Robotech: Love Live Alive Music Notes

I'm not going to do a full write-up for Robotech: Love Live Alive, since the vast majority of it is simply a clip show from Robotech's final 23 episodes, 6 of which I just rewatched this week. All of the scenes where I remembered any music that was used in the original at all was exactly the same here. Now, to be completely fair I must confess that I only watched it in full the first time when it came out in 2013, and on this rewatch I just watched anything that seemed to have the slightest bit of something new in it and skimmed over the obvious clip show parts.

Also along those lines, the TV footage used here is (understandably) from the Remastered version. I mention this because I've set this guide up using the standard version. This is another reason why some music may have been changed, but since I'm not taking my usual fine-toothed comb to it then it may have slipped past me

Still, there's some interesting points worth mentioning:

• The DVD menu loops the beginning guitar portion of "Deep Space Swagger," an unused piece of Sentinels music. So while it never made it into any of the animation, it is technically new music. It is included on the 30th Anniversary Soundtrack as part of the Sentinels music, two tracks before the Robotech: Love Live Alive music.

• The opening scenes are the only new music actually used in the animation, so the two tracks Robotech Main Theme (Love Live Alive version) and Zentraedi Theme (Love Live Alive version) on the 30th Anniversary Soundtrack make the soundtrack complete as far as this sequel is concerned.

• The new animation segment showing Lance Belmont and Yellow Squadron going into battle features the "Enemy Attack/(Confrontation)/Resolve" edit as used on the 1996 Robotech Perfect Soundtrack (but without the Resolve portion. From there it goes into "Look Up"). So while it isn't really new music, it gives that odd mash-up a little more validity for now having been used onscreen that way.

• In one of the new clips where the image is frozen as Lancer's narration introduces the cast, "Cliffhangers (d)" is used, which is pretty rare. It was only used complete in the TV series three times (and incomplete once).

• When Lancer says goodbye to Rook, Rand, and Annie before the battle at Reflex Point, his line of "In the meantime you can always buy my records" has been changed to "In the meantime you can always buy my recordings."  Sign o' the times.

• "Only a Fool" seems to be edited to reuse some of the instrumental parts in the beginning to better fit the end credits, which is a pretty standard practice. (And speaking of which, why was "Only a Fool" chosen over "Underground" here anyway? Being sung by Michael Bradley, just like all the Yellow Dancer songs, makes it a much more logical choice to use for the end credits of a Lancer-centric video. Go figure.)


...And lastly, I have to editorialize just a bit here: the original Mospeada: Love Live Alive used new versions of classic Mospeada songs in addition to new songs, which then lead to a new soundtrack release. Michael Bradley has already made new versions of the Yellow Dancer songs (available at his website, michaelbradleymusic.com). Those albums were done and released before the Robotech: Love Live Alive project was even started. This was a perfect opportunity to use them here and maybe even commission some new songs, which could have led to another soundtrack. They did it with Scott Glasgow for the BGM, so why not do it for Yellow Dancer as well? It could be that they didn't want to spend the money when they already own the original versions. Or it could be because sadly Harmony Gold has been infamous for not paying royalties to their artists, which has led to bridges being burned and thus no new Yellow Dancer music, for this project or any other. Either way, it's an absolutely heartbreaking loss, and Robotech: Love Live Alive will always feel like a missed opportunity to be something more than it was.