(1992)

Following Beauty and the Beast, arguably the greatest animated film ever made, Disney’s release the following year was Aladdin.  The film’s primary highlight is Robin Williams’ character (if there was ever an Oscar for Best Voice Acting, few would deserve it more than him here), one that has been imitated in numerous animation features since, though never with equal or superior results.  Whilst inferior to both Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, it’s nevertheless an enjoyable enough film.  With the success Alan Menken and Howard Ashman had on those two previous films, it’s no surprise that they were assigned to create the music for Aladdin as well.  Tragically, Ashman died before the music was finished, so Tim Rice completed his work.

Unlike The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, picking a “best song” from Aladdin is a somewhat difficult task.  “A Whole New World” won the Oscar, but the also nominated “A Friend Like Me” (my personal favourite) would have been just as deserving.  The former however is now considered the film’s main ballad, though the interpretation of it as “A Whole Nude World” has perhaps overshadowed the original.

Overall, all the songs are highly enjoyable, and, though I don’t think it deserved to win the Oscar over Jerry Goldsmith’s Basic Instinct, the same can be said for the score.  In particular, such tracks as “The Kiss”, featuring a lovely violin solo of the theme from the title song, “The Cave of Wonders” and “The Battle”.  The latter two are the album’s best tracks, both offering music that is grand, adventurous and epic, and probably among the best pieces Menken has ever written.  As per usual, the album and the film conclude with an inferior pop version of the main ballad.

Though the soundtrack album for Aladdin is without question a highly entertaining one, listeners will notice that there are portions of the score in the film that are not present on the album, something that Disney hasn’t managed to rectify despite two new releases of the soundtrack since the original album in 1992.  The “special edition” not only offers no new score material, but also makes changes to certain lyrics, something that will no doubt be of annoyance to fans of the originals.  With that in mind, it is the original 1992 release of the soundtrack is the one that comes recommended.  Don’t bother with the other two.

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Track Listing

1. Arabian Nights (song) (1:19)

2. Legend of the Lamp (1:25)

3. One Jump Ahead (song) (2:22)

4. Street Urchins (1:52)

5. One Jump Ahead (Reprise) (song) (1:01)

6. Friend Like Me (song) (2:26)

7. To Be Free (1:39)

8. Prince Ali (song) (2:51)

9. A Whole New World (song) (2:40)

10. Jafar’s Hour (2:42)

11. Prince Ali (Reprise) (song) (1:07)

12. The Ends of the Earth (1:35)

13. The Kiss (1:51)

14. On a Dark Night (2:55)

15. Jasmine Runs Away (0:46)

16. Marketplace (2:37)

17. The Cave of Wonders (4:57)

18. Aladdin’s Word (1:51)

19. The Battle (3:38)

20. Happy End in Agrabah (4:12)

21. A Whole New World – performed by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle (4:06)

Total Time: 50:12

Credits

Music by Alan Menken

Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice

Orchestrations by Danny Troob & Michael Starobin

Conducted by David Friedman

Produced by Alan Menken & Tim Rice

Awards

Academy Award for Best Original Score (Won)

Academy Award for Best Original Song for “A Whole New World” (Won)

Academy Award for Best Original Song for “A Friend Like Me” (nominated)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (Won)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for “A Whole New World” (Won)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for “A Friend Like Me” (nominated)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for “Prince Ali” (nominated)

Grammy Award for Best Score (Won)

Grammy Award for Best Song for “A Whole New World” (Won)

Grammy Award for Best Song for “A Friend Like Me” (nominated)

BAFTA Award for Best Music (nominated)

Insert Notes

The liner notes contain lyrics to the songs, but no additional information.

All images and artwork are Copyright © Walt Disney Company

(2005)

The success of The Mask of Zorro in 1998 was enough to warrant a sequel to the film, though it took seven years to finally come along, with most of the cast and crew from the previous film returning.  It didn’t enjoy the success that The Mask of Zorro did though, with most critics considering it too similar to its predecessor.

Composer James Horner wrote one of the most entertaining scores of his career for The Mask of Zorro, and he returns here to deliver a score that is equally as entertaining, if not more so.  The Mask of Zorro saw a brief return by Horner to the dynamic style of writing for which he had become so famous earlier in his career, and so entertaining was the result that it was really quite easy to overlook the fact that the main theme came from Alfred Newman’s Captain from Castile, and that the four note danger motif from Rachmaninov’s 1^st Symphony was featured prominently as usual.  The score for The Legend of Zorro is based on exactly the same themes as its predecessor, and arguably surpasses it in terms of quality.  Only a brief analysis of the score is to follow, since this score is so similar to its predecessor I’d be essentially re-writing my review of that score.

The opening of “Collecting the Ballots” is identical to the opening of the first score, with the familiar acoustic guitars and foot tapping.  There are a couple of new themes, but they’re no match for the original love theme and main Zorro theme that are reprised from the original score.  As before though, the highlights of the score are the action music.   The album’s primary highlight is the eleven minute long track “The Train”, a wonderfully structured piece featuring some of the best action music that Horner has ever written.  “The Cortez Ranch” is another great track, with Horner’s faithful shakuhachi flute creating just the right mood for the scene in question.  Another aspect that results in the superiority of this score over its predecessor is the lack of a song with Will Jennings’ dreadful lyrics.  The album gives the listener a more than generous treatment of Horner’s music for the film, putting the primary Zorro theme, the love theme and the theme for the horse riding, through several great variations.

Overall, like its predecessor, The Legend of Zorro stands as a definite highlight of Horner’s career.  It’s easily one of the best scores of its year (and 2005 was probably the decade’s best year for film music), and is a highly recommended purchase.

