Review Summary: lol princesses
When I was a small child, I listened to a lot of music. My first album may have been Styx's
Grand Illusion, but that wasn't any sort of representation of what I listened to (2011 revision- this was OBVIOUSLY hyperbole..........). My C.D. wallet was filled with the Backstreet Boys, N"sync, LFO, and Lit. I was, in all honesty, a pansy. That's why going through my old C.D. wallet and playing every C.D., I was surprised to find that even I owned this.
Disney's Princess Collection: The Music of Hopes, Dreams, and Happy Endings might be the most emasculating album of all time. As soon as the first song began to play, I immediately switched from my speakers to my headphones. No one was going to hear me playing this album.
However, as I began listening, I was strangely entranced. There is a sense of nostalgia you get listening to this music if you were a tot around the time these movies were released (The first half of the album focuses on newer Disney releases, AKA Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast; while the second focuses on classics such as Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty). For example, although I was never a fan of the movie,
Colors of the Wind had me harkening back to the days of my youth, when I was a wide eyed lad, and got me caught right up in that whole Native American struggle. It boggles my mind, but I truly find charm in the music throughout this album
The recording on the newer tracks is also masterfully done, these all being major Disney productions. You'd be hard pressed to improve upon these songs;
Home is crystal clear and without a trace of fuzz on normal headphones. While the older songs may suffer from some serious audio issues, this was as good as it got back then. If you're a fan of those movies, you'll have to deal.
The main problem is, obviously, lyrics that are out of context and, even in it, quite sappy and cheesy. However, seeing as how this album is admittedly for children, it's hard to fault it for that. The vocal performances are almost all powerful; it actually made me appreciate the more musical-oriented Disney movies more. Some of the stronger voices on this album are Judy Kuhn (Featured on the Pocahontas cuts) and of course, Jodi Benson on The Little Mermaid track. Although they may not move you, it's a tough task to try and deny that they don't have a certain weight to them, one that catches your ears in the way few pieces of children's oriented work can.
The first half of the album, in my opinion, is much stronger. After beginning with the previously mentioned
Just Around the Riverbend, it goes into
Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid. The song is probably pound for pound the strongest on the album; featuring a sweet and understated piano and Jodi Benson's light voice, it's one of the few songs that holds any sort of lyrical meaning that a non-8 year old girl could appreciate, decrying material possessions for a better life (however misguided it may have seemed in the move).
Next is the personal favorite, however, in
A Whole New World from Aladdin. Featuring intertwining vocals from Brad Kane (Playing Aladdin) and Lea Salonga (Jasmine), it's the most sing along-y song on the album, who cant resist joining in when they sing "A Whole New Wooooorld!"? The next few songs, barring
Something There (Which is the song from Beauty in the Beast essentially featuring all the major players), are a slight drop-off, but it may be only because Disney songs are honestly only interesting for so long. Something There is saved by the myriad singers present, allowing for some playfulness that the album had mysteriously been missing, particularly for being what it is; a Disney Princess Collection.
The second just isn't quite as magical. Obviously, the singers are all still quite strong; Mary Costa in particular has a voice that almost made me close my eyes and think about Cinderella. Almost, of course. However, the recording really does impact the feel of the songs noticeably, and even on the basic Sony headphones I had to listen to this on, there was an obvious quality issue. However, its still some great sing-a-long music for the kids or you, if you are old enough to remember when these movies first came out.
Your like of this album will be heavily, heavily, heavily dependent on how much you were raised on these movies. If you didn't enjoy these movies as a child (or if your parents didn't force feed them), you wont enjoy this album. Even on its rather good vocal merits, the music backdrops aren't very interesting and are really meant only to create a mood for the lyrics to be conveyed through, and the lyrics are, well, as the title says, this album is full of hope, dreams, and happy endings. For some odd reason, I really like the album regardless of its flaws. It brings me back to when I was still in kindergarten, completely innocent and full of hope; it almost makes me lose my memory of what music has come too. Actually, that"s another plus to
Disney's Princess Collection: The Music of Hopes, Dreams and Happy Endings : If you want to get rid of that ringing chorus of "
Saying sorry, this time, the same old story", this could be the perfect album for you. Just don't come in expecting anything truly amazing, and you'll be well served by this short, yet sweet collection of Disney Princess songs.
