One Of The Living

They say moss won't grow on a rolling stone.

2008-08-21T06:24:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. Sorry I've not been posting much, but I'm back, and I'll try to remember to keep filling this blog with some goodies, starting with this one.

Today's generation knows Tiffany Darwish as more of a washed up singer who's made income by going on reality shows like Celebrity Fit Club and posing for Playboy. And while I admit, I was out of the pop culture loop for most of my youth. I didn't even start entering it until I was about 15 or 16 because I was wrapped up in my own little world of musicals and Disney, so I never even HEARD of Tiffany until she popped up on "Where are they now" shows, but MOST of my generation remembers Tiffany Darwish as a teen pop mall queen who just went by her first name. (Holy run-on sentence!) In 1987 and 1988, Tiffany ruled the charts with a string of successful singles and two top 20 albums that each went multi-platinum. However, by the end 1988, Tiffany's chart reign was slowing down and Tiffany's life was tangled up in a web of personal and professional drama.

When Tiffany finally released her third album, New Inside, in 1990, Tiffany had shed her wholesome teen pop sound for a more edgier urban sound and fans and record executives expected the album to fix her sagging popularity. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. The album as well as its singles, "New Inside," "Here In My Heart," and "Back In The Groove," failed to chart and the album quickly became the last studio album of hers that would be released in the US for a decade, although an unsuccessful Greatest Hits album would be released in 1996, and her 1993 album Dreams Never Die would be an Asia-only release until 2005, when Tiffany's former manager and producer George Tobin would release it through the CD Baby website.

To be honest, I can't see why this album flopped so badly. I think for the time and sound, it probably should have been a bigger hit. Unfortunately, by this time, Tiffany's reputation had already been damaged by her teen pop past, plus the fact that it had been two years since her last album had been released - for a teen pop star in ANY decade, that's a dangerously long time to go without releasing new material.

Due to the album's commercial failure, MCA Records took it out of print years ago. CD copies on the internet often go for as much as $75, if not higher. I recently stumbled upon a cassette tape at a used music/movies store, which cost me all of 52 cents. (49 cents + 6% sales tax) This is a rip from that cassette, although were it not for the minimal amount of tape noise and the occasional slight anomaly associated with the medium of audio cassette tapes, one would have a difficult time knowing it. A little note: my cassette is from the first run, where the song "Here In My Heart" is dedicated to the memory of Ryan White, the AIDS victim who was infected to a blood transfusion containing the HIV virus when he was 13. Later on, the song would be re-dedicated to the troops fighting in the Gulf War.

So here's the long-forgotten and long-out of print Tiffany album, New Inside, ripped from the cassette in 256 KBPS MP3 format. The ZIP file not only contains the album but also scans from the cassette insert.

1. New Inside (5:33)
2. It's You (5:18)
3. Tenderly (5:21)
4. Never Run My Motor Down (3:54)
5. Here In My Heart (4:06)
6. Tiff's Back (3:49)
7. Our Love (5:57)
8. Life Affair (4:02)
9. Back In The Groove (4:31)
10. There Could Never (7:33)

DOWNLOAD! (90.56 MB)

CD REVIEW: Madonna - Hard Candy

2008-07-03T09:50:00.000-05:00

Hard Candy is Madonna's eleventh studio album and the last one she'll be releasing with Warner Bros. records, whom she's been signed to since she first came onto the music scene with the club hit "Everybody" in 1982. The title of Hard Candy is VERY fitting for this CD. The entire thing is one massive aural confection, lacking the depth and, yes as a big Madge fan, I'll admit it - pretentiousness of some of her post-Ray Of Light material. Madonna drops all of the spirituality, messages, etc. for Hard Candy, something of a continuation of her 2005 album Confessions On A Dance Floor. Confessions was an unabashed dance album, seamlessly segued from one track to another, mostly full of nonsense and fun times, albeit with a few messages thrown in here and there. Nothing wrong with some nonsense every once in a while - god knows her preaching got old after a while. (I've only just now rediscovered that American Life was actually a GOOD CD. And naturally, I've been a big Ray Of Light fan since I first FINALLY heard it in 2002.)

For Hard Candy, Madonna enlisted some a-list collaborators in Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Nate "Danja" Hills, and The Neptunes. Tim, Pharrell Williams, and Justin also make vocal appearances, as does Kanye West on the song "Beat Goes On." This isn't Madonna's first foray into R&B and hip-hop influenced music. Much of her early material is based on R&B dance music, and her cruelly underrated 1994 album Bedtime Stories boasted such R&B production talent as Babyface, Dave "Jam" Hall, and Babyface, as well as genre-bending work by the incredible Nellee Hooper, best known for his work with Bjork and recent work with No Doubt and solo projects by its lead singer, Gwen Stefani.

For the most part, Hard Candy is quite enjoyable. I admit, I didn't love the first single, "4 Minutes," upon first listen. For one, I'm not a major Justin Timberlake fan, and I was annoyed that I had to hear him in my Madonna music. The song grew on me, though, as a lot of pop songs tend to do. Still scratching my head over the damn video though. Are they suffering from some major flesh-eating bacteria or something, cause DAMN. Anyhoo, I digress.

The album can be easily broken up into two categories - songs produced by The Neptunes and songs produced by Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and Danja. (The only Timbaland/Timberlake production NOT involving Danja is "Dance 2night.") So I'll discuss the album broken up into these two categories.

