Engineered by
BRUCE BOTNICK
MICHAEL FARROW
Music Editor
KATHLEEN BENNETT
Produced by
ALAN MENKEN

Released by
WALT DISNEY RECORDS
Serial number
61163-7

A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

After the sumptuous Beauty and the Beast, Disney were always going to be hard-pressed to come up with something quite so delightful, and so it proved with Aladdin.  It's a lovely film but feels slightly flat only because it doesn't share the ambition of its immediate predecessor.  That said, it remains a colourful and entertaining film, boosted by the humour provided by Robin Williams's character (which has been imitated in virtually every Disney animation since, with ever-decreasing levels of success).  

After his double Oscar win for Beauty and the Beast it was no surprise to see composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman assigned to work on the film, but tragically Ashman died before the music was complete, so Tim Rice stepped in.  The contrast between Ashman's clever, witty lyrics and Rice's more traditional words is clear, but each man brought a touch of class, and Menken was on top form as well.  Usually in situations like this it's easy to pick out the "big song", but it's very difficult to say any of the songs in Aladdin is less than exemplary.  "One Jump Ahead" is full of youthful spirit; "Friend Like Me" a real Broadway-style show-stopper, and witty in the process; "Prince Ali" is strident and dramatic; and the ballad "A Whole New World" really quite delightful.  Vocal performances are as fine as you might expect and Williams is perfect.

Of course there's a pop version of the main ballad, and Regina Belle and Peabo Bryson's version of "A Whole New World" is less offensive than these things usually are (but still not nearly so attractive as the film version sung by Lea Salonga and Brad Kane).  This reissued soundtrack coinciding with the Special Edition version of the film on DVD contains a treat for fans of Menken's work since there are two bonus tracks, demos of songs which ultimately went unused, but are easily as good as what did get used.  "Proud of Your Boy" is a touching effort and "High Adventure" quite brilliant and thrilling even in its unpolished form here.  (If nothing else, Menken proves that if he hadn't been the successful composer he is then he could easily have cut it as a Broadway singer.)

While it's difficult to argue with many of the Oscars awarded to Menken for his songs, the ones he won for original scores are more debatable.  Aladdin won both (of course) and, while I certainly think there were stronger scores that year, it is arguably the finest of Menken's efforts in that regard.  It's true that it can at times be a little Mickey Mousey, but the composer did a good job of combining the romantic, comedic and dramatic elements of the film into something which flows rather well.  For the romance, "The Kiss" is the highlight, with a truly exquisite violin solo version of the "A Whole New World" theme, and then there's the sweeping, swooning "Aladdin's World".  The comedic elements are perhaps best summed up by the cod Arabic stylings of some of the tracks and (somewhat predictable) Mickey Mousing, such as "Marketplace".  The score really comes into its own in the more dramatic sequences which are perhaps not as common as one would prefer, but are truly wonderful when they arrive.  "The Cave of Wonders" is a grand piece, very impressive, and the highlight is arguably "The Battle", a terrific piece of action music of which any film composer would have been proud.

All in all it's a delightful album, highly recommended.  It's been a pity that Menken was absent from the scene entirely for so long, but let's hope that before long he can recapture this kind of form (which may be highly dependent on Disney recapturing this kind of form in the films themselves) for he truly boosted these animations to even greater heights and the two or three that will go down for decades to come as bona fide classics will do so in no small part because of his contribution.

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Tracks

1. Arabian Nights (1:19)
2. Legend of the Lamp (1:25)
3. One Jump Ahead (2:22)
4. Street Urchin (1:52)
5. One Jump Ahead (reprise) (1:01)
6. Friend Like Me (2:26)
7. To Be Free (1:39)
8. Prince Ali (2:51)
9. A Whole New World (2:40)
10. Jafar's Hour (2:43)
11. Prince Ali (reprise) (1:07)
12. The Ends of the Earth (1:35)
13. The Kiss (1:51)
14. On a Dark Night (2:55)
15. Jasmine Runs Away (:46)
16. Marketplace (2:37)
17. The Cave of Wonders (4:57)
18. Aladdin's World (1:51)
19. The Battle (3:39)
20. Happy End in Agrabah (4:15)
21. A Whole New World Regina Belle and Peabo Bryson (4:10)
22. Proud of Your Boy Alan Menken (2:29)
23. High Adventure Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (4:23)