The『懐かしのせんだいCM大百科』(Nostalgic CM Encyclopedia) CD album seems to have been released on November 23, 2007. I'm so glad that that Twitter user still held on to their copy of the disc after so long!IHaveAName wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:24 pmAlong with the article mentioned above, another person bought discs of the music siren atop Marumitsu:
Twitter link to "Kono Michi/この道" (This Road, uploaded from the CD)
There's a startup clunk and some motor whine! The G4 note works fine. However, the motor slows down a tiny bit right before the (extremely rapid) wind down, which is weird! According to the Livedoor article, this was apparently recorded sometime in 1968.
Twitter link to "Arajo no Tsuki/荒城の月" (Moon over the Ruined Castle, uploaded from the CD)
This time the startup sounds seem less pronounced, and only the D5 note is audible during the wind up and down. More importantly, the wind down is free and slow, indicating that whatever problem it had in 1968 was fixed.
However, the G4 damper seems to close immediately after it opens, so it only sounds a short burst instead of sustaining like in the "Kono Michi" recording. This happens consistently throughout the song.
On Youtube there is another recording of Marumitsu's music siren playing Arajo no Tsuki/Moon over the Ruined Castle. In this recording, the G4 damper is now working fine. Instead the F4-sharp/G4-flat damper acts up! During the first 2 notes of the whole song (and also at 0:20), it has difficulty staying open. The B3 note suffers from "damper bounce" if you listen closely at 0:27 and 0:30. Iga City Hall's music siren also suffers from damper bounce on its A4 note.
Finally, we have another creepy-sounding recording of the same siren and song. What sets this final recording apart is the fact that multiple dampers appear to be nonfunctional, or making sound for a shorter time than usual. The Youtube description mentions reviving the broken music siren which had become out of tune.
From this Instagram post, on September 23, 1987, the music siren was played for the first time since its July breakdown, because Marumitsu was reluctant to retire the siren. This creepy recording could have been captured during that September day, marking one of its last ever performances. It was played twice on that day.
Just to clarify, the train whistle (and amusement park sounds) were both present in the original recordings on the CD, but were first discovered on the recordings of the 70th anniversary revivals in 2016, where these CD recordings were played through speakers. IMO, they boost the nostalgia levels very high!