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Speed Racer (1967)
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Reviews
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  Review for Mach Go-Go-Go File 1 and File 2 (
by a soundtrack collector (November 21, 2006)
These discs are a dream come true. Nobuyoshi Koshibe was (is?) a genius, and his music is what made the Speed Racer series come alive. Koshibe's very warm, spirited 60s-style brass section dominated signature themes for Speed and the other characters, with lots of catchy rhythms and complex percussion, and had me wanting soundtracks like these for more than three decades. Here they are!
Every episode is represented on these two discs, and they include most of the very best cues. Personal favorites include...
Track 2 - the music used to introduce the Mach 5 in "The Great Plan" (an irresistible musical invitation to the show... carefree but dynamic)
(I don't have the CDs with me at the moment, so I can't supply track numbers for the rest of these...)
The cue supporting the flashback about Rex Racer's crash and rift with Pops, from "Challenge of the Masked Racer." Probably the best music ever used in connection with Racer X, my favorite character. Strong strings, and brass suggesting barely suppressed disaster.
The cue that opens "The Most Dangerous Race, Part 2," as Speed barely navigates an almost-brakeless Mach 5 farther into the Alps, along with the other competitors. (My favorite music of the whole series.) This piece has a relentless, accelerating tempo, with plenty of staccato bursts on the brass and strong percussion to drive home the point that Speed is deep (though frozen) kimchee.
A cue supporting an indoor battle between the Mach 5 and a bunch of panthers from "The Girl Acrobat, Part 2" (goofy scene, but terrific scoring.)
The opening from "Mach 5 Vs. Mach 5, Part 2," where Speed uses the power jacks to vault over the enemy Mach 5, whose megalomaniac driver launches a high-speed chase and tries to vaporize Speed and Trixie with a "mismo beam." Features dizzying strings and a repeating four-note motif on brass that builds ever louder, driving home the sense of panic.
Some unbelievably catchy stuff from "The Secret Invaders," a sort of Speed-meets-the-60s-spy-craze episode.
A couple of broad, sweeping cues from "Race Around the World." Once again, very rich, strong brass.
There are also plenty of incidental cues used in transition and in lighter moments... for example, I couldn't believe that we actually got the music (in Track 3) used as Speed doodles Pops' face into the dust on his windshield (it instantly adopts a trademark, pissed-off expression, and growls) from "The Great Plan!"
The only reason these two discs stop short of five stars (in my book) is that they exclude some really terrific music that could easily have fit on the discs if there weren't some redundant tracks (e.g., barely reorchestrated versions of cues appearing earlier), and more than we need of the silly music used for Spritle and Chim-Chim's antics.
As one example, the first CD (thank God) includes the powerful main theme from "Race Against the Mammoth Car" (used as said car (actually, more like a huge train on wheels) terrorizes the other racers and knocks them out of the race), plus a brief, spirited rendition of the main Speed Racer theme, used as the Mach 5 catches up after the bad guys assumed our heroes were down for count. But then, we get a generic Speed-gets-down-to-business cue that virtually duplicates an earlier track from "The Great Plan," instead of the unforgettable, desperate-sounding cue that started "Race Against the Mammoth Car, Part 2," or a catchy but dead-serious cue used as the Mammoth Car and the Mach 5 approach the docks toward the end, and a sniper has Speed in his sights.
And "Race for Revenge" got short-changed, with only a couple of brief cues. So did some of the others.
But all that said, these are discs no TV-loving child of the 60s should be without.
You can order these from a couple of online outlets in Japan, including the Japanese Amazon site (and I think the others are listed on this site, too), and they are more than worth the price. You will find the morning commute transformed.... this has got to be the best music for driving ever recorded.
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