First I'll discuss the Timbaland/Timberlake/Danja portion of the album, which consists of "4 Minutes," "Miles Away," "Dance 2night," "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You," and "Voices." Many of these songs can be seen as a continuation of the material that Tim created with and for Nelly Furtado and Justin on their latest albums, both of which contain some great tracks as a result. "4 Minutes" can even stand alongside Tim's best work for the late great Aaliyah, for whom he produced several classic tracks such as most of the material from her One In A Million album, the smash hit "Try Again," and "We Need A Resolution." "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" is reminiscent of Justin's hit "Cry Me A River," while "Dance 2night" reminds one of a great time at a late 70's/early 80's disco. "Voices" is a haunting closer to the album, and I "Miles Away" just has a great quality to it. The Timbaland material rarely ever veers out of Tim's typical urban-dance pop fare, with a bit of genre-bending here and there, but I'm pretty sure Madonna was counting on that. Tim is one of the most overused producers these days, but he definitely made sure he worked hard to give Madonna some great material.

That leaves all the songs produced by The Neptunes - "Candy Shop," "Give It 2 Me," "Heartbeat," "She's Not Me," "Incredible," "Beat Goes On," and "Spanish Lesson." First, let me get the negative out of the way, because I'm about to disagree with the majority. If you ask me, "Incredible" is crap with a capitol C and a capitol RAP. Madonna isn't exactly known for her subtlety and for being overly classy at all times, but the line "Sex with you is incredible" is crass, even by Madonna standards. And frankly, the whole damn thing is odd and I don't understand why it's such a fan favorite. Madge can do so much better than this crap. However, it's still more listenable than "Spanish Lesson," which makes "I Love New York" look like "Ray Of Light."

Now that the bitching is out of the way, I can continue with the praise. Pharrell does quite a bit of genre-bending himself, with many of his productions incorporating elements of hip-hop, rap, R&B, and electro-pop. The album's second single, "Give It 2 Me" is too electronic for pop radio, too pop for urban radio, but I'm almost certain it'll be a massive club smash. Some of the material incorporates elements of 70's disco and 80's pop music, which is actually why I thought some of this material was Timbaland produced, since he's been known to do the same. "She's Not Me," and "Beat Goes On" both sound like something some ahead-of-his-time producer would have done in 1986, and I love 'em, although I could do without Pharrell's damned falsetto in "She's Not Me." "Heartbeat" has the vibe, but I'm not sure I'd say it necessarily has the elements that drive it home. "Candy Shop," the album's opener and most blatant reference to the album's title, is also quite enjoyable.

Let's talk about the art direction of Hard Candy. I admit, it annoyed me for a while. I get the idea behind the awful backgrounds - the album's titled Hard Candy, candy backgrounds, blah blah blah. And then there's Madonna, doing the TIRED ass act of showing us her crotch, as if the Confessions era and that DAMNED PINK/PURPLE LEOTARD wasn't overkill. (Not that I didn't learn to love that crap too.) Sadly, I've succumbed to it and now I actually LIKE the artwork. As for her crotch, I'm used to it again. The artwork is at least a bit more creative than some people's dumb album art as of late. *cough Celine, Mariah, Britney cough* It's colorful, which I enjoy. And although her body's a little too toned, she's still in great shape and looks good.

I had my reservations when details of the album started coming out. I was a bit upset that she was working with already overused producers, something she typically doesn't do. (Usually when she works with a producer for the first time, they're not that well-known in the mainstream.) Fortunately, Hard Candy turned out to be a deliciously sweet surprise. Frankly, I've listened to it so much I'm surprised I don't have a toothache already. 9 stars out of 10. If "Incredible" and "Spanish Lesson" were replaced by two superior tracks and Pharrell's falsetto was removed from "She's Not Me," I'd give it that extra star. As it stands, Hard Candy is a great closer for her time at Warner Bros. Good job.

CD REVIEW: Dolly Parton - Rainbow

2008-06-21T03:06:00.000-05:00

1987 was set to be a big year for Dolly Parton. Fresh with a new $44 million two-year contract for a primetime variety show on ABC and a new recording contract with Columbia Records which included a deal where Dolly would record separate pop and country albums, Dolly's career looked to be on fire. Dolly would start this new chapter of her recording career with her first ever purely pop album, Rainbow.

But things didn't go quite as planned. Dolly debuted with high ratings, but quickly declined and was cancelled after only one season. And Rainbow didn't fare any better, peaking at #18 on the Billboard country album charts and #153 on the Billboard pop album charts. The album's first single, "The River Unbroken," peaked at #63 on the Billboard country charts, with the second single, "I Know You By Heart" with Smokey Robinson, not charting at all, and both singles missed Billboard's Hot 100. The album is considered one of Dolly's biggest flops and has been long forgotten by all but the biggest Dolly fans.

I only discovered this album...I'd say sometime last year. And although it's no Coat Of Many Colors, Jolene, or even Backwoods Barbie, I think it's quite good and deserves another listen, and for the time and sound...I really don't understand why it wasn't more successful. (You can find a download here. Just a note - tracks 3, 6, and 8 are mislabeled in the download, likely due to discrepancies between CD mastering and tracklistings found on many websites, including the databases feeding the track information to media players. Track 3 is labeled Dump The Dude, but is actually Everyday Hero. Track 6 is labeled Could I Have Your Autograph, but is actually Everyday Hero. Track 8 is labeled Could I Have Your Autograph but is actually Dump The Dude. Just a heads up for you guys.) I'll be reviewing the tracks in the order that the CD's back cover lists them.

1. The River Unbroken - This is actually a really good song. I'd go so far as to say it's one of her more underrated tracks. I'd love for her to re-record this on a future album.

2. I Know You By Heart - A great ballad that brings two of our finest singers together. The song would later be covered by Bette Midler for the soundtrack to the film Beaches, best known for her signature hit Wind Beneath My Wings.

3. Dump The Dude - One of the mose cheesetastic and fun songs ever. It's as close to the classic fun Dolly songs like 9 To 5 and Here You Come Again as you can get on this album.

