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Disney In Depth: ‘The Legacy Collection: Toy Story’ CD Review

Walt Disney Records’ The Legacy Collection has honored film music celebrating milestones, from The Lion King‘s 20th anniversary to Sleeping Beauty‘s 55th. Finally, this line enters Disney•Pixar territory in honoring Toy Story turning 20. Happily, The Legacy Collection: Toy Story, which reaches for the sky, flies with style.
“Andy’s Birthday,” a six-minute track found on the original Toy Story soundtrack, instead is broken up into several tracks on this new Legacy Collection album. This works in separating the scenes and applies to many of the other tracks, many of which are less than a minute long. The film’s three main songs (“You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” “Strange Things,” and “I Will Go Sailing No More”) sound as good as ever before, as each of them was remastered for the Legacy Collection.
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Disney In Depth: Previewing Walt Disney Records’ Legacy Collection

Walt Disney Records has only scratched the surface in delivering crowd-pleasing soundtracks. Sure, Frozen may be at the top of the Billboard charts with its earth-shattering sales – and deservedly so, might I add – but Disney is drawing from its vault to produce more must-buy music.
The announcement of the Walt Disney Records Legacy Collection promises the releases of at least one dozen new albums based on Disney films or parks celebrating anniversaries in 2014 and 2015. The start of this special set of music will not only contain songs and scores from previous releases, but also previously unreleased demos. Bonus material: score! Complemented by animator Lorelay Bove‘s original artwork to match the respective pieces’ themes, these albums will undoubtedly offer a treasure trove of musical goodness for those who enjoy Disney soundtracks.
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Disney In Depth: ‘Frozen’ Soundtrack Review


You’ll never want to “let it go” after taking a listen, as the soundtrack for Frozen, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ latest film, freezes your mind (and ears) in captivation. The tunes by Avenue Q songwriters Kristen-Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez, as well as the strong score by Christophe Beck, swirl together in perfect rhythm. The combination of songs – worthy of being on your iPod playlist – and powerful tracks make Frozen not only one of Disney’s best soundtracks in recent years, but also one of the best film soundtracks you can purchase this year or any year.
Here are some thoughts on the individual songs and tracks from the Frozen soundtrack, which is available now on CD, Deluxe Edition CD, and MP3 Download. I’ve also notate my five favorite pieces.
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Disney In Depth: Soundtrack Review: ‘Everybody Wants To Be A Cat’
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More than a year ago, Walt Disney Records released a soundtrack to little fanfare within the general music community, but rightfully deserves some attention. Collect a bunch of famous Disney tunes and gather some jammin’ jazz artists. Spin the two together and your creation is an awesome assortment of standards breathing new energy. Here is my review of Disney Jazz Volume 1: Everybody Wants To Be A Cat.
1. “Ev’rybody Wants To Be A Cat” by Roy Hargrove: The Grammy-winning trumpeter lends his potent musical skills into mixing up this classic tune from The Aristocats. While the first minute or so of the five-minute cover closely resembles the jazzy piece, he then spins some impressive arrangements. I could imagine listening to this strong instrumentation in a coffeehouse or lounge. Though it steers off in a different direction for much of the entirety, Hargrove returns to the memorable theme toward the end.
2. “Chim Chim Cher-Ee” by Esperanza Spalding: The artist who prevailed over teen sensation Justin Bieber at the 2011 Grammys as the “Best New Artist†adeptly takes control over the Sherman Brothers’ legendary melody. The orchestration possesses a French flair, with some light piano and accordion in the background at different points. Spalding scats with beautiful range in this romantic version that still stirs up a chilling sensation. Guesses are that if Dick Van Dyke has heard Spalding’s take on the piece, he would be pretty proud.
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Tags: Alfredo Rodriguez, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Brad Paisley, Cars, Dave Brubeck, Dianne Reeves, Disney, Disney music, Esperanza Spalding, Gilad Hekselman, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Lady and the Tramp, Mark Rapp, Mary Poppins, Nikki Yanofsky, Randy Newman, Regina Carter, Roy Hargrove, Sherman Brothers, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Aristocats, The Bad Plus, The Dave Brubeck Trio, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, Toy Story, Walt Disney Records
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