Published on Mar 16, 1999
When you mention the name “Mannheim Steamroller,” probably the
first image that comes to mind are quirky, medieval-meets-Moog
Christmas albums that have been delighting audiences for well over
a decade now. What might also come to mind are any of the
Fresh Aire series, or if you’re a diehard fan of Chip Davis
and company, you may remember
Saving The Wildlife or
Classical Gas, the latter a collaboration with guitarist
Mason Williams.
What you might not associate Mannheim Steamroller with is Mickey
Mouse. That’s something Davis and crew want to change, as evidenced
by their latest release
Mannheim Steamroller Meets The Mouse.
If you’re someone like me – Generation-X’er who grew up with
many of these songs – then this album is going to throw you for a
loop at first, even if you’re familiar with the work of Mannheim
Steamroller. I did not expect to hear “Chim Chim Cher-ee” turned
into a plodding waltz that could have come from The Nightmare
Before Christmas, or did I expect to hear “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” plod
along for a while until finally breaking into a joyous roar.
If you’re a Baby Boomer whose childhood was shaped by some of
these songs and whose adulthood has been shaped by new age music,
then
Mannheim Steamroller Meets The Mouse might be a little more
comfortable. But I’m willing to bet there will still be pangs of
longing for the original songs.
Now, it’s not that Davis and crew butchered these twelve works.
Both “When You Wish Upon A Star” and “The Ballad Of Davy Crockett”
get new life breathed into them, and the “Mickey Mouse March” is
haunting. But other songs will not sound familiar to the ears, such
as “Hakuna Matata” and “You’ve Got A Friend In Me”.
It would be simple to say that only the older Disney numbers
translated well to Mannheim Steamroller’s approach – and it would
also be wrong to say that. Davis and crew get things right on
numbers like “Under The Sea” from the modern era, while others like
“Chim Chim Cher-ee” do fall flat. The fact is,
Mannheim Steamroller Meets The Mouse is very much
hit-or-miss, and is not an album that is a real representation of
the work of Mannheim Steamroller.
One cannot blame Davis for having the ambition to put a modern,
new age spin on Disney’s music, but
Mannheim Steamroller Meets The Mouse could have been a
better album had more thought and effort been put behind the
translations. Chances are there will be a sequel to this album;
here’s hoping Davis learns from his mistakes.