Why was Nathan Johnson's score so underrated?

[TVfan721]

I've been listening to the soundtrack he made and honestly, I think it's incredible but most people seem to not like it. I think it fits the show perfectly. What are the reasons people have for not liking it?

[BluezaBladeNZ]

I think most people don't like it because they think it sounds too generic or it gets heavily overshadowed by the Faulconer Productions score. I usually only listen to the japanese scores now but for me, I still love it, it's funny for me how I can still bear all the US scores, except for the Faulconer Productions one, when most people tend to be the opposite. Something about that score just irks me now and makes it hard to listen to.

[dballfan]

Its not terrible but its just Ocean and the Japanese BGM is superior.

[andrewtuell1991]

I can't speak for everyone but some of the reasons I dislike it are:

*It drones just like Faulconer's score
*It's even more dark and depressing than Menza's GT score
*You can bearly even hear half the freaking time
*I'm not sure if he composed or not but if he did: the Ultimate Uncut opening theme. Before I saw that I didn't think any replacement opening for an anime could suck more than the 4kids opening for One Piece. This proved me wrong.

[Pokewhiz7]

I liked it. Of course, it really was too damn quiet.

[Metalwario64]

Even Faulconer and Levy's scores had some catchy tunes, but I cannot think of one single piece from the Johnson score, except for part of the recap/end of episode theme.

Sounds like 4Kids! music to me, and is every bit at boring and unmemorable as Menza's GT score.

[Pokewhiz7]

Even Faulconer and Levy's scores had some catchy tunes, but I cannot think of one single piece from the Johnson score, except for part of the recap/end of episode theme.

Sounds like 4Kids! music to me, and is every bit at boring and unmemorable as Menza's GT score.

Here's a good one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eX4Gk5imn8

[TheBlackPaladin]

I wouldn't call it "bad." It's just not...memorable. To me, anyway. It's a little too subdued to add any kind of emotional power to the scenes. Not that subtle music is a bad thing in and of itself, I just don't think it meshes particularly well with DBZ.

[Son Geeko]

Pretty much what everyone else here is saying: Bland and forgettable.

[funrush]

Even Faulconer and Levy's scores had some catchy tunes, but I cannot think of one single piece from the Johnson score, except for part of the recap/end of episode theme.

Sounds like 4Kids! music to me, and is every bit at boring and unmemorable as Menza's GT score.

Here's a good one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eX4Gk5imn8

This too: Vegeta Vs. Beast Zarbon

And also this.

[dballfan]

Yeh the main problem was how forgetabble is was. There are lots of memorable Faulconer and Japanese BGM tracks but not nearly as many for NJ.

[VegettoEX]

Is underrated the right word?

Or is it just irrelevant to Faulconer Productions fans the way that the Faulconer Productions score was to Shuki Levy fans the way the Shuki Levy score was to Shunsuke Kikuchi fans?

It also came and went at a forgettable time for a forgettable portion of the series' production. That's not to say the Saiyan arc was forgettable in any way, but the re-dub of it wasn't exactly the high point of the series over here, or anything. It was already several years past its prime, everything else in the franchise was complete, and FUNimation was just filling in the holes.

It simply existed.

[Chibi Gohan]

I honestly found the score boring and unfitting to the scenes... but that's just me... I'm not sure how the score is "underrated" per say, unless you comparing it's popularity to the Faulconer, which that in itself is kind of overrated.

This thread seems more appropriate in the Music section.

[dbboxkaifan]

Who's Nathan Johnson?

[Codarik]

I'm a huge fan of Johnson's music. His music was the only US score that showed emotion. People seem to forget that his music was never repetitive like every other composers were.

[keroyon400]

I never even heard it during those episodes, but maybe I'd have to go back and give 'em a listen.

[Gonstead]

I've wondered what DBZ would have been like if Nathan Johsnon continued to score the series after Episode 67.

[xzero]

s it just irrelevant to Faulconer Productions fans the way that the Faulconer Productions score was to Shuki Levy fans the way the Shuki Levy score was to Shunsuke Kikuchi fans?

Personally, I don't think it was irrelevant to fans, and I think your assessment is a bit flawed. I was introduced to the Kikuchi score after the Levy and Faulconer scores, and I know that for you and other fans of the Japanese version, the dub scores were and remain irrelevant. That's fine, but for dub fans, that's not necessarily the case.

