Published on May 11, 2001
I am of split minds when I look at a CD collection such as
Disney’s Greatest, presently made up of two separate albums
scanning over 60 years of movie music from Walt Disney’s fabled
history. On one side, I can appreciate how such a disc – in today’s
example,
Disney’s Greatest Volume 1 – crosses generational lines and
draws young and old together in the appreciation of the music that
has made more memories than anyone can imagine.
On the other hand, the skeptic in me comes out and wonders,
“Wasn’t it two years ago that the
Classic Disney series of discs came out and covered almost
the exact same ground?” Granted,
Tarzan wasn’t part of the collection at the time, but if you
invested in the five discs that made up
Classic Disney, do you really need to part with another $15
or so for this disc? And what about the other compilations which
have featured some of this music?
This duality of the mind also comes into play when examining the
track selection for this first volume. On the positive side, there
is a fair selection of music from the past and the present which
whould bring smiles to the faces of anyone who listens to this
disc. Then the skeptic in me comes back to the surface and asks
aloud, “Wouldn’t it have been better for the people who compiled
this to have mixed up the old and the new, instead of working in
reverse chronological order – and almost inviting kids to turn the
disc off at the moment the film titles don’t sound like the movies
they’ve watched until they’ve worn out Mom and Dad’s VCR?”
In all reality,
Disney’s Greatest Volume 1 is the kind of collection that
all but invites people to poke holes in the track selection. “Kiss
The Girl” is included from
The Little Mermaid, but neither “Under The Sea” nor “Part Of
Your World” made the cut? “Heigh-Ho” made it this time from
Snow White And The Seven Dwarves, but “Someday My Prince
Will Come” didn’t? Phil Collins makes it onto this disc with
“Strangers Like Me” (what?!? No “You’ll Be In My Heart”?), but
Elton John’s version of “Circle Of Life” doesn’t? (The cast
rendition from
The Lion King is featured instead.)
Yet, for all the armchair quarterbacks among us, one does have
to admire the way that Disney tries to capture their history in 20
songs – an impossible task, in all reality. If anything, this disc
is meant to be more of an overview than as the definitive
collection. And, if you look at this volume in that light, it
serves its purpose well. Besides, anything that will make the
little house-apes bound around in glee for 40 minutes or so while
Mom and Dad get some quality time together (you know – Taster’s
Choice time) can’t be that bad.