4. Red Hot Screaming Love - A decent ballad that really could have been better. The title alone made me expect something different. But it's still listenable.

5. Make Love Work - An improvement over the last track, but not much. Dolly makes it work though.

6. Everyday Hero - Basically a rip-off (lyrical content-wise) of Bon Jovi's monster hit Livin' On A Prayer, but it's a favorite of mine, especially for the bridge, which is where the album's title comes from - "Everybody has a special reason/There's a chosen road to follow/Just remember nothing good comes easy/Don't surrender till you you find your rainbow."

7. Two Lovers - A cover of Mary Wells' (best known for her hit My Guy) 1962 hit. It's an okay cover, but not much special.

8. Could I Have Your Autograph - One of only two Dolly originals on the album. A very fun song about strangers meeting and wanting to know more about each other.

9. Savin' It For You - My favorite song on Rainbow. A happy fun song simply about being in love.

10. More Than I Can Say - The other Dolly-penned track on the album is a gorgeous ballad that shows that whether she's singing pop, country, or whatever that she's still one of our most talented songwriters. Dolly would later re-use the melody for the title track from her made-for-TV movie Unlikely Angel.

To sum it all up, Rainbow is definitely worth a few spins in your MP3 player. Naturally, Dolly does a fabulous job singing the songs, and they're not any better or any worse than most hits of the day. While it's not a masterpiece that can stand alongside some of her classic country material, it's definitely an underrated album that shows off Dolly's pop talents. I give the album 8 stars out of 10.

CD REVIEW: Dolly Parton - Backwoods Barbie

2008-06-03T08:47:00.000-05:00

Artist: Dolly Parton
Title: Backwoods Barbie
Genre: Country
Label: Dolly Records
Release Date: February 26, 2008

In the years since her early days singing with country music icon Porter Wagoner, Dolly Rebecca Parton has become a legend in her own right. Her songs have become more than just hits - they've become woven into the very fabric of our culture. Songs such as "Jolene," "Coat Of Many Colors," and "Love Is Like A Butterfly" have proven her as a songwriter with great emotional depth, while songs like "Here You Come Again" and "9 To 5" have allowed her to cross over to pop stardom. Dolly's biggest crossover hit ever actually wasn't even a song that she sang on. Well, actually, she'd had a #1 country hit with it - twice - first in 1974 as the second single from her Jolene album, then again in 1982 as a single release from the soundtrack to her film The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. But when Whitney Houston recorded "I Will Always Love You" in 1992 for the soundtrack to her motion picture debut, The Bodyguard, it became more than just a song - it became the most successful single in music history by a female artist, selling over 10 million copies worldwide and pushing the film's soundtrack to sell more than 42 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling soundtrack of all time. It wasn't the first time a Dolly-penned track had topped the Billboard Hot 100 - in 1980, the self-penned title track from her film debut 9 To 5 hit #1, making it her first top 10 hit since "Here You Come Again" hit #3 in 1977. Her last top 10 Billboard hit would occur in 1983, when her Bee Gees-penned duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands In The Stream," also hit #1.

Since the mid 1990's, Dolly's radio play and sales may have waned, but she was still as popular as ever. With declining record sales and being all but abandoned by country radio, Dolly basically said "Fuck it" and decided to record a critically-acclaimed trio of folk-and-bluegrass-inspired albums, which earned her multiple Grammys. The albums contained a mix of self-penned originals, re-recordings of some of her previous hits, and cover songs, many of which were originally recorded by bands/artists such as Billy Joel, Led Zeppelin, Collective Soul, Johnny Cash, Cole Porter, and others.

In 2008, Dolly decided to make her long-awaited return to mainstream country music with the release of her first ever self-released album, Backwoods Barbie. Unfortunately, country radio still doesn't seem to want to play Dolly's music, as the album's two singles, "Better Get To Livin'" and "Jesus And Gravity," peaked at #48 and #56, respectively, on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. As a result, the album, which debuted at a respectable #17 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart with 27,000 copies in its second week of release (Her biggest debut ever on that chart.) and peaked at #2 on both Billboard's Country and Independent Albums charts, fell off the Billboard Top 200 after only a few months of release, selling barely over 100,000 copies. <rant> I know CD sales have gone down the toilet in the last few years, but this is ridiculous. God forbid country radio take away five spins of Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts' overplayed songs so Dolly can have a few more plays and at least crack the top 20 on the country charts. </rant> (Yeah, I'm not really a fan of them...or most people on country radio these days. Maybe I should rethink my desire to have Dolly played on country radio...) Anyhoo, she's making $300K-$500K per tour date, and she owns most of Pigeon Forge, TN by now, so I doubt she's hurting for money. She probably at the least made back all the money she spent to put the album out there on her own label.

Frankly, as much as I want the people I like to sell a million and have hits galore, in the end, sales don't mean a damn thing. Backwoods Barbie is a perfect example of this. The public may not want to buy it, but when I downloaded it and listened to it, I knew I had to go snatch up a copy and support Dolly. Backwoods Barbie is a nice little gem that I can pretty much have to myself without having to share it with the world, although sharing it with the world wouldn't be so bad either - at least then I'd have someone to obsess over it with.

Out of the disc's 12 songs, (not counting live tracks included as bonus tracks on various store and online versions of the album) nine were written solely by Dolly, two are covers written by others ("Drives Me Crazy," originally by Fine Young Cannibals and "The Tracks Of My Tears," originally by Smokey Robinson), one is an original written by others ("Jesus And Gravity"), and one was written by Dolly and Kent Wells, who also produced the album together. This song written by Dolly and Wells is the album's rousing and inspirational opener, "Better Get To Livin'." The song offers Dolly's advice for life and how to live a good one. "I'm not the Dali Lama, but I'll try to offer up a few words of advice." If there was ever anyone to ask for advice on how to live a long healthy life, it's probably Dolly. (Just don't ask for her advice on where to get a good face lift. Love her, but have you seen her lately?)