The Shuki Levy score was something I enjoyed to a certain extent and still do. It worked in the context of those episodes, and I wouldn't have minded seeing it continue. I would consider myself a fan of the Levy score, but I felt that Funimation traded up with the quality of the Faulconer Productions score. It had its moments of crap--pretty much anything involving Goten and Trunks, or any filler that wasn't its own "saga"--but for my money, the overall quality of the Faulconer score was fantastic.

When I heard, or rather concluded based on the GT debacle, that Faulconer wasn't returning for the redub, I was still willing to give whoever they got a chance. And you know what? I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it. It was lime jello.

It simply existed.

This, and yes, it's out of context somewhat, sums up my feelings on the Johnson score. Certainly there were some moments that were good, but it just wasn't memorable. It was bland and lacked the heart that the Faulconer score had. By way of example, Faulconer had recognizable themes or thematic styles for the characters. Vegeta had two similar true "themes," plus other music that was distinctly his (SSJ Vegeta, for instance). Babidi and every incarnation of Majin Buu had a very clear and distinct theme that was modified to reflect each character or characterization. Freeza had a synth style, and while he had some music that sort of functioned as a theme, it was the stylistic nature of the music that said, "this is a Freeza moment." Cell had several themes that evolved as he did toward his perfect form. I could dwell on this much longer with a much more in-depth explanation, but the bottom line is Faulconer Productions, and more precisely the very talented staff working there like Scott Morgan and Julius Dobos, seemed to put some genuine effort into the project. Even if it is irrelevant to sub fans and even some dub fans dislike the score, you can't take away the fact that there are some genuinely well-done aspects of it.

By contrast, Johnson just didn't seem to care. His music was bland. No themes, no development or progression. Even if you know you're only scoring 60-some episodes of a 291 episode series, you can at least try. I get the sense that he's a talented musician and just wasn't into it.

That turned out to be a much more long-winded answer than I originally intended, so I'll sum it up thusly: I disagree that the Johnson score was at all irrelevant to Faulconer fans, and I disagree with the other dub score irrelevance references. For some fans, I don't doubt that one score was irrelevant to the others because they found that one that they loved (and perhaps you could argue based on my pro-Faulconer diatribe that mine was the Faulconer score). But I think even when given a fair shake, as I truly and honestly believe many fans, myself included, did, it's just too bland.

And Mike, I'm not trying to be argumentative or harp on a single point too long, but as an aside, I'll note that there's one other flaw with the irrelevance theory. As your theory would progress, the Yamamoto Kai score is generally irrelevant to both Kikuchi and Faulconer/Levy/Johnson fans. At least for me, and perhaps I'm the lone exception, that's far from the case. In fact, the Yamamoto score is on par with the Faulconer score insofar as it has advantages and disadvantages by comparison that cause them to even out in my book. I would probably pick Faulconer if only for nostalgia value, but Yamamoto's Kai score was generally excellent. Kikuchi would be 3, Levy 4, and Johnson 5, as explained above.

EDIT

I'm a huge fan of Johnson's music. His music was the only US score that showed emotion. People seem to forget that his music was never repetitive like every other composers were.

I noticed this post right after posting the above. I'm not challenging your assertion or trying to get into a fight; I'm more curious. Can you either post links to or just point me toward examples of scenes that you're talking about? I'm genuinely intrigued because we clearly have two very, very different perspectives on this. If you can't find links, rest assured that I have all of the Orange Brick sets so I can take a look at any episode time code you direct me toward.

[VegettoEX]

And Mike, I'm not trying to be argumentative or harp on a single point too long, but as an aside, I'll note that there's one other flaw with the irrelevance theory. As your theory would progress, the Yamamoto Kai score is generally irrelevant to both Kikuchi and Faulconer/Levy/Johnson fans.

I see where you're going with that, but I only halfway concede it due to the fact that Kai's intended audience wasn't the same audience that had been there the whole way in a sequential, yearly progression -- it was an all-new, younger audience that probably didn't have any basis to compare the show with.

[jpdbzrulz4sure]

Who's Nathan Johnson?

He's the composer of the score in FUNi's redub of DBZ's first two seasons.

Personally, I felt that his score, among the various replacement scores for DB in the US, sounded the most like a DB score. That said, it's still quite bland and forgettable compared to the original score, in my opinion. Not to mention I detest the idea of replacement scores in the first place, but that can be another discussion for another day.