Battle of the Planets (Hoyt Curtin & Bob Sakuma)

Release co-ordination by David Stoner

Compiled, Edited, and Mastered by Rick Clark

Produced by Reynold da Silva and Jason Hofius

Release Date: November 9, 2004

       Silva Screen Records

     It's hard to believe, but just a few short decades ago, Japanese anime was quite scarce around the United States. Nowadays, all you have to do is hop on down to your favorite video/game store and you'll find a nice selection of anime DVDs to choose from. However, before the home video revolution, these overseas imports were controlled by the networks looking for material to fill their timeslots. However, such material was not on a priority list for the powers that be, and thus between Speed Racer's final run in 1967, no Japanese anime was available for public consumption until 1978, when Battle of the Planets turned up. Originally created in 1972 as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (the Japanese apparently love those tongue-twisting titles), the series was re-tooled for American audiences (as is still the case today), and composer Hoyt Curtin was hired to supplement the existing material by composer Bob Sakuma.

     Like many animated shows, the music for Battle of the Planets was composed as a standard library of cues that would fulfill the needs of the program throughout its full spread (which amounted to 105 thirty-minute episodes). Between Curtin's and Sakuma's material, the musical spectrum was more than filled, and thankfully, Curtin paid close enough attention to Sakuma's contribution that the two styles match well and neither stands out from the other. Both are intimately orchestrated and performed utilizing a small ensemble and plenty of 70s styled funk to mix in with the more conventional pieces. This is somewhat problematic since there is a definite disco influence on the scores (especially in Curtin's section), and the small ensemble (especially when the trumpets start blaring away) give those heroically brassy sections a heavy element of cheese. It's the fun kind of cheesiness, but still cheese nevertheless. It's hard to take it seriously with the low brass power evident in the selections and the funky "waa-waa" noises that the 70s are known for.

     The first disc makes up the extra music supplied by Hoyt Curtin and it is the primary focus of this album. The selections are better in quality than that of Sakuma's on the second disc, and the material is straight from the recording sessions (along with the original titles for the pieces, used in cataloging the library, which is why they are unconventional). Curtin utilizes his themes well, and while there are no direct correlations Sakuma blaring his own main theme full, the foundations are the same, so that helps in keeping everything consistent across the two discs. In addition to the score selections, the second disc includes plenty of bonus cues, such as music for promo spots and two remixes by Ricardo Autobahn, which features both remixed score cues along with dialog snippets. These remixes are gimmicky to be sure, but they help in giving a taste of the show for the uninitiated (like me).

     Battle of the Planets is fun in a cheesy cartoon way, but this set is really geared to the show's fans. So if you're looking for the ultimate soundtrack to this show, look no further. On the other hand, if you have no clue as to what it's all about, this isn't the best place to start.

Disc 1 - Battle of the Planets

             (Hoyt Curtin)

1 - Main Title / Sub-Main #1 (1:35)

2 - Dramatic Curtain (0:41)

3 - Ready Room Disco (1:57)

4 - Alien Planet (2:17)

5 - BP-Mysterioso 4/BP-Mysterioso

     3/BP-Mysterioso 2 (2:44)

6 - BP-Teenage Mysterioso (1:02)

7 - BP-2003 Love in the Afterburner (1:29)

8 - BP-1 Zark's Theme / Zark's Theme Alt /

     Zark Disco (3:15)

9 - Keyops #1 / Keyops #2 (1:44)

10 - BP-Gatchaman Theme Re-Do (1:33)

11 - BP-Orion Cue #1 / Orion 4,

       BP-Orion Runs (4:17)

12 - Spacey Mysterioso / Zoltar (2:50)

13 - Two Monsters / Star Fight (2:06)

14 - BP-100 / BP-100A (2:45)

15 - Love Theme (2:08)

16 - Space Chase (2:09)

17 - BP-108 (1:06)

18 - BP-101 Alt / 1-Rover-1 (1:16)

19 - BP-Sneak-Up / BP-Bad Guys vs.

       Good Guys (2:28)

20 - Spacey Mysterioso /

       Zoltar (Alternate) (2:58)

21 - BP-600 / BP600 A (1:41)

22 - BP-101 / BP-106 / BP-107 / BP-2002 (2:18)

23 - Boy / Girl Bossa (1:29)

24 - BP-105 / BP-2001 (1:55)

25 - Fight Between People (0:53)

26 - BP-Dialogue / BP-2025 / BP-Mysterious

       BP-2020 / BP-2002 (5:51)

27 - Transmute / BP-1000 The Chief Alien  

        Shows Up / Victory (1:31)

28 - Main Title w/ Voice Over (1:38)

Disc 2 - Gatchaman and Extras

1 - Emblem 6 (3:11)

2 - Spectra Visions (3:50)

3 - Like the Phoenix (3:26)

4 - Coral Reef (0:27)

5 - Crescent Moon (3:17)

6 - Holding Up A Shade (3:37)

7 - Zoltar, Fastening the Armor (0:31)

8 - Fighter G (3:54)

9 - Red Illusion (4:36)

10 - The Earth is Alone! (0:53)

11 - A Vow to the Sky (3:12)

12 - Countdown (3:40)

13 - Fighting Phoenix (3:26)

Alternative Cues and Bonus Material

14 - Soace Chase (2:08)

15 - BP-1 Zark's Theme (1:32)

16 - Alien Planet (2:19)

17 - BP-1000 (1:00)

18 - SPACE MUMMY Trailer (0:50)

19 - SPACE SERPENT Trailer (0:50)

20 - THE GHOST SHIP OF PLANET MIR Trailer (0:51)

21 - THE LUMINOUS ONE (Promo Spot) (0:34)

22 - G-FORCE VS. ZOLTAR (Promo Spot) (0:32)

23 - 7-ZARK-7 AND COMPANY (Promo Spot) (0:34)

24 - THE LUMINOUS ONE #2 (Promo Spot) (0:32)

25 - COMMANDER MARK, JASON (Promo Spot) (0:32)

26 - PRINCESS, TINY, KEYOP (Promo Spot) (0:32)

27 - Battle of the Planets 04 (Remix) (2:52)

       (Composed by Ricardo Autobahn)

28 - The Ballad of 7 Zark 7 (Remix) (3:46)

       (Composed by Ricardo Autobahn)