Am I the only person here who dislikes the Faulconer score?

[floofychan333]

I just finished the dub of Bardock: The father of Goku, and I frankly wasn't impressed with the music. I'm watching DBZ with the English dub and the Kikuchi score, and thoroughly enjoying it. I can't see why people would like the Faulconer tracks. The fact that they play almost incessantly through the show gets on my nerves, and I personally think Kikuchi's symphonic feel suits Dragon Ball far better. So why exactly is Faulconer's score so popular?

[Wezenheim]

Here? Goodness no, there are plenty of people on this site who dislike the score, myself included. I'd say that most people here prefer either Kikuchi or Yamamoto (plagiarism aside) for Dragon Ball.

The popularity of Faulconer's music probably boils down to a combination of nostalgia and the fact that, in my opinion, some of his music is actually pretty decent. I don't think it fits Dragon Ball, but some of his stuff is actually okay.

[thaman91]

Also, I don't think the Bardock special has much, if any, Faulconer music in it. It has a lot of insert songs and music by other people (like Dale Kelley, the original FUNi in house narrator).

[TheBlackPaladin]

So why exactly is Faulconer's score so popular?

I laughed when I read your post, floofychan333--and to be clear, not because your post is bad in any way, but rather, I laughed in a, "Dude, you have come to the right place"-kind of way. As Wezenheim said, there are not a lot of Faulconer fans here. Trust me, you're not alone.

For that matter, Faulconer may have a big following, but I don't think it's as big as many people think. I mean, within English fandom, sure, his music definitely has a solid following, but seeing as every other country's dub used the original music, Japan--and most of the rest of the world--not only doesn't enjoy Faulconer's work, but they're confused as to why somebody felt the need to change Kikuchi's score in the first place.

(The answer, by the way, is that due to per-second music royalty fees, replacing the original score with a non-stop replacement score created another revenue stream for FUNimation, who desperately needed the money at the time because they were still a relatively fledgling company...but I digress).

Quite frankly, it was that way among the English fandom for a while as well. I can't confirm this for myself since it was before my time, but I've been told by people who have been Dragon Ball fans longer than I have that, when the replacement scores (not just Faulconer's) were heard for the first time, they were almost universally despised. The dub, and its replacement scores, had fans, but none who were old enough to voice their opinions online yet, so if you went on the internet in the late 90's and early 00's, you'd find nothing but negative opinions on the replacement scores. This forum's owner, VegettoEX, even told a story about an anime convention he went to in the early 00's where Bruce Faulconer had a panel, and nobody showed up.

Now, let me be clear, I bring this up only to demonstrate the history of Dragon Ball fandom, I do not mention any of this to belittle Bruce Faulconer as a person or as a musician. I don't mean to do that, and I don't want to do that. He absolutely should be proud that he has as many dedicated fans as he does. I'm not a musician, but I am an actor, and whether you're a musician or an actor, the most rewarding thing an artist like that can accomplish is to move the viewers/listeners on an emotional level. Clearly, Faulconer managed to do that--with many, many people--and I think that's awesome for him. Truly, I do! As Wezenheim, I could absolutely see his music working somewhere else, just not in the case of DBZ.

I for one simply wasn't one of the people who was moved by his score. Even before I found out the music was replaced. To his credit, I liked his score more than any of the other Dragon Ball replacement scores, but that's only saying so much. I'm not a fan of synthesizer music, and I'm not a fan of non-stop music with no moments of silence. So when I found out that DBZ had an original score...which was orchestral...and had moments of silence? I was hooked from the first note I heard of it.

As for why it remains popular? Nostalgia and an innocent misunderstanding of the kind of show DBZ is supposed to be. Those, I find, are the two biggest reasons.

[Kakacarrottop]

From what i've seen, nearly every "Japanese fan" of the series hates the Faulconer score with a passion. Vice versa with Faulconer fans hating the Japanese score. Go on Youtube and you'll see what i mean.

The main reason it is popular is because its the dub score American viewers are most familiar with. It was used in the highest number of episodes and was there when American fans first watched several iconic scenes. I've always been of the opinion that Ron Wasserman (the pre-Faulconer composer from the Ocean dub) could have been as iconic to American fans as Faulconer, although he isn't since his music was only used in the first 50 or so episodes.

[Ajay]

Considering this is a website focused on the Japanese version of the show, filled to the brim with fans of the same thing, I'm gonna go with a resounding "Nope"!