"Made Of Stone" is a heart wrenching emotional song in the country tradition of women dealing with their cheating husbands. But the mood isn't down for long, as the next track is "Drives Me Crazy," a cover of the 1980's hit by Fine Young Cannibals. Dolly has recorded many covers in her lifetime, and even though she may not make you forget the original, she definitely makes them her own, and this one is no different. While she does a great modern country-pop rendition of it, full of guitars and fiddles, at the end, she turns the song into a bluegrass-inspired hoedown that only someone like Dolly can pull off. The title track comes up next. Written for the 9 To 5 musical for the character of Doralee, Dolly's character in the original film, "Backwoods Barbie" is not only perfect for the character of Doralee, but its also as autobiographical as she gets, and explains what her fans have known all along. "I might look artificial, but where it counts, I'm real." The sound of the song is pure classic country in the tradition of her early 70's albums like Jolene and Coat Of Many Colors.

Up next is another inspirational song, "Jesus And Gravity." As the title may have given away, the song is steeped in Dolly's religious roots and features a choir. She sings about "somethin' liftin' me up, somethin' holdin' me down - somethin' to give me wings and keep my feet on the ground" without being contrived or cliched about it. Definitely one of the disc's highlights. The next track, "Only Dreamin'," is steeped in Celtic sounds and tells the story of a woman brokenhearted by a breakup. This song is about as emotional as one can get, and Dolly nails it. Following this track is her cover of Smokey Robinson's "The Tracks Of My Tears." Again, Dolly puts her own stamp on the song and does a fantastic job. The next song, "The Lonesomes," reminds one of any one of Patsy Cline's legendary hits.

My favorite song from the entire disc comes on. "Cologne" is a track about cheating. Classic country fodder, I know. This song is from the point of view of "the other woman" and presents a story of a woman so desperately in love with a man that she's willing to give up something small like perfume to be with him. "Love has a nature all its own, so I willingly gave up cologne." The song starts off softly and builds to a vocal, musical, and emotional climax, then ends as softly as it began.

"Shinola" has a whole lot of attitude and is a classic "Fuck off" kind of song. "I'm callin' you out, cause I don't need this crap. I'm gettin' myself out of Dodge." "I Will Forever Hate Roses" is another classic country tune where Dolly recounts the reason for her hatred of roses - her man broke up with her in a note included with a bouquet of roses. The platter (or at least the standard version of it) ends with "Somebody's Everything," which is simply a good closer for an album and is a classic "I'm lonely and need someone to love me" song.

The packaging of Backwoods Barbie is far better than one would expect from an independent release. Lately I've been noticing that album covers and such...just suck. I know that the music is the most important thing, but packaging CAN entice people to buy something, trust me. The CD comes in a thin digipak...not the wallet crap like many current released such as Celine Dion's Taking Chances, but a true digipak, with a plastic tray to hold the CD in place. Inside the front flap is a sleeve that holds the CD booklet. The cover is a delight and features a grinning Dolly with her trademark blonde hair piled up about a foot high in a low-cut and short leopard-print number with a sheer pink coat on top while she's lying on a big pile of hay inside a butter-colored classic pickup truck, giving a visual of the Backwoods Barbie title. The back features a view of the truck from behind and fairly low, allowing one to see the Dolly mudflaps. (A silhouette of which is also on the disc itself.) The booklet includes more pictures that echo the Backwoods Barbie theme plus lyrics to all the songs. The biggest treat on the cover is the return of a fan-favorite - the Dolly logo used on pretty much all of Dolly's RCA albums from 1977's Here You Come Again up until her departure from RCA in 1985 with the Real Love album. The Dolly logo is also utilized in the Dolly Records logo, along with a butterfly. (Likely a reference to her country hit "Love Is Like A Butterfly.") The logo for Dolly Records is seen on the album art many times, including on the lower right-hand corner of the cover. Not a problem for me, as I think it's gorgeous.

From beginning to end, Backwoods Barbie is a fantastic listen and even though Dolly may not have the airplay and sales power she once had, it proves why she's become a legendary music icon. The CD is pure, honest music straight from Dolly's heart. If you haven't picked up a copy yet, please consider giving it a try. It's a fantastic listen, and you won't regret the 45 minutes you spent listening to it, I promise. I give the CD 10 stars out of 10. Absolutely wonderful.

Sleeping Beauty (1959 Movie OST)

2008-05-03T13:58:00.000-05:00

Artist : Various Artists
Album : Sleeping Beauty [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Label : Walt Disney Records
Genre : Soundtrack
Bitrate : 320 KBPS CBR
Source : CD (LP)
Runtime : 1:02:44 (144.1 MB)
Release date : 2008-04
Store date : 1997-02-04

Change .abc to .zip
DOWNLOAD PART 1! (74.4 MB) (ZIP file contains scans, info TXT, and tracks 1-8.)
DOWNLOAD PART 2! (71.7 MB) (ZIP file contains tracks 9-19.)

