Tribute to Haunted Mansion

Jim Pressley over at http://www.jiminyslimitededitions.com/ is releasing his latest Disney tribute "Grim Grinning Ghosts" on CD. I had a chance to preview it last week in his home studio while I was in Las Vegas. It was a blast to see how he put this together! His talent as a performer/arrainger and his love of Disney music really shines on this project. I told Jim about this forum and have asked him to come over and share some indepth details of how and why he created this CD.

Ken
www.waltsmusic.com

 

Nice. I see he ships worldwide with no charge as well. Have to seriously think about these CDs especially as it's all licensed and above board and they are great interpretations of the "real" things..
The Moog for the MSEP brings back some memories as well
I've joined the club!

 

Hey you all. My songs are all licensed. Mechanicals from Disney Music. I have no problems with that company as I am very above-board and we have a very good business relationship. I license through Delia Taylor in that office. I am an old guy and did my days with the moog in the late 70's (my old moog was in the 1000's back then). I have all my tracks archived and when I do the Disneyana events I usually bring a PC and share the tracks with other musicians on how I did everything. We have a lot of fun with tis stuff. I did an old school vibe on the vocals of Grim Grinning Ghosts but leaving out the pre-amp and cranking the sure KSM27 as well as dialing that in as a near telephone sound. I did use the EW Choirs for the big modern background voices. On the MSEP, 90% of that was the Arturia bundle. I did borrow a moog for a few spots such as Return to Oz (you can hear it). I was playing 5 nights per week at Toby Keiths venue inside Harrah's Hotel on the strip in Vegas during the recording of the MSEP. I worked about 3 or 4 hours per day on that for nearly 2 years. I wanted the old school analog vibe that was pre-midi, so I worked with mostly a click. It did duplicate the vibe of the original. I don't always get to pretend to be old school as I do make a living in the music business, but some of the Disney recordings are just plain fun to try and reproduce the old sounds with a bit of a new twist. If any of you guys want to ask about what I am up to on all of this please message or email me. The Disney stuff is a hobby while the rest of my music stuff is for hire and makes my bread and butter.

 

I don't charge any extra to ship worldwide. That is because I am just trying to pay for the product and shipping. The Disney stuff is a hobby (at this time), and I enjoy sending it out to musicians and friends around the globe. I may be approaching Tony Baxter in the next couple of years if I can get enough attention on my Disney recordings (Ha!) I have some good ideas for music for the parks and it is a modern version of the old school vibe. I like to stay close to the classic sounds. I do have my sights set on some music production for the parks if I can get in the door. Getting close.

 

Sorry, but I listened to your samples, and I have to say, that since just about everybody really hates the new narration, that is not paul frees, that just came to mind when listening to your music. Had you done something totally different, in the way of a new opening to the mansion, it might have been acceptable, but this is like having someone play James Bond, and trying to do a Sean Connery voice, while acting. It's just a poor substitute.

 

I think, if you licence the rights to do this, you have to use what's there (and what they allow) and not re-write the thing.
It's not supposed to be an exact copy, it's an alternative tribute so it's bound to differ.
There are plenty of different versions of Disney music - from full orchestrations to music boxes (see the Orgel collection).
If you want an exact facsimile, buy the Disney CDs.
I found it a nice version based on the Haunted Manor.
Plenty of people enjoy tribute bands, why shouldn't Disney fans have the same enjoyment?

 

That is like saying Pete Renoudet is a poor sub for Paul Frees as Ghost Host on the Haunted Mansion story LP ST-3947, which is one of the most collectable Disney vinyls ever, even though it is not the actual soundtrack.

Do you realize this entire tribute was made from scratch!! The voices, sounds, music...none of it is from an original recording or earlier version. That is why I find it amazing. A wonderful work by a true Disney fan.

 

Yes, I agree with you, Pete Renoudet IS a poor substitute for Paul Frees. I am one of those diehard Paul Frees fans, and cannot abide any variations from the original. Even as a kid, I thought that the whole HM record was a poorly produced repro, and was disappointed that they didn't have the original Paul Frees voice on the talking of the ghosthost. I have a friend who refuses to collect a soundtrack from a film unless it is the actual music used in the movie. He's very strict about such things, and refuses to accept anything but 100% original stuff. I feel about the same on this recording, it is a poor substitute of the original.That is just my opininon.

 

That's fair enough but this isn't a recording of park music and makes that quite clear. It wouldn't be possible to use Paul Frees for a new recording nor would it be possible to hire the track from Disney as this is all made by the artist - as makeminemusic explained.
Big difference between substitute and alternative.
Plenty of Disney songs sung by famous singers and we don't moan "Louis Armstrong doesn't sound like Baloo when singing Bare necessities".
I don't get the problem, sorry.

 

Louis Armstrong recorded a version of "Bare Necessities"? I shiver. LOL

 

With clips:
:mp3: Disney Songs the Satchmo Way
Have fun

 

What's with the shiver? Ol' Satchmo was awesome!

 

Agreed!