Published on May 12, 1998
To people like myself, the late Burl Ives is best remembered as
the narrator of the Christmas television special
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, while to people of my
parents’ generation (or even to those who spent their childhood in
the ’60s), Ives was a very recognizable voice. His rich voice could
almost transform any song into something magical; unfortunately, by
the time Ives died a few years ago, his influence on the music
industry was all but forgotten.
Walt Disney Records has started to bring back some of its
glorious past by creating
The Archive Collection, re-releasing some albums which not
only have never been released on CD, but have not seen the light of
day for around 30 years. Ives is the subject of the first disc in
this project (two discs of which can only be purchased through
Disney’s website),
Chim Chim Cher-ee And Other Children’s Choices. Ives’s
roly-poly, cheerful image almost seems larger than life, and it
made me very interested in checking this disc out.
Ives selected a few songs from the soundtrack of
Mary Poppins, and on these his vocals fit the mood very
well. Even the chiming in of a children’s chorus on “A Spoonful Of
Sugar” doesn’t distract from the effectiveness of the song – if
only I could say that about all the tracks on this album (which
clocks in at under a half-hour).
Some songs are surprisingly addictive, though true
rock-and-rollers would be embarrassed to admit they liked them. Oh,
c’mon, go ahead and sing songs like “Mairzy Doats,” “Lavender Blue”
and “Chim Chim Cher-ee” out loud – in one sense, I was able to
relive the memories I had of my copy of the
Mary Poppins soundtrack I had when I was a kid. (I don’t
remember what happened to that album – I either left it in the sun
to turn into vinyl soup or I dropped it on the floor.)
But as much as I like Ives and think his voice could turn any
song into gold, there’s evidence to prove that this is not the
case, ruining yet another childhood ideal. “Funniculi Funnicula”
doesn’t have the greatest vibe to it – even the words sound like
they’re off a bit – and the song is a disappointment. On other
songs like “Swinging On A Star,” I actually resented the addition
of the children’s chorus – I wanted to hear
Ives sing this one through. Still others, like “Polly Wolly
Doodle,” fall flat.
There is, of course, a problem with the reviewer – namely, that
I’m 27 years old, and think singing “Polly Wolly Doodle” at this
age is polly-wolly-dumb. Ah, but this is where children come into
play. My daughter just turned two, and once she’s grasped a little
more of language skills (and not the word that Daddy let slip last
weekend), she will probably discover more joy in this album than I
will ever be able to find at my age.
Another problem on my end is that I wasn’t alive in 1964 when
this record came out. Something tells me that someone who was in
the ages of wonder (that is, under 10) in the mid-’60s will
experience a sense of deja vu with
Chim Chim Cher-ee And Other Children’s Choices, even if they
don’t totally flash back to their childhood.
So, the end verdict on this one is a hung jury. It’s incredibly
hard for an adult – even someone like me who considers himself a
“grown, bent kid” – to try and recapture the magic of childhood,
even with an album like
Chim Chim Cher-ee And Other Children’s Choices. But this is
where today’s generation of kids will come in, and make this
limited edition the stuff that memories are made of. And in the
end, isn’t anything Disney does really all about children?