[Track List]
1. Main Title/Once Upon A Dream/Prologue
2. Hail To The Princess Aurora
3. The Gifts Of Beauty And Song/Maleficent Appears/True Love Conquers All
4. The Burning Of The Spinning Wheels/The Fairies Plan
5. Maleficent's Frustration
6. A Cottage In The Woods
7. Do You Hear That?/I Wonder
8. An Unusual Prince/Once Upon A Dream
9. Magical House Cleaning/Blue or Pink
10. A Secret Revealed
11. Skumps (Drinking Song)/The Royal Argument
12. Prince Phillip Arrives/ How To Tell Stefan
13. Aurora's Return/Maleficent's Evil Spell
14. Poor Aurora/Sleeping Beauty
15. Forbidden Mountain
16. A Fairy Tale Come True
17. Battle With The Forces Of Evil
18. Awakening
19. Finale

Alan Silvestri - Death Becomes Her OST

2008-05-03T13:57:00.000-05:00

Artist : Alan Silvestri
Album : Death Becomes Her [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Label : Varese Sarabande
Genre : Soundtrack
Bitrate : 320 KBPS CBR
Source : CD
Runtime : 34:47 (80.4 MB)
Release date : 2007-06-18
Store date : 1992-07-28

Change .abc to .zip
DOWNLOAD! (74.2 MB) (ZIP contains tracks, m3u playlist, scans, and info txt.)

[Track List]
1. Main Title (1:32)
2. Me [Performed by Meryl Streep] (2:55)
3. Woman On The Verge (1:00)
4. Lisle (1:02)
5. A Touch Of Magic (2:17)
6. Now, A Warning (0:47)
7. Sempre Viva (1:45)
8. Another Drunk Driver (2:09)
9. Hurry Up, You Wimp (1:58)
10. It's Alive (2:42)
11. Helen Spies (2:00)
12. Another Miracle (2:24)
13. I'll Be Upstairs (0:39)
14. Loving You (3:10)
15. I'd Rather Die (2:41)
16. End Credits (5:46)

Soundtrack credits:

Music Composed and Conducted by Alan Silvestri
Album Produced by Alan Silvestri
Executive Album Producer: Robert Townson

Orchestrations by William Ross
Engineer - Dennis Sands
Assistant Engineers - Tom Hardisty and Sue McLean
Music Editor - Kenneth Karman
Auricle/Synclavier Programmer - David Bifano
Featured Violin Soloist - Stuart Canin
Music Contractor - Sandy DeCrescent
Music Preparation - JoAnn Kane Music Service

Mastered by Joe Gastwirt at Oceanview Digital Mastering, West Los Angeles, CA.
Executive in Charge of Music for Universal Pictures: Burt Berman

This release was taken from a lossless download, converted to WAV, volume increased, long gaps between tracks shortened, and converted to MP3. The torrent took me three days of downloading at frustratingly slow speeds, but it was worth it for a good quality version of this now out-of-print soundtrack. Hopefully in the near future, this soundtrack will see a re-release on CD. *Maybe when Universal finally decides to give us a decent DVD release.* Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoy this soundtrack as much as I do! The Meryl Streep song alone was worth the three days of downloading. ^_^

South Pacific (1958 Movie OST) [Cassette Rip]

2008-05-03T13:56:00.000-05:00

320 KBPS MP3, cassette rip, change .abc to .zip
DOWNLOAD! (95 MB)

[Tracklisting]
1. South Pacific Overture
2. Dites-Moi
3. Cock-Eyed Optimist
4. My Girl Back Home
5. Bali Ha'i
6. Twin Soliloquies/Some Enchanted Evening
7. Bloody Mary
8. There Is Nothin' Like A Dame
9. I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair
10. Younger Than Springtime
11. Happy Talk
12. I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy
13. Honey Bun
14. Carefully Taught
15. This Nearly Was Mine
16. Finale

This download is ripped from a cassette tape I bought at Goodwill one day. (Yes, I said Goodwill. WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME? :P) The tape was in excellent condition as it had never even been opened. This particular cassette came with certain copies of the 1994 VHS reissue. In 1994, Fox Video released the Rodgers and Hammerstein Golden Anniversary line, which included new VHS releases of Oklahoma!, Carousel, The King And I, South Pacific, and The Sound Of Music. Some copies of these tapes came with a soundtrack cassette tape. In the case of The Sound Of Music, the cassette contained previously unreleased film versions of songs, songs previously not included on the soundtrack, and tracks with music not heard in the film. The South Pacific cassette tape merely replicated the original soundtrack album releases, albeit with a slightly different track order.

The sound quality of this download is very good. There's a little tape noise as I chose not to sacrifice audio quality in order to remove it. There's occasional tape anomalies too, such as a slight warping at the end of track 6. Despite the few issues, I think this cassette rip sounds almost as good as the CD release. And I kinda like the bit of tape noise and the fact that it still sounds like a cassette, albeit a really good one. I love a clean remastered CD as much as anyone, but hearing some tape noise and a few anomalies kinda gives it a nostalgic feel. I'm pretty sure most of you still remember listening to cassette tapes, and since I didn't own a CD player until I was 16, I'm still used to them. :P

Since I hadn't done this by the time I zipped the MP3s up and uploaded them, here's an HQ scan of the cassette insert. Click for a larger view.

Pocahontas OST [Expanded With Bonus Tracks]

2008-05-03T13:52:00.000-05:00

320 KBPS MP3, CD + DVD rip, change .abc to .zip
DOWNLOAD PART 1! (75.9 MB) (ZIP contains tracks 1-19.)
DOWNLOAD PART 2! (74.7 MB) (ZIP contains tracks 20-33.)

