More cover versions

[Dirk]

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there,

I don't know wether this is really news (or wether I just managed to ignore that release) but it seems the management at Walt Disney Records once more thought that instead of releasing material from their vast collection of soundtracks that is not yet available it would be great to release a few more cover versions of songs we all already own a thousand of times just done by new contemporary artists - that new CD, for which the world must have waited all the time long, is called" DisneyMania" and should be available already according to the official website of WDR with the following tracklist:

1. "Some Day My Prince Will Come" Anastacia
2. "Under the Sea" A*TEENS
3. "You'll Be in My Heart" Usher
4. "When You Wish Upon a Star" *NSYNC
5. "Colors of the Wind" Ashanti featuring Lil' Sis Shi Shi
6. "I Wan'na Be Like You" Smash Mouth
7. "Part of Your World" Jessica Simpson
8. "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" Aaron Carter
9. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" S-Club
10. "Hakuna Matata" Baha Men
11. "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" Hilary Duff
12. "Beauty and the Beast" Jump 5
13. "Kiss the Girl" no secrets
14. "Reflection" Christina Aguilera
15. "Circle of Life" Ronan Keating

Besides the fact that this is another CD with cover versions only there some interesting points to make about the CD:

-the A*TEENS perform "Under the Sea" here - they had a release of a bonus track on the princess soundtrack already, or should one say "song CD", and they have recorded the song played during the end credits of "Lilo&Stitch", so Disney is really pushing them;

-most of the recordings seem to be unreleased so far as I can remember - which makes me wonder: if they really recorded the tracks for this CD, why did they choose artists like Aaron Carter who basically has left the pop-stage or who at leastw asn't heared of for a long time (basically since his short gig in that broadway musical of Dr. Seuss which closed quiet early);

-there is a cover version of the "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" here - that is really rare as in most cases only the songs from the movies get the cover treatment and may be worth buying the CD, even so I'm really not sure wether I want to hear that cover version...



Yours
Dirk

 

[MikkiMom]

That explains the version of "Beauty & the Beast" that I heard on Radio Disney yesterday. I can't pick up the station very often but happened to be able to get it yesterday and came in on the tail end of that song. It didn't sound too bad, but I'll reserve judgement until I've heard the whole thing. I'll keep a look out for the CD this weekend when I'm out shopping though, hopefully some place with a listening station so I can check it out before buying it.....

MM

 

[gaysnappercarr]

PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE understand that I am a BIG Disney Music lover!

Some of my favorite Disney songs are the lesser know songs from Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, and Melody Time. I have tons of Disney CD's, and I've purchased Region 2 (England) copies of the DVD's for Pocahontas and Hunchback (which I already owned) just becuase they had bonus features not on the American release related to the music of those films.

Now, having said THAT -

I can't wait for this CD to come out!

Pop stars covering Disney tunes is nothing new. The Zip-A-Dee Doo Dah CD put out by Sony a few years ago collected some of the earliest cover versions of Disney songs from people like Dinah Shore, Rosemary Clooney, Gene Krupa, and Kate Smith. And just last year we had Barbra Streisand give us her version of 'Someday My Prince Will Come'.

I think the performers (for the most part) on the DisneyMania CD are some of the best pop acts around at the moment. Are they all 'great singers who will have a career in 20 years time'?
No. Certainly not the majority of them.
And that's okay.
If the only thing they ever do is record a great version of a song I love, that's enough for me.

I hope a kid (or anyone, for that matter) who is a fan of Anastacia, Ronan Keating, or Ashanti picks up this CD and becomes intrigued with what they hear. Maybe they will decide to watch a new Disney movie that they haven't seen before. Maybe when they hear the way the songs are performed in the movie it will encourage them to get the original soundtrack.

Granted, I would [glow=red,2,300]LOVE, LOVE, LOVE[/glow] to have a new CD of previously unreleased songs from the Disney classics, or complete soundtracks for Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, and Melody Time but until that happens, to my way of thinking, any CD that puts even one Sherman Brothers song in the hands of today's youth CAN NOT be a bad thing!

 

[raz012]

aaron carter just released another album, so the timing is good for him.

jump 5 is also being heavily promoted by radio disney ... they did a "radio disney" version of one of their songs for the station (took out overt God references -- they're a Christian group -- and put in vague "feel good" references) and the station had them cover God Bless the USA for them.

Some of these bands are the biggest things going in kidpop ... which radio disney is heavily invested in. and let's be honest ... not ALL disney music has to be for us old guys ... let some of it be for our kids! it's their right!

 

[Gurgitoy2]

Gaysnappercarr, you have a good point.

Although I would much prefer more gems from the Disney vaults I can't completely begrudge the market they're aiming at. The teen/pre-teen age group is a huge market for them (hence the reason for bumping "Vault Disney" from the Disney Channel). Look at some of the recent CD releases and see...

Lizzie Maguire, Radio Disney Pop Dreamers, Radio Disney Kidjams Vol. 4, Disney's Superstar Hits...It goes on. My thing is that if you don't like that kind of music, or pop cover versions, then don't buy them, but there is a reason Disney is releasing this stuff.

The issue I have is that while they are doing as much as they can to cater to the teen/pre-teen crowd, they are kind of ignoring everyone else above the age of 15. It's too bad that alongside the Lizzie Maguire CD we weren't able to get a rare soundtrack like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or something like that, but oh-well.

I just think Disney is not thinking broadly enough right now, but I can't complain about the latest slew of CD's. I just won't buy them since they don't interest me and I'll wait for some classic stuff whenever that comes out.

 

[SharonKurland]

Cover versions are OK in my book. I know I'd certainly rather hear a cover of "I Wanna Be Like You" or "Yo Ho A Pirates' Life For Me" than to hear the "original" version yet again. Don't get me wrong...if I had my choice, I'd want music that has never been released on CD before...but until they start listening to our small but insistent group, it's still a CHANGE, at least.

When I see it, I'll buy it.

-Sharon-

 

[Dirk]

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there,

today I stumbled across a press release for the new DisneyMania CD which included some interesting news:

>>
Smash Mouth's version of "I Want To Be Like You" will be featured in Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming animated feature, Jungle Book 2, to be released in theaters in spring of 2003.
>
To celebrate the release of Disneymania, Walt Disney Records is planning a Fall TV special, details to be announced.