Naw, there's a lot of fans here who do like it, but I'd argue a large majority feel the same as you.

[TheBlackPaladin]

From what i've seen, nearly every "Japanese fan" of the series hates the Faulconer score with a passion. Vice versa with Faulconer fans hating the Japanese score.

Well, yes and no. That is true for the most part, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

Firstly, the English dubs are the only dubs to have changed the score as extensively as they did, so there are a lot of fans around the world who like the Japanese score, even if they don't like the Japanese version. For example, the Latino Spanish dub (which was recorded in Mexico, but was seen in Mexico as well as almost every other Latin American country) used the original score, but a lot of those fans don't like the original Japanese voices. So it's not so much a "Japanese fan" thing so much as it is a "fan of the original score" thing. For the most part, every other country that got DBZ in some form or another who has listened to our replacement scores has reacted with, "...Huh?....Wait, why did they change it.....well that's weird."

Interestingly enough, though, Kei17 has mentioned that he talked to a handful of Japanese fans who felt that they should have gotten Faulconer to compose the score for Kai, the idea being that his score struck them as sounding "newer," and since the point of Kai was that it was (theoretically) supposed to be a "new and refreshed" version of DBZ, perhaps his score would have been more appropriate there. Not a lot of Japanese fans shared that sentiment, though, with most finding the non-stop placement irritating, and the music itself even more irritating.

I also think that, thanks to the good treatment that FUNimation has been giving the franchise from Kai and onward, we'll see fewer and fewer fans of the replacement scores as time goes on. Dragon Ball has been introduced to a new generation of fans who have no knowledge of the replacement scores, nor any real inclination to check them out. To them, the replacement scores will be what they are to most of the rest of the world: an odd quirk that only affected a certain part of the world for a (relatively) small period of time.

[Iberian_Saiyan]

Not a fan of Faulconer Productions' score nor did I grew up listening to it but I'll have to admit, musically, it does have some kickass tunes. Super Boo Theme, Vegeta's Theme, Super Saiyan 3 Goku Theme and some others whilst the background tunes + eyecatch are unbelievably bad (I don't understand the logic behind that lousy song to be the Eyecatch A/B).

This is how my list of favourite DB composers is:

1. Shunsuke Kikuchi
2. Kenji Yamamoto
3. Akihito Tokunaga
4. Norihito Sumitomo
.. video game-only Dragon Ball composers ...
Faulconer Productions

Considering this is a website focused on the Japanese version of the show

Had the forum not had that word-filter it would most likely have a lot more fans and specifically, Funimation dub fans. For them it was probably a deal breaker that they couldn't write Freeza 'properly', T-word, the H-word (just rather not write it all out as I don't really like it) or etc.

[Lord Beerus]

This is how my list of favourite DB composers is:

1. Shunsuke Kikuchi
2. Kenji Yamamoto
3. Akihito Tokunaga
4. Norihito Sumitomo
.. video game-only Dragon Ball composers ...
Faulconer Productions

Honestly, I wouldn't even rank Kenji Yamamoto in any list of my favourite or even worst DB composers. The fact that some of his best work was plagiarised, some of it very blatantly, suggests to me he was never really a composer to begin with. Yeah, that may sound harsh, but I just can't stand the idea of shamelessly stealing someone else's work and passing it off as your own.

As far as Faulconer's score go, it produced a few decent tracks, but it's overall quality is greatly marred by a plateau of awful, droning, unfitting music that never knew when to shut the fuck up.

[floofychan333]

Thanks guys! Glad to see that my opinion isn't unpopular here.

[TheBlackPaladin]

As far as Faulconer's score go, it produced a few decent tracks, but it's overall quality is greatly marred by a plateau of awful, droning, unfitting music that never knew when to shut the fuck up.

Well, as I said earlier, I'm not a huge fan of Faulconer's music...but in his defense, the whole reason the music never stopped was because FUNimation was trying to earn money through royalty fees (which, as FUNimation CEO Gen Fukunaga revealed in an interview, increase with literally each second of music usage). So, while it's certainly possible that Faulconer legitimately wanted non-stop music because he felt it was fitting, it's also entirely possible that he only had the music playing non-stop because that's what he was directed to do.

