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Mary Poppins: Special Edition |
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Music and Lyrics by Richard M.Sherman & Robert B. Sherman Arranged and Conducted by Irwin Kostal Produced by Randy Thornton, Ted Kryczko, Ron Kidd Release Date: November 16, 2004
Mary Poppins was a film that delighted me as I traveled through my childhood, and after listening to the music from this fine release, I shall have to watch it again once the DVD comes out. The music speaks to me now in a way that transcends the genre of “kiddy” film, something that very few people know how to do right these days. Modern thinking has brought about the idea that films are enjoyed by families alike when they have toilet-humor for the kids and subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) sexual contexts for the adults. This is laughably absurd and is the pitiful state that most “family” films find themselves in these days, and I think a lot of the box office receipts have shown that. Might I add my two cents into declaring what makes a successful family film, using Mary Poppins as the point for my little mini-thesis? Talent. It’s talent, pure and simple. That and a love for the material. A genuine love. Many of the modern family films are slapdash efforts by those looking to get their hands on the cash that is to be had in this market. Thus, talented efforts are notably lacking when it comes to making these types of films. But Mary Poppins revealed this to me in a way that I hadn’t quite looked at before. The film assembled some incredibly talented people and brought them together in a project that was deemed worthwhile of their talents. Thus they worked and worked hard in making a film instead of just a cash cow. This is why Disney was so revered back in the day, and why it’s so laughed at now. Disney has ceased to become about talent, and is instead devoted to trudging along through their tired properties. Need I mention such glorious titles as Lion’s King II, Peter Pan II, The Little Mermaid II, ect., ect., ect.? All done as well as could be I suppose, but are still just retreads, pure and simple. Where is the talent, the fresh material, the love? That’s my soapbox for now, but it is relevant because this is what listening to the score for Mary Poppins has made me think of recently. It’s the reason that I simply grin as I listen to these songs. It’s the reason why I love Beauty and the Beast and a whole host of other classic Disney titles. It’s for the simple reason that they represent talent and love on parade. Projects that were approached with gusto by the men and women who could make the magic happen. The songs from Mary Poppins, by the Sherman brothers, Richard and Robert, are such a delight, and move the story along like the songs in a good musical number should. They are grin-inducing, light-hearted, but never full of fluff. There is substance behind these. They propel the stories, the characters, and the plot while not serving as an overused expositionary device. And the orchestral score by Irwin Kostal incorporates all the melodies from those songs, thus weaving every musical portion of this soundtrack into a delightfully unified whole. And thankfully, the talent on display has maneuvered into the 21st Century as someone at Walt Disney Records truly knows what the term “Special Edition” means. After its laughable attachment to the Aladdin re-release (does the inclusion of two rough demo tracks really constitute terming an album as a “Special Edition”? I mean, honestly). Kudos most go out to Randy Thornton whose diligence and love (see, there’s one of those key words again) has resulted in a perfect album for those who adore this music. This soundtrack provides the complete score, with everything arranged in chronological order, extensive liner notes that contain the lyrics to every song (a must-have), and sporty new remastered sound. Just those specs would be perfectly fine, but Thorton’s work goes even farther, with bonus material placed onto disc two. This includes excerpts from the story meetings (where the key players in the production read through the script with Mary Poppins’ creator, P.I. Travers, while she offers insight into her characters and situations), along with two interviews, one contemporary to the film’s release, and a reminiscence interview with the Sherman brothers. If there is one problem I have with this recording, it would be that at times the voices on the songs are not quite as clear as the instruments, and this sometimes causes words to be lost. To be fair, I’m sure this has to do with the difference between recording techniques of static musicians and on-the-go actors during a shoot. It’s also something that is only noticeable when compared to modern releases. Overall, still a tremendous job for a recording this old. |
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| Track Listing | |||
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Disc One - The Soundtrack 01 - Bunea Vista Fanfare (0:08) 02 - Overture (2:58) 03 - One Man Band (0:56) 04 - Sister Suffragette (1:43) 05 - The Life I Lead (2:00) 06 - The Perfect Nanny (1:38) 07 - Air Mail / Admiral Boom / The Not-So- Perfect Nannies / Mary Poppins Arrives (3:06) 08 - A Spoonful of Sugar (4:07) 09 - Pavement Artist (2;06) 10 - Jolly Holliday (5:22) 11 - Jolly Holliday (Reprise) (1:05) 12 - Penguin Dance (2:20) 13 - The Carousel Horses (4:17) 14 - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (2:00) 15 - Pavement Artist (Reprise) (1:01) 16 - Stay Awake (1:43) 17 - Trouble at Uncle Albert's (1:41) 18 - I Love to Laugh (2:42) 19 - A British Bank (The Life I Lead) (2:06) 20 - Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag) (3:49) 21 - Father's Footsteps (1:17) 22 - Fidelity Fiduciary Bank (3:31) 23 - Panic at the Bank (2:12) 24 - Chim Chim Cher-ee / March Over the Rooftops (6:19) 25 - Step In Time (8:41) 26 - A Man Has Dreams (The Life I Lead / A Spoonful of Sugar) (4:27) 27 - Mr. Banks is Discharged (4:46) 28 - Let's Go Fly A Kite (1:48) |
Disc Two - Bonus Material
The Mary Poppins Story Meetings 01 - Cherry Tree Lane (0:22) 02 - Mr. Banks Decided to Hire a Nanny Himself (0:28) 03 - The Children Write Their Own Advertisement (1:02) 04 - The Line of Applicants and Mary Poppins Arrives (1:44) 05 - Notes on Mary Meeting the Banks (0:38) 06 - Up to the Nursery (2:43) 07 - Bert and the Talking Pictures (3:45) 08 - A Carousel Horse Ride to the Seashore (1:17) 09 - The Return Home (1:51) 10 - The Next Morning We Meet the Sweep (2:07) 11 - Uncle Albert's (1:25) 12 - A Change in the Wind and an Adventure with Admiral Boom (2:19) 13 - The Bird Woman (2:01) 14 - Mr. Banks and the Compass (2:58) 15 - The Compass Sequence: Timbuktu (3:32) 16 - The Compass Sequence: The Land of Sand (2:05) 17 - The Compass Sequence: Tea in China (1:29) 18 - The Compass Sequence: The North Pole (2:01) 19 - The Return Home (3:08) 20 - Everyone Descends on Cherry Tree Lane (1:57) 21 - Mary Departs (2:06)
22 - Hollywood Spotlight Microphone (17:24) 23 - The Sherman Brothers Reminisce About Their Work on Mary Poppins (16:07) |
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| Total Running Time: 79:48 | Total Running Time: 74:43 | ||
