Hey there, Hi there, Ho there,
here the second installment of my miniseries with comments to TDR CD releases, which I was able to get my hands on during my visit to TDR. "Getting my hands on" is actually the first topic for this post, too.
I was surprised to see, that the Pooh's Hunny Hunt CD was no longer available, but then as the current Tokyo Disneyland Music Album includes music from the ride and the extended version is available on Treasures of Fantasy that is somehow OK. But I was really surprised to see that the single for the current Parade is no longer available. I was told it was sold out ... this means currently the parade soundtrack is not available at all, as it premiered after the release of ToF and no other compilations with it are currently available. At least as much of a surprise to me was that the Buzz Lightyear CD wasn't available anymore either. This and Pooh had the longest lines and early on sold out FP, merchandise sales seemed brisk, so I would have expected that the CD would still be available. Especially in the later case, as no other CD available currently includes Buzz material from Tokyo.
The only thing that might be possible: maybe they did not produce any new copies as they plan to include some material on the next Tokyo Disneyland Musical Album (their title of their OA)?? After all the currently sold "Tokyo Disney Musical Album" is still from 2001 (making it pretty much the oldest TDR CD still on sale). A replacement would make sense as the CD still includes the song "Meet the World" from the attraction of the same name, which has been closed in the meantime (the old queue line now houses the machines for the lottery for the seating in front of the castle). So it would make sense to release a new "OA" and replace maybe this track with a Buzz excerpt.
As we are talking about the "OA": it is definitely worth getting, as it has the music from Pooh and excerpts of other attractions, including music from the Mickey Mouse Revue! In comparison to the US OAs it is striking, that the CD does not contain any music from parades, live shows or fireworks, but then TDR releases special CDs for these frequently. The song "Meet the World" by the Sherman Brothers sounds really interesting too - does anybody know whether an "English only" version was ever releases of that one?
Another CD not available to my surprise was the score of the fireworks dispaly "Magic in the Sky" - sure it was just a compilation of famous Disney songs re-recorded but nevertheless it would have been nice to get it. But then the size of the fireworks and the way the guests reacted to them gave me the expression, that for Japanese guests the shows and parades are way more important than the fireworks, so maybe there is no demand for such a CD. One last note about the fireworks: they are shot from between the park, so guests from both parks can see them. Both parks play the same music for the fireworks. In TDS guests the fireworks take place after BraviSEAmo!, so guests who are on the left side of the lagoon for that spectacular just keep seated / standing for the fireworks. In TDL the fireworks are between Blazing Rhythms and Dreamlights, so guest watch them from their Dreamlights spot. The fireworks are more impressive from TDS, as they look bigger due to the different distance from the fireworks, at least for guests on TDL's Central Plaza. The fact that the fireworks do not show up behind the castle but far to its right really take something away inside TDL.
And now ... back to more comments on older CDs ...
This is Tokyo DisneySea!
Released in 2004 this two CD set includes music already released on other CDs - so why should you be interested in the CD? Well, if you haven't got any TDS CDs yet, it is a great CD to start a collection as it includes all Port Theme Songs, edited version of some of the main shows of the park and even the BraviSEAmo!
Guests who visit the park right now and are looking for the music from the different shows actually have to buy the CD, even if the already have the "Tokyo DisneySEA Album" and some of the current show CDs. Why? Because the set is currently the only available CD including the music of the "Lido Isle Meet & Smile" and the "Mystic Rhythms" show soundtrack! Actually these two were also the reasons that I bought the CD and especially the later was well worth it. Since the stunning show was packed I was surprised that the only way to get the great music was this CD-set.
Porto Paradiso Water Carnival
The soudntrack for the equivalent of the main parade has been released on numerous CDs in the meantime, but the single is still available. Its Ok music, but at least in my book not an all time hit, still for collectors ...
Sail Away
This show (just as the Water Carnival) is around since the early days of the park and still attracts a good number of guests, even so there are empty seats during the daytime, as the audience bakes in the direct sun till late afternoon during the show.
