Review Summary: "Aye-yi-yi-yi-yi!"
It's 1993, and you have awoken early on a brisk Saturday morning, geared and ready to watch your favorite Fox Kids programs. Sitting down in front of your television set, footsie pajamas still on and a bowl of Captain Crunch in hand, you eagerly turn on the TV in wait of the fun to begin. Just as your favorite program is about to air, surprise strikes you, for it is not the familiar theme of your most revered show, it is the theme of a brand new series. With a scorching guitar solo and hooky, harmonized vocals, the song, along with the vivid imagery of five costumed crusaders has drawn you in, and you can't stop watching. This isn't your average, everyday kiddie show; this is The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Zordon: Teleport to us five overbearing and over-emotional humans.
Alpha 5: No, not that! Not... teenagers!
For anyone who grew up in the early 90's, The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a program that you're probably all too familiar with. Five normal and seemingly uninteresting teenagers are chosen to save the world from the clutches of evil space witch, Rita Repulsa. Through the use of superhuman powers bestowed upon them by cosmic being Zordon, the teens gallantly defend the Earth, preserving peace and tranquility for all its unwary citizens. Even though the show featured not only some horrid special effects (particularly the "megazords" who looked more like guys dressed up in mismatched cardboard boxes than the giant robotic warriors they were meant to portray) and some laughably bad acting, the show has still reserved a small place in our hearts, remaining to be one of the most memorable and popular shows of our youth. First airing in 1993, the program's popularity skyrocketed almost overnight, which of course prompted in the sale of numerous action figures, posters, videos and surprisingly, music. In 1994, the budding franchise released the daring concept album
Power Rangers: A Rock Adventure, an album that sees just as much action as the television series it was inspired by.
Jason: Back off, fang-face!
Zack: The good guys are here!
Billy: Get off our planet!
Trini: 'Cause we're the Power Rangers!
Kimberly: And we're not backing down!
Combining original music from the show, along with numerous clips and samples from the show,
Power Rangers: A Rock Adventure acts as almost an audio companion to the TV series, detailing events from the rangers earliest battles against Rita Repulsa, to their later quarrels with the "Emperor of Evil", Lord Zedd. Composed by producer Ron Wasserman, the music heard on
Power Rangers: A Rock Adventure, is very deeply routed in hard rock and 80's heavy metal. Songs like "We Need A Hero", which open with the humorous banter of comedic duo Bulk and Skull, progress to feature a supremely melodic and memorable chorus, showcasing Wasserman's highly recognizable vocal skills, along with raging power chord progressions and a mechanical drum beat. The song also features a a great piano interlude, giving the track a great bit of diversity. Not sticking to any distinct patterns, the song "5-4-1" shows some definite extreme metal influence, displaying quick double bass triplets, adding to the already frantic nature of the song.
Following the trend set by main theme song "Go Go Power Rangers", almost each song on
Power Rangers: A Rock Adventure features some great guitar soloing. "Go Green Ranger Go" continues the neo-classical inspired shred, while tracks like "Zords" and "I Will Win" show some more blues influence guitar pyrotechnics. Another highlight on the album are the choruses. While all are somewhat similar in the sense of their structure, each is extremely catchy, including extremely hummable vocal harmonies that could be stuck in your head for some time. In particular, "Combat" has a great chorus, interspersing an a stuttered shouting of the word "combat" with classic metal guitar harmonizations and lines from the show.
Tommy: I thought we turned you into squash, Pumpkin Rapper!
Pumpkin Rapper: Maybe ya did / But it's time to get sad / 'Cause of Lord Zedd's power / We're back and we're bad!
Lyrically,
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Album: A Rock Adventure doesn't only feature songs about the Power Rangers and their struggles against evil. Pieces like
We Need A Hero and
Fight never specifically mention the Rangers (although obviously strongly alludes to them) and if they had been released on another album by another band, could have potentially been very strong, popular singles. Of course on songs like "Hey Rita", feature ridiculously humorous lyrics like
"The Power Rangers you could not defeat/so Lord Zedd put on the heat/he shut you down, put you in the trashcan/and now you around in space, yellin' at him". Cheesy as they may be, these kind of lyrics are expected from an album such as this, and add rather then subtract from the overall quality of the record.
The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will always remain a classic within children's television programming. Since its 1993 debut, the series has continued to experience sickeningly large amounts of success. Now in 2010, with news that show will be airing renewed episodes of the original series, the show will not only draw in many new fans as it once did, but may even snatch a few of its grown, older fans attention once again as well. So while your Power Rangers nostalgia is still staying strong, do yourselves the favor of reliving the brilliance of The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and it's excellent audio counterpart,
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Album: A Rock Adventure!
It's Morphin' Time!
