| Beauty and the Beast |
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Composed by Alan Menkin |
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Lyrics by Howard Ashman Conducted by David Friedman Orchestrated by Danny Troob and Michael Starobin Produced by Alan Menkin and Howard Ashman Release Date: 1991 |
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I was in my local used CD shop a couple of weeks ago and found the original CD release of this score. I picked it up, thinking it would be just an average Disney score that I would trudge through in listening to so that I could post a review of it. Well, I have to admit that as of now, I can quote every piece of dialogue and sing along with every song on this silly album. It is quite simply the most amazing piece of work that I have experienced so far that has come from the eight-hundred pound gorilla (or mouse as it were) of the film industry. It’s not that I was caught totally by surprised at what awaited me. I had heard that it was the best of all the recent Disney animated musicals, and I had seen the film a long time ago, I jus couldn't remember anything from it. Still, turned out to be something I had to experience for myself. I fear that my review will sound like I’m drooling all over the keyboard while I’m writing it, but here goes. What makes Beauty and the Beast work so well is the conglomeration of songwriting inspiration from Menken and Ashman along with the total professionalism of everyone else involved, from the voice talent right on down to the individual musicians. It’s a phenomenon of the entertainment industry that can never be conjured up and instead simply bestows its miraculous power on which production it will. And make no mistake, this is one such production. Even Be Our Guest is delightful, despite the fact that Disney pretty much shoved that down everyone’s collective throat for a while there. The songs are all well written and cover the required styles, from just flat out fun (Gaston), emotionally character-driven (Belle), to the love interests (Beauty and the Beast). Each of those songs are well written and excellently sung. While Disney has never been at a loss for talent, Beauty and the Beast just sounds more like a true musical. I can’t really explain it, but the films since then just haven’t captured that spirit, regardless of how many good songs they’ve been able to churn out. Aladdin has been one of my favorites since it came out, but the music just pales in comparison to what is found on here, regardless of the fun songs that came out of that film. Being the original CD release, you can find this one pretty cheap, and from my research, this is probably the best one to obtain. There have been special editions of the album released (including recently for the new IMAX version), though the extra tracks primarily consist of demos that were created for the songs. As it stands, however, this is the most prevalent version of the soundtrack available right now, so if you can't come across a cheap copy of the original, the newer release is the way to go. To sum it all up, if you enjoy the crop of Disney animated musicals then you have no excuse to be without this. Need I say any more? ***** |
| Track Listing - Total Running Time: 50:48 | |
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