The music mostly consists of old style American classics and barely any Disney material. Still nice to listen too at home, even so again the amount of Japanese singing is rather large, so it might not be too high on a list of fans of Disney music.
Sicne they released a CD with this show it feels strange that there is no CD available with the music from the Broadway style show "Encore" a few meters further into the American Waterfront. The performance of the cast in this old style Broadway Musical Revue is breathtaking as is the staging. There were some empty seats, but I assume with the opening of ToT next doors in a year's time this will change. Lines can be expected to be endless for ToT, as the new "Raging Spirits" coaster already sold FastPass out very early and had at least 80 minute waiting time, even so it is a week copy, which offers even less fun and excitement than the Indy coaster at Disneyland Paris, of which the track is a 1:1 clone. The problem in Tokyo: the decision not to have a temple around which the track winds. The result: nearly the whole track can be seen all the time and there is so much open space. But back to the music ...
DJ Digs Main Street Electrical Parade
I was surprised to see this CD still available in Tokyo Disneyland but just thought it wouldn't make much of difference anymore whether I bought it or not after the money I had spend. Well, now that I have to listened to it I must say, it certainly is special - I don't know whether I will ever listen to it again. Definitely not in one turn to all of it, but one of the "remixes" (which are actually all new recordings) was really interesting and might make into my rotation playlist on iTunes: track two which is a surprising non-electronic rendition influenced by Jazz styles. Still overall I would rate the CD as something only for the die-hard MSEP fan - and he might be really upset by some of the remixes and only want it to get a more complete collection.
Treasures of Fantasy - Dreams & Adventures
The 10 CD set (plus one bonus CD) released for the 20th anniversary of the resort in 2003 is still available in numerous shops in TDR - and it should be on the shopping list of any Disney music fan who not already owns the content from older TDR releases. There is not much to say about this anymore, as the set was discussed at length on this board when it was released - get it if you have the chance!
OK, that's it now for real - I am done with my TDR music reports ... certainly questions and discussions are always welcome
Yours
Dirk
here the second installment of my miniseries with comments to TDR CD releases, which I was able to get my hands on during my visit to TDR. "Getting my hands on" is actually the first topic for this post, too.
I was surprised to see, that the Pooh's Hunny Hunt CD was no longer available, but then as the current Tokyo Disneyland Music Album includes music from the ride and the extended version is available on Treasures of Fantasy that is somehow OK. But I was really surprised to see that the single for the current Parade is no longer available. I was told it was sold out ... this means currently the parade soundtrack is not available at all, as it premiered after the release of ToF and no other compilations with it are currently available. At least as much of a surprise to me was that the Buzz Lightyear CD wasn't available anymore either. This and Pooh had the longest lines and early on sold out FP, merchandise sales seemed brisk, so I would have expected that the CD would still be available. Especially in the later case, as no other CD available currently includes Buzz material from Tokyo.
The only thing that might be possible: maybe they did not produce any new copies as they plan to include some material on the next Tokyo Disneyland Musical Album (their title of their OA)?? After all the currently sold "Tokyo Disney Musical Album" is still from 2001 (making it pretty much the oldest TDR CD still on sale). A replacement would make sense as the CD still includes the song "Meet the World" from the attraction of the same name, which has been closed in the meantime (the old queue line now houses the machines for the lottery for the seating in front of the castle). So it would make sense to release a new "OA" and replace maybe this track with a Buzz excerpt.
As we are talking about the "OA": it is definitely worth getting, as it has the music from Pooh and excerpts of other attractions, including music from the Mickey Mouse Revue! In comparison to the US OAs it is striking, that the CD does not contain any music from parades, live shows or fireworks, but then TDR releases special CDs for these frequently. The song "Meet the World" by the Sherman Brothers sounds really interesting too - does anybody know whether an "English only" version was ever releases of that one?