[Bansho64]

I just finished the dub of Bardock: The father of Goku, and I frankly wasn't impressed with the music. I'm watching DBZ with the English dub and the Kikuchi score, and thoroughly enjoying it. I can't see why people would like the Faulconer tracks. The fact that they play almost incessantly through the show gets on my nerves, and I personally think Kikuchi's symphonic feel suits Dragon Ball far better. So why exactly is Faulconer's score so popular?

Not by a long shot dude. I dislike a lot of the Faulconer score.

[NitroEX]

I've never liked Faulconer's score so you're not alone. I think it's large following is mainly nostalgia driven.

Dale Kelly's music in the Bardock and Trunks specials aren't that bad in my opinion. There are some unfitting insert songs here and there but overall his instrumental tracks sounded pretty good to me.

[cRookie_Monster]

I just finished the dub of Bardock: The father of Goku, and I frankly wasn't impressed with the music. I'm watching DBZ with the English dub and the Kikuchi score, and thoroughly enjoying it. I can't see why people would like the Faulconer tracks. The fact that they play almost incessantly through the show gets on my nerves, and I personally think Kikuchi's symphonic feel suits Dragon Ball far better. So why exactly is Faulconer's score so popular?

As you can see there are lots of haters, but the Bardock special has zero Faulconer music in it. We were not involved in that soundtrack.

[Bansho64]

I just finished the dub of Bardock: The father of Goku, and I frankly wasn't impressed with the music. I'm watching DBZ with the English dub and the Kikuchi score, and thoroughly enjoying it. I can't see why people would like the Faulconer tracks. The fact that they play almost incessantly through the show gets on my nerves, and I personally think Kikuchi's symphonic feel suits Dragon Ball far better. So why exactly is Faulconer's score so popular?

As you can see there are lots of haters, but the Bardock special has zero Faulconer music in it. We were not involved in that soundtrack.

Hey Mr. Morgan I actually have a question. Can you tell me which pieces of music you composed at Faulconer productions? I understand that you guys spent a lot of hard work making it and while I don't personally like a lot of it, it'd be cool to know which ones you yourself made.

[Kuririn Fan]

Of course you're not alone, brother, especially on this forum. It was really disrespectful to replace the legendary Kikuchi. Faulconer has a few decent tracks, but the rest is unlistenable garbage and fans mostly like it because of nostalgia, just like the atrocious Z dub.

[Cipher]

Of course you're not alone, brother, especially on this forum. It was really disrespectful to replace the legendary Kikuchi. Faulconer has a few decent tracks, but the rest is unlistenable garbage and fans mostly like it because of nostalgia, just like the atrocious Z dub.

That's unnecessarily harsh. The wall-to-wall music was a poor edict, but that score contains a lot of memorable work that really grabbed me as a child.

Now adays, the fact that it constantly plays if off-putting, and I don't find it really fits the tone I've come to love the series for as an adult, but I'll begrudge the Faulconer Productions score nothing. It's easily the best replacement score the series ever got, even if it's a dubious practice to begin with.

[Kuririn Fan]

Of course you're not alone, brother, especially on this forum. It was really disrespectful to replace the legendary Kikuchi. Faulconer has a few decent tracks, but the rest is unlistenable garbage and fans mostly like it because of nostalgia, just like the atrocious Z dub.

That's unnecessarily harsh. The wall-to-wall music was a poor edict, but that score contains a lot of memorable work that really grabbed me as a child.

Now adays, the fact that it constantly plays if off-putting, and I don't find it really fits the tone I've come to love the series for as an adult, but I'll begrudge the Faulconer Productions score nothing. It's easily the best replacement score the series ever got, even if it's a dubious practice to begin with.

Dude, it's my opinion. It's garbage, in my opinion.

[Soppa Saia People]

Of course you're not alone, brother, especially on this forum. It was really disrespectful to replace the legendary Kikuchi. Faulconer has a few decent tracks, but the rest is unlistenable garbage and fans mostly like it because of nostalgia, just like the atrocious Z dub.

Pfft people likening something ? Pfft it's just nostalgia
I like the Faulconer score, I just dislike the fact that it plays constantly, I'll listen to it when playing a game or something but for DBZ ? Naw.

[Valerius Dover]

It's definitely not nostalgia for me, though. I never saw the series as a kid. I just happen to have a really broad taste overall, and Team Faulconer's score happens to appeal to me. But so do the others. I mean, it is possible to like more than one interpretation after all.