[Tracklisting]
1. Chorus - The Virginia Company (1:30)
2. Alan Menken - Ship At Sea (2:33)
3. Mel Gibson, Chorus - The Virginia Company [Reprise] (0:35)
4. Chorus - Steady As The Beating Drum (Main Title) (1:46)
5. Jim Cummings - Steady As The Beating Drum [Reprise] (0:45)
6. Judy Kuhn - Just Around The Riverbend (2:27)
7. Alan Menken - Grandmother Willow (1:27)
8. Linda Hunt, Bobbi Page - Listen With Your Heart I (1:13)
9. David Ogden Stiers, Mel Gibson, Chorus - Mine, Mine, Mine (3:06)
10. Linda Hunt, Bobbi Page - Listen With Your Heart II (2:46)
11. Judy Kuhn - Colors Of The Wind (3:34)
12. Mel Gibson, Judy Kuhn - If I Never Knew You (3:53)
13. David Ogden Stiers, Jim Cummings, Chorus - Savages Part 1 (1:43)
14. David Ogden Stiers, Jim Cummings, Judy Kuhn, Chorus - Savages Part 2 (2:15)
15. Alan Menken - I'll Never See Him Again (1:55)
16. Alan Menken - Pocahontas (1:22)
17. Alan Menken - Council Meeting (1:11)
18. Alan Menken - Percy's Bath (0:51)
19. Alan Menken - River's Edge (1:28)
20. Alan Menken - Skirmish (2:03)
21. Alan Menken - Getting Acquainted (1:30)
22. Alan Menken - Ratcliffe's Plan (1:47)
23. Alan Menken - Picking Corn (0:55)
24. Alan Menken - The Warriors Arrive (1:23)
25. Alan Menken - John Smith Sneaks Out (1:14)
26. Alan Menken - Execution (1:34)
27. Alan Menken - Farewell (4:48)
28. Vanessa Williams - Colors Of The Wind (4:18)
29. Jon Secada, Shanice - If I Never Knew You (4:11)
30. Judy Kuhn - Colors Of The Wind [Demo] (3:27)
31. Judy Kuhn - Just Around The Riverbend [Deleted Reprise] (0:33)
32. Unknown Singers - In The Middle Of The River [Deleted Song] (3:56)
33. Vanessa Williams - Colors Of The Wind [Single Version] (4:12)

The original soundtrack album, released on May 30, 1995, is one of Disney's most successful soundtrack releases ever, selling 2.3 million copies in the US and being certified triple platinum. The album reached #1 on the Billboard Albums Chart and produced Vanessa Williams' last top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Colors Of The Wind."

In 2005, Disney released a 2-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition of the film which included an optional extended version which re-integrated the newly completed deleted scene where Pocahontas and John Smith sing "If I Never Knew You" the night before he is to be executed. Unlike previous Disney films like Beauty And The Beast and The Lion King which got new soundtrack CDs including the newly added songs, Disney went the complete opposite direction with the soundtrack CD from Pocahontas and put it out of print in the US, although it's still available as an import on Amazon. So I've taken it upon myself to create an expanded soundtrack CD using audio from my DVD. Because my attempts at separating the 5.1 channels to create a version of "If I Never Knew You" without dialogue and such resulted in a terrible-sounding MP3, I decided to just directly convert the AC3 to WAV. Therefore, the track still includes all the dialogue from the scene.

I also decided to include some bonus tracks from the DVD's bonus features. The "Colors Of The Wind" demo comes from an early presentation reel. Although Judy Kuhn is not credited as a singer, I believe it's her voice as it sounds like her. The deleted reprise of "Just Around The Riverbend" was to be used during the scene where Pocahontas seeks advice from Grandmother Willow the morning John Smith is to be executed. I'm not sure about the story behind "In The Middle Of The River." The single version of "Colors Of The Wind" is slightly different from the pop version on the soundtrack album in that background vocals are also included.

Enchanted + Disney DVD woes + Sleeping Beauty stuff

2008-04-07T13:49:00.004-05:00

In November 2007, Disney released the movie Enchanted. Enchanted marked something of a return to form in many ways for Disney. It was their first film to have a fairy tale theme since 1991's Beauty and the Beast and their first major fantasy-themed film since 1992's Aladdin. It was the first quasi-musical film from Disney in a number of years. And most importantly, it was the first theatrical release in quite a few years to use traditional 2-D animation. In addition, Enchanted was stuffed with all kinds of tributes and references to the Disney classics of the past. From costumes to specific shots to songs to cameos from Disney voice actors, Enchanted is a treat for any major Disney fan. In fact, the more you know about Disney animated classics, the more fun you'll have with Enchanted.

I suggest that the first time you watch it, you don't even think about all the Disney references. Just watch the movie and enjoy it for what it is. A few will pop out at you, but don't think too hard on it. Save that for the second viewing, when you can concentrate on that without worrying about missing the plot. I'll give you a few, just to give you a taste of the little or big things you can find:
The narrator at the beginning and end of the film is none other than Julie Andrews.
Robert Phillip's (Patrick Dempsey) secretary is played by none other than Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
When Prince Edward (James Marsden) and Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) are watching a soap opera in their hotel room, you can hear a few bars of Beauty and the Beast playing. When the woman turns around, it's none other than Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle. In addition, the characters on the soap are named Angela, Jerry, and Ogden - references to Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts), the late Jerry Orbach (Lumiere), and David Ogden Steirs (Cogsworth and the narrator).
The movie starts with a storybook opening up, like many of the classic Disney films.
During the opening song, Giselle holds two gemstones up to her eyes and peers through them - a reference to a gag done by Dopey in Snow White.

Enchanted is not edgy or deep or anything like that. It's light fluffy fun, especially for Disney fans. It's completely predictable, but how could it not be? It's a groundbreaking concept for Disney - bringing people from their animated utopia and bringing them into modern day New York City and seeing how they deal. Definitely something worth watching multiple times. I'd give it 10/10. Absolutely fantastic.

In mid-March of 2008, Disney released separate widescreen and fullscreen DVDs of Enchanted. Single-disc sets with bonus materials not really deserving of a big budger box office hit that pays homage to Disney tradition while bringing freshness to it. A few deleted scenes, none of which are the deleted song performed by James Marsden and Idina Menzel, a blooper reel, a few fluffy featurettes, a short cartoon with the chipmunk Pip, and a Carrie Underwood music video. (Which isn't listed on the packaging at all.)

Seriously, Disney, I know Enchanted won't sell out in 26 seconds like your upcoming 2-Disc set for the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best Of Both Worlds concert DVD, but it just proves that you no longer care about going above and beyond what you absolutely HAVE to for anything other than the biggest of moneymakers. Even Warner Bros. still goes beyond what they have to do for even their most obscure titles most of the time. (Some may not think so - look at Mame's crappy bonus materials listing. But Hell, it's Mame - they didn't even have to put it on DVD at all, let alone with a decent-looking transfer and a couple of trailers. It's not like millions were clamoring for it.) Disney's DVD releases of recent Pixar films and their own movies, animated or otherwise, have been disappointing to say the least. And don't get me started on the lack of behind-the-scenes material on the Ratatouille DVD, while ONLY the Blu-Ray version gets an audio commentary. WTF is up with that mess?

And then there's the recent reissues of their animated catalogue titles. Disney really dropped the bomb on the reissues of Dumbo, Robin Hood, The Fox And The Hound, The Aristocats, and the upcoming 45th Anniversary Edition of The Sword In The Stone. In addition to canning whatever theatrical trailers were present in previous editions, which is idiotic to me, they don't really add much, if anything substantial. There WAS a bit more effort put into The Aristocats at least - they bothered to make a new DVD-ROM game for it. And the upcoming The Sword In The Stone DVD simply gives it an ugly new cover and takes off a substantial bonus feature and adds a few crappy games. And all these releases, except Dumbo and crop the films for widescreen TVs...not a big deal to me though. The animated films from 101 Dalmatians through The Fox And The Hound were created in the 1.33:1 Academy aspect ratio, but also designed to be cropped for widescreen theatrical exhibition without compromising the framing too much. (Although there are times on The Jungle Book's 40th Anniversary Platinum Edition DVD where the framing feels a little cramped.) Some people don't mind it, like me. Some people see it as the same thing as pan and scan. I don't, because they were designed to be viewed both ways, and with more and more people getting widescreen TVs, it makes sense. I'd complain about a movie like Cinderella being cropped for widescreen, because it wasn't designed for that. But Robin Hood? Don't care. But I'm getting away from my point...

Even the Platinum Editions are getting lighter and lighter and more and more dumbed down for kids. Apparently, Disney's forgotten that adults enjoy their movies too and would like some more bonus materials geared for them. Both of 2007's Platinum Editions didn't even include trailers, and Peter Pan REALLY dropped the ball when they recycled the 15-minute making-of fluff from nearly all home video releases since 1998 and put a VERY useless capitioned version of the movie on disc 2. Fortunately, at least 101 Dalmatians includes plenty of trailers and TV spots, but there's no excuse for leaving trailers off DVDs. How hard can it possibly be for Disney to get a bunch of trailers?

If you buy Enchanted at Target, you get a bonus DVD with the 30-minute long making-of documentary Becoming Enchanted. How completely sad when a Target bonus disc has better bonus material than the actual DVD. And while I love the documentary, I can't help but wish that bonus DVD had included a little more. Like the theatrical trailers, the deleted song, and a few galleries. But the documentary alone is enough reason for me to wholeheartedly recommend buying the DVD at Target if at all possible. (I actually got it bought for me...after buying the DVD for myself at Blockbuster for way too much money. OI. I gave the extra DVD to the public library, as they only have it in icky fullscreen. I kept the bonus disc though. I'm not a fanatic. XD)

All this aside, I'm looking forward to October's re-issue of Sleeping Beauty, this time as a 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition. I'm interested in seeing if the restoration is even better than the 2003 2-Disc Special Edition DVD's already flawless transfer. And so far, I've heard about a NEW making-of documentary, which makes me happy, as well as some deleted scenes and songs. Having just gotten the soundtrack CD in the mail, I'm getting even more pumped up for this reissue. I hope Disney promotes the crap out of it, and maybe even brings the soundtrack back into print with some deleted songs tacked on as bonus tracks. (No need to remaster the audio again for a reissue...the CD issue sounds absolutely crisp, clean, clear, and gorgeous. Just add the bonus tracks to the 1997 CD master.) I probably won't pick it up, for a shallow reason - I love the packaging of the original 1997 CD too much. But it'd be nice for those who don't already have the CD. And to close out this post, here's some scans of the packaging of the 1997 CD release. Purty, ain't it?

Here's a closer look at the text from the final booklet scan. It offers some notes about this particular soundtrack CD release.

BIRTHDAY: Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

2007-12-22T13:45:00.000-06:00

I'm a day late on this, but oh well.

On December 21, 1937 Disney unveiled their first ever feature-length animated masterpiece, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. The film opened to great critical acclaim and record-breaking box office success - adjusted for inflation, it's the 10th highest grossing film ever. The film's success was crucial to the survival and growth of the Disney studios, which until Snow White were merely a factory for making short cartoons.

Snow White was a breakthrough for animation, proving that audiences not only WOULD sit through a full hour and a half of animation, but that they could actually come to care about these cartoon characters as if they were flesh and blood actors on the screen. Techniques were perfected and sometimes invented to make the movie more cinematic and take full advantage of what animation can do.

CD REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition Soundtrack

2007-11-26T19:41:00.000-06:00

In 1991, Walt Disney Pictures released the 30th film in their Animated Classics canon, Beauty and the Beast, to wild critical and commercial success, even nabbing an Oscar nomination for Best Picture (It is still the only animated film given this honor.) and becoming the first animated film to won a Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. In addition, Beauty and the Beast became the first film to have three of its songs be honored with Academy Award nominations. (The title track, along with the film's rich score, both won the Oscar.) The soundtrack also won Grammy Awards for Best Album For Children, Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture, Best Instrumental Composition Written For A Motion Picture, Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group for the pop single version of the title track as performed by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, and Best Pop Instrumental Performance. In addition, the soundtrack was certified platinum three times by the RIAA, and the pop version of "Beauty and the Beast" was certified Gold and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.