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Track Listing

1. Collecting the Ballots (3:27)

2. Stolen Votes (6:33)

3. To the Governor’s… And Then Elena (4:07)

4. This Is Who I Am (3:07)

5. Classroom Justice (1:52)

6. The Cortez Ranch (6:37)

7. A Proposal with Pearls/Perilous Times (4:00)

8. Joaquin’s Capture and Zorro’s Rescue (5:02)

9. Jailbreak/Reunited (5:38)

10. A Dinner of Pigeon/Setting the Explosives (5:06)

11. Mad Dash/Zorro Unmasked (3:22)

12. Just One Drop of Nitro (2:42)

13. The Train (11:03)

14. Statehood Proclaimed (5:02)

15. My Family Is My Life (8:14)

Total Time: 75:34

Credits

Music Composed & Conducted by James Horner

Orchestrations by James Horner, Randy Kerber, Bruce Babcock, Eddie Karam, Jon Kull, Conrad Pope, & David Slonaker

Recorded at Todd-AO

Produced by James Horner & Simon Rhodes

Awards

None

Insert Notes

The liner notes contain extensive credits, but no information about the score or film.

All images and artwork are Copyright © Columbia Pictures / Sony Entertainment

(1979)

 

The TV series of Star Trek had been cancelled by NBC in 1970, and many fans of the show were left in despair.  The 1979 film which brought back the original cast was a huge risk for Paramount, not only in terms of production problems, but in terms of competing with George Lucas’ Star Wars far more successful Star Wars franchise.  Whilst the film was not a huge success, it was successful enough to warrant a more successful sequel with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  One of the elements of Star Trek: The Motion Picture that has never failed to disappoint however, is Jerry Goldsmith’s magnificent and historically significant score.  “Classic” is a word that is thrown around far too lightly in reviews these days, but of the few film scores that deserve that title, this is undoubtedly one of them.

Goldsmith wrote three main themes for the film, and each of them is introduced in the first three tracks on the album and in the first three scenes of the film.  The first is the lovely, floating theme for the character of Ilia, and also serves as the film’s overture.  The second is the most famous, which is of course the classic Star Trek theme, easily one of the greatest and most memorable themes ever written for film.  Finally is the horn prominent “Klingon Battle” march, which also introduces the famous “blaster beam” sound.

The primary theme crops up several times throughout the score, but it’s probably best heard in the music that accompanies the scene where the crew of the Enterprise make their way to the ship, where the theme is performed with the deepest emotional depth.  It’s a particularly well-constructed piece that gives a life to a scene that would otherwise be pretty boring, and is easily the best track on the album.

The “blaster beam” is used as a leitmotif for the character of Vejur, and crops up several times later in the score, with notable occurrences being “The Cloud” and “The Force Field”.  As the score gets closer to its climax, during such tracks as “Spock Walk”, “Inner Workings”, and “Vejur Speaks”, Goldsmith introduces more synthetic effects into the score to achieve the increasing sense of worship.  “The Meld” then bursts forth with an operatic, incredible powerful piece.  “A Good Start” features a sweeping performance of the main theme in its second half, whilst the “End Title” reprises the piece in its best known march form for the album’s conclusion.

The original release of the score was far from complete, and Sony’s 1999 release of the expanded score was welcomed enthusiastically by fans of the score.  The price is unfortunately doubled by the fact that they chose to include “bonus” interviews with various members of the film’s cast and crew.  Make no mistake about it though – it’s still worth it.  Of all Jerry Goldsmith’s phenomenal achievements in his illustrious career, this is arguably the greatest of them all, and is an essential album in the collection of any film music fan.

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Track Listing

Disc 1

1. Ilia’s Theme (03:01)
2. Main Title (01:23)
3. Klingon Battle (05:27)
4. Total Logic (03:44)
5. Floating Office (01:03)
6. The Enterprise (05:59)
7. Leaving Drydock (03:29)
8. Spock’s Arrival (01:58)
9. The Cloud (04:58)
10. Vejur Flyover (04:57)
11. The Force Field (05:03)
12. Games (03:41)
13. Spock Walk (04:19)
14. Inner Workings (03:01)
15. Vejur Speaks (03:50)
16. The Meld (03:09)
17. A Good Start (02:26)
18. End Title (03:16)

Disc 2

1. Star Trek Theme (01:34)
2. Introduction: Nichelle Nichols (01:13)
3. Inside Star Trek (01:04)
4. William Shatner Meets Captain Kirk (09:12)
5. Introduction To Live Show (00:25)
6. About Science Fiction (00:40)
7. The Origin Of Spock (01:45)
8. Sarek’s Son Spock (07:21)
9. The Questor Affair (03:49)
10. The Genesis II Pilot (02:34)
11. Cyborg Tools And E.T. Life Forms (04:06)
12. McCoy’s RX For Life (06:14)
13. The Star Trek Philosophy (04:40)
14. Asimov’s World Of Science Fiction (06:27)
15. The Enterprise Runs Around (01:50)
16. A Letter From A Network Censor (05:03)
17. The Star Trek Dream (Ballad I/Ballad II) (05:43)
18. Sign Off: Nichelle Nichols (00:50)

Total Duration: 02:09:14

Credits

Music Composed & Produced by Jerry Goldsmith

Orchestrations by Arthur Morton, Alexander Courage & Fred Steiner

Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith & Lionel Newman

Awards

Academy Award for Best Original Score (nominated)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (nominated)

Insert Notes

Contains notes about the film and the score.

All images and artwork are Copyright © Sony Music Entertainment