Another CD not available to my surprise was the score of the fireworks dispaly "Magic in the Sky" - sure it was just a compilation of famous Disney songs re-recorded but nevertheless it would have been nice to get it. But then the size of the fireworks and the way the guests reacted to them gave me the expression, that for Japanese guests the shows and parades are way more important than the fireworks, so maybe there is no demand for such a CD. One last note about the fireworks: they are shot from between the park, so guests from both parks can see them. Both parks play the same music for the fireworks. In TDS guests the fireworks take place after BraviSEAmo!, so guests who are on the left side of the lagoon for that spectacular just keep seated / standing for the fireworks. In TDL the fireworks are between Blazing Rhythms and Dreamlights, so guest watch them from their Dreamlights spot. The fireworks are more impressive from TDS, as they look bigger due to the different distance from the fireworks, at least for guests on TDL's Central Plaza. The fact that the fireworks do not show up behind the castle but far to its right really take something away inside TDL.
And now ... back to more comments on older CDs ...
This is Tokyo DisneySea!
Released in 2004 this two CD set includes music already released on other CDs - so why should you be interested in the CD? Well, if you haven't got any TDS CDs yet, it is a great CD to start a collection as it includes all Port Theme Songs, edited version of some of the main shows of the park and even the BraviSEAmo!
Guests who visit the park right now and are looking for the music from the different shows actually have to buy the CD, even if the already have the "Tokyo DisneySEA Album" and some of the current show CDs. Why? Because the set is currently the only available CD including the music of the "Lido Isle Meet & Smile" and the "Mystic Rhythms" show soundtrack! Actually these two were also the reasons that I bought the CD and especially the later was well worth it. Since the stunning show was packed I was surprised that the only way to get the great music was this CD-set.
Porto Paradiso Water Carnival
The soudntrack for the equivalent of the main parade has been released on numerous CDs in the meantime, but the single is still available. Its Ok music, but at least in my book not an all time hit, still for collectors ...
Sail Away
This show (just as the Water Carnival) is around since the early days of the park and still attracts a good number of guests, even so there are empty seats during the daytime, as the audience bakes in the direct sun till late afternoon during the show.
The music mostly consists of old style American classics and barely any Disney material. Still nice to listen too at home, even so again the amount of Japanese singing is rather large, so it might not be too high on a list of fans of Disney music.
Sicne they released a CD with this show it feels strange that there is no CD available with the music from the Broadway style show "Encore" a few meters further into the American Waterfront. The performance of the cast in this old style Broadway Musical Revue is breathtaking as is the staging. There were some empty seats, but I assume with the opening of ToT next doors in a year's time this will change. Lines can be expected to be endless for ToT, as the new "Raging Spirits" coaster already sold FastPass out very early and had at least 80 minute waiting time, even so it is a week copy, which offers even less fun and excitement than the Indy coaster at Disneyland Paris, of which the track is a 1:1 clone. The problem in Tokyo: the decision not to have a temple around which the track winds. The result: nearly the whole track can be seen all the time and there is so much open space. But back to the music ...
DJ Digs Main Street Electrical Parade
I was surprised to see this CD still available in Tokyo Disneyland but just thought it wouldn't make much of difference anymore whether I bought it or not after the money I had spend. Well, now that I have to listened to it I must say, it certainly is special - I don't know whether I will ever listen to it again. Definitely not in one turn to all of it, but one of the "remixes" (which are actually all new recordings) was really interesting and might make into my rotation playlist on iTunes: track two which is a surprising non-electronic rendition influenced by Jazz styles. Still overall I would rate the CD as something only for the die-hard MSEP fan - and he might be really upset by some of the remixes and only want it to get a more complete collection.
Treasures of Fantasy - Dreams & Adventures
The 10 CD set (plus one bonus CD) released for the 20th anniversary of the resort in 2003 is still available in numerous shops in TDR - and it should be on the shopping list of any Disney music fan who not already owns the content from older TDR releases. There is not much to say about this anymore, as the set was discussed at length on this board when it was released - get it if you have the chance!
OK, that's it now for real - I am done with my TDR music reports ... certainly questions and discussions are always welcome
Yours
Dirk