In 2002, Disney re-released the film, this time to large-screen theaters such as IMAX. The film, which was animated using the CAPS system, (CAPS is a program that takes hand-drawn animation that has been scanned into the computer and allows the color artists to digitally color them and add shading and such, allowing for far more painted cels in a smaller period of time.) was enhanced to fix details that one might not notice on a TV screen or a regular theater screen, but would be very obvious in the larger format. In addition, a song that was dropped from the early storyboards but worked into the Broadway show, "Human Again," was voiced by the original cast, animated, and integrated into the film seamlessly. Just a couple of months prior to the film's January 1, 2002 IMAX premiere, Disney also reissued the soundtrack in a new Special Edition. The new Special Edition contained the digitally remastered original soundtrack, with the addition of Human Again, as well as two songwriter demos and the original early version of the Beast's death music. The new CD was issued in a brand new package with brand new liner notes and a new cardboard slipcover replicating the IMAX reissue's poster.

Beauty and the Beast is my all time favorite film. I've seen it at least fifty times, if not more, and the soundtrack is one of my all time favorite CDs. And unlike most subsequent "Special Edition" soundtrack reissues from Disney, this one does it right. The soundtrack has never sounded better. For music that is now sixteen years old, it still sounds fresh and vibrant and new, with the exception of the pop version of "Beauty and the Beast," which naturally sounds dated now. The lush orchestral arrangements of the score, written by Alan Menken, come to life as you listen, and the Broadway-like feel of the songs, written by Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman, makes it truly one of the most unique Disney soundtracks of all time.

The three songs from the film that were nominated for the Best Song Academy Award are "Belle," "Be Our Guest," and "Beauty and the Beast." The first two are big, loud, and splashy Broadway-styled numbers that blow you away, while "Beauty and the Beast" is its musical opposite. The subtle track is relatively quiet in its emotions, but very powerful. Performed in the film by Angela Lansbury, a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical star and Academy Award-nominated movie star best known outside of the film as Jessica Fletcher from the long-running mystery TV series Murder She Wrote and as the title character in the Tony Award-winning musical Mame, her vocal performance is very subtle and vulnerable. In a featurette on the DVD, Angela admits that she'd been hesitant to record the song and didn't want to do it as she felt she wasn't the right one to sing it. But they (As Judy Garland said at Carnegie Hall, "I don't know who THEY are...") insisted that Angela perform the vocal. In that same featurette, composer Alan Menken praised her performance, saying it was an absolutely incredible say in the studio and shared a nice little fact - Angela recorded only one take of the vocal, which is what you hear in the film and on the CD.

"Belle" is the perfect opening number for the film. Within five minutes, you're introduced to several of your major players and get a glimpse into their personalities - odd Maurice, kind-hearted Belle, pig-headed Gaston, and his sockpuppet, LeFou. It's big, loud, very theatrical, and opens the film with a bang. A short reprise that follows soon after also shows you more of Belle's burning desire to get away from "this provincial life" that she expressed in the full-length number.

"Gaston" and its reprise are basically what it sounds like - everyone, including Gaston himself, singing his praises. Another rousing Broadway-inspired number, this one boasts some of the film's most amusing moments. The reprise also shows us a little more of the devious side of Gaston, which comes out slowly as the film progresses, climaxing at the end when he completes his internal transformation into an all-out villain.

"Be Our Guest" is the biggest number in the entire film, performed to perfection by the late great Jerry Orbach, best known as Det. Lenny Briscoe in the TV series Law And Order and as the original Billy Flynn in the original Broadway production of Chicago. The Disney staff pulled out all the stops for this one. It's a non-stop feast for the eyes and ears.

"Something There" crams what would take almost an entire movie in non-musical and crams it into about five minutes. In this song, we see the budding friendship between Belle and the Beast. This song comes after the Beast gives his library as a gift to Belle. (One of my favorite scenes in the entire film, and I'm PISSED that the score for this scene isn't on the soundtrack.) In the original version of the film, this immediately segues into the bathtub scene where the Beast is preparing for the ballroom scene, so seeing the original theatrical version, to me, it kinda leaves me wanting more now. Just a little more interaction between the two. Which leads me to...

"Human Again" is the new song here. Well, it's only new in that it wasn't previously included in the film. The song was actually part of the storyboards and was even demo'd. (The full-length demo can be found on the now out of print The Music Behind The Magic box set. An edited version of the demo can be found, along with early storyboard footage, on the DVD.) However, due to a motif in the song about the passage of time, which caused some story issues, the song was deleted. When Disney was preparing the film for its stage adaptation, the song was dusted off and they realized that if they merely removed the "passage of time" bit from the song that it would actually work. Now, I much prefer seeing the Special Edition of the movie with this song. It feels so much more complete and offers something the original film didn't have - anything about the breaking of the spell from the point of view of the enchanted objects. It also provides one more little moment between Belle and the Beast, which also goes back to the original storyboards - Belle teaching the Beast how to read.

"The Mob Song" is the final song in the film, save for the pop version of the title track during the end credits. In this song, Gaston finally makes the transition that has been building up throughout the entire film from a pig-headed dumb guy to jerk to full-blown villain who would literally kill to get his way, never getting the hint that no matter what he does, Belle will never want to marry him. The best part of this is the same thing that's great about all of the songs - it's not just there for the sake of being there. It shows character development and moves the story along.

As for the gorgeous score, there's two tracks that stand out for me - "The Beast Lets Belle Go" and "Transformation." Both are gorgeously dramatic when they need to be and subtle and soft when necessary. "Transformation" ends with a beautiful choral reprise of "Beauty and the Beast