This is sort of a combination review and open thank-you letter! 
Dear Mr. Thornton,
I received my copy of "A Musical History of Disneyland" last Friday. I've listened to it front to back several times.
THANK YOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mine Goodness! Yeeehah! Insert Goofy Yell here! I?m 46 years old, and I?ve literally been waiting decades for a set like this! Ever since seeing Walt ride the bobsleds on Disneyland?s 10th anniversary show ? Ever since listening to my Haunted Mansion LP and wishing for a decent recording of Grim Grinning Ghosts as I watched those little castles on the lable spin round and round on my turntable ? Ever since carrying my clunky little cassette recorder into the Haunted Mansion and rolling my eyes as the fireworks show went off during the foyer speech?.
First you produce all the animated classic soundtracks I?d been wanting, then you un-crud the park albums?. and now this! You ROCK!!!!!!!!!
This set is a joy. I love every single minute of it. My wonderful family is one of those California Disneyland families. We?ve vacationed at the park nearly every summer, and it holds a special place in our hearts. We listened to the set on a road trip to a family wedding yesterday, and each track invoked memories, laughter, smiles and groans (I?m the only Country Bear fan in the family?I used to have to literally bribe family members to enter (?Trust me, you?ll like it this time!?). Our youngest ones asked many questions about the extinct attractions, and us oldsters loved taking a virtual ride through Inner Space and Nature?s Wonderland. We noticed lots of the cool details you included (many thanks for including the Goofy Yell in the awesome Alice ride mix). I noticed things I?d never been able to hear before (I never before heard Big Al blaming the Skunk for taking his pocket knife!)
You really captured it ? The ?feel? of the park. The kaleidoscopic whirl of sounds and music. I can almost taste the fritters and pineapple spears. I can imagine myself in line for the Matterhorn with an abominable snowman hollering on my right while, on my left, Goofy?s yell heralds another squad of playing card soldiers getting flattened by a caterpillar on wheels. I can feel the chills I did as a child as that mountain lion threatened to jump into the mine train. I can wonder again what would happen if we DID keep going into the nucleus of the atom. I can wince as I remember that the ?Old Grey Mare? really was my least favorite moment in the entire park. And I can laugh and still try to convince my family that Big Al struggling to get that line out (I..I..I was beating a paaaathhh?) is one of the funniest moments in entertainment history.
Pirates, the Mansion, the Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress, America the Beautiful? EVERYTHING?they?ve never sounded better, and it's great to be able to take them home at last.
Thanks, Randy. The set is awesome.
- Richard
Dear Mr. Thornton,
I received my copy of "A Musical History of Disneyland" last Friday. I've listened to it front to back several times.
THANK YOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mine Goodness! Yeeehah! Insert Goofy Yell here! I?m 46 years old, and I?ve literally been waiting decades for a set like this! Ever since seeing Walt ride the bobsleds on Disneyland?s 10th anniversary show ? Ever since listening to my Haunted Mansion LP and wishing for a decent recording of Grim Grinning Ghosts as I watched those little castles on the lable spin round and round on my turntable ? Ever since carrying my clunky little cassette recorder into the Haunted Mansion and rolling my eyes as the fireworks show went off during the foyer speech?.
First you produce all the animated classic soundtracks I?d been wanting, then you un-crud the park albums?. and now this! You ROCK!!!!!!!!!
This set is a joy. I love every single minute of it. My wonderful family is one of those California Disneyland families. We?ve vacationed at the park nearly every summer, and it holds a special place in our hearts. We listened to the set on a road trip to a family wedding yesterday, and each track invoked memories, laughter, smiles and groans (I?m the only Country Bear fan in the family?I used to have to literally bribe family members to enter (?Trust me, you?ll like it this time!?). Our youngest ones asked many questions about the extinct attractions, and us oldsters loved taking a virtual ride through Inner Space and Nature?s Wonderland. We noticed lots of the cool details you included (many thanks for including the Goofy Yell in the awesome Alice ride mix). I noticed things I?d never been able to hear before (I never before heard Big Al blaming the Skunk for taking his pocket knife!)
You really captured it ? The ?feel? of the park. The kaleidoscopic whirl of sounds and music. I can almost taste the fritters and pineapple spears. I can imagine myself in line for the Matterhorn with an abominable snowman hollering on my right while, on my left, Goofy?s yell heralds another squad of playing card soldiers getting flattened by a caterpillar on wheels. I can feel the chills I did as a child as that mountain lion threatened to jump into the mine train. I can wonder again what would happen if we DID keep going into the nucleus of the atom. I can wince as I remember that the ?Old Grey Mare? really was my least favorite moment in the entire park. And I can laugh and still try to convince my family that Big Al struggling to get that line out (I..I..I was beating a paaaathhh?) is one of the funniest moments in entertainment history.
Pirates, the Mansion, the Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress, America the Beautiful? EVERYTHING?they?ve never sounded better, and it's great to be able to take them home at last.
Thanks, Randy. The set is awesome.
- Richard