subtitles...trust me, I could barely understand it--and I'm the one who programmed it!). I did a little bit of a mash-up in my format, but I'd say it's closest to the "Lincolnshire Poacher" station.

I will eventually reveal my message...but I challenge you to try to decifer is it. After next week, either comment on this entry, on the video, or hit me up on Twitter. If you have a Google account, you should be able to get to me in the comments here and Youtube. Twitter...I'm always on Twitter, so that's the fastest.

Have fun

-CC

Rare CD Round-up 2!!

Hiiiii

Well, I decided to add more rare CDs to the fire. Since I did Ultraman last time around, how about some less common Sentai and Kamen Rider this time?

>>>03. Gosei Sentai Dairanger Kiryoku Disc<<<

First up is the Kiryoku Disc. This is promotional item from TV-kun Magazine. It is a short drama CD in similar style to the "Super Action Sound" drama CDs that spanned Turboranger-Zyuranger (more on them later...maybe). There are two big differences on this particular disc. The first is that it was free and therefore very short (the previous discs were around 40-45 minutes). The second is...the Dairanger cast actually sings a little bit. They are truly terrible. Hahaa.

As far as drama CDs go, this one is meh. There really isn't much to it since there isn't much time to create a sound environment. This is one of those things that is fun to own for the novelty value. Heh.

>>>04. Kamen Rider SD CD Single<<<

Kamen Rider SD was a nice little OVA that came out in...1992? 1993? This CD Single is dated 01.December.1992 as the release, so let's go with that. Even though this was just a little piece of animation that not many people saw, the OVA itself spawned a music collection and this CD Single. Beyond the OVA...there are SD video games and toys based on the manga in the early 90s. The actual animation seemed to come out at the tail-end of the lifespan.

The themes to this OVA are...wildly different. The singer of the OP is a woman known as "TOM". She did some songs for Dragonball Z on some of the later Hit Song CDs (I want to say CDs 16 and 17). Her picture is in the liner notes of one the DBZ CDs...such an unassuming looking woman has such a strange voice. Regardless, of the handful of songs I've heard from "TOM" this is definitely the best. It's catchy and fits in very well with the feature.

The ending song is by Hironobu Kageyama in his prime. Fantastic song. It's on the softer side, but it definitely has a nice speedy melody. Imagine him trying to sing like this today... Yikes!

The only thing that bums me out about this CD is that my copy is missing the lyric card. : [ Oh well...I'll take what I can get in the rare CD world...

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There you have it. Another selection of Rare CDs have been successfully rounded-up. I will be back next time with......... How does Metal Hero Karaoke Vol.2 (Jiban-B-Fighter) sound? No? More Sentai drama CDs? No? Unused music from the Hakaider movie? No? We'll see.

Let me know what you think!

-CC

Rare CD Round-up!

Hi.

I've decided to start yet another new series of blog posts. This one will focus on some of the lesser known/appreciated Tokusatsu CDs out there.

As I've mentioned in the past, my toy collection pales in comparison to my collection of Tokusatsu music CDs. I was always fond of those 3" CDSingles that were released between the late 80s and early 00s. Buying these (expensive!!) discs was the only way to get Karaoke for a lot of songs as well as B-sides and, of course, rare tracks that have not seen the light of day since on any compilation.

I plan on uploading some of the less common full-length CDs later on...but to get started here are two rare CD Singles from Ultraman! What better place to start than................

>>>01. SCATULTRAMAN<<<

This is the infamous (and -shockingly- legit) Ultraman style cover of the 90s super-dance hit "Scatman" by Scatman John.

Before the internet I read a review of this disc in a music magazine. The author didn't mention the connection between the title track and "Scatman". When I was building my CD collection in the late 90s, a friend of mine said he picked up the disc from a used CD shop because it had an interesting cover. I bought it off of him and was blown away when I heard it. I was familiar with the original song, so imagine my delight when I going through my first play!

In the liner notes, Scatman John is credited under his given name: John Larkin.

In addition to the title track [which everyone has heard at this point] there is a neat little song called "WELCOME TO 'M78'" as well as a glorious karaoke version of "SCATULTRAMAN". Enjoy.

>>>02. ULTRAMAN-LOVE FOR CHILDREN [25th Anniversary Charity Song]<<<

Twenty-two years ago Ultraman was turning 25! To celebrate this landmark birthday, a CD single was released in a somewhat "We are the world" fashion. A fifty-piece group was assembled to sing this song as a charity single.

Going through the names...I only seem to recognize two of the singers. There is Ichiro Mizuki and Takayuki Miyauchi. Listening carefully I can't seem to make out their voices clearly. I *think* I hear Miyauchi as one point...but who knows. Regardless, this song is decent. It could've been much, much worse.

Track two is a karaoke version. That was nice of them. : ]

Alright, so there you have it. This is the first entry in what I hope to make a series out of. Let me know what you think!

-CC

Gaoranger/Power Animals Month-ish

Hello.

I mentioned this on Twitter, but I never gave out a schedule for the Gaoranger month I currently have in progress...so here it goes.

03.March.2013: PA-1 Gaoelephant
10.March.2013: PA-2 Gaogiraffe
17.March.2013: PA-5 Gaorhinos & Gaomadillo
24.March.2013: PA-6 Gaodeers
31.March.2013: PA-7 Gaofalcon
07.April.2013: DX Gao Icarus
14.April.2013: Action Works Metalder (Not Gao, but still...)

So there you have it.

-CC