Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ‘Go Go Power Rangers’ For Orchestra by Walt Ribeiro
“No one will ever take them down”
OK, I’ll shamelessly admit it - I’m going through a huge theme song kick. And who can blame me? Unfortunately, there are only a handful of amazing theme songs throughout the years, but I’ll make it rock as long as I can.
I spoke before about how music tends to anchor strong feelings from me. Like, whenever I think of the MMPR theme, I always think of a time I sat in my cousin’s room and watched the MMPR TV show endlessly. I’m sure I’m not alone. I had it all - the figurines, the comics, video games, even CD’s.
Which brings me to another point - that in order for something to be remarkable, it has to be flawless. Star Wars, Power Rangers, My Little Pony, Jaws, Batman, and even TMNT - the reason they’re so amazing is because everything about their culture is amazing. The character outfits, the worlds they live in, the plot, the time period, the comics, and yes - even the music. The music is why I honestly think Star Wars, Pokemon, or Animaniacs were such successful shows.
There were two main theme songs to this show - the original, and the Power Rangers Zeo. And while I loved the Zeo song, it wasn’t the original, and I tend to stick with originals when I rearrange songs. This is simply because originals are usually 1.) objectively better 2.) the stronger memory we anchor to 3.) easier to choose which pieces you arrange. For example, Daft Punk has a ton of remixes, but if you limit your options to only the original edits then it makes life much more manageable.
When arranging this piece I continually thought about the lyrics “No one will ever take them down”, so I really wanted to capture the sense of movement and invincibility that the MMPR created. The drums push this piece forward while the violins play the main melody in their higher register. Finally, to create drama and suspense, I have this arrangement scream right out of the gate, then suddenly drop down to a silent whisper. The middle section creates even more suspense, just before it leads into the final chorus where the brass take over.
Any other suggestions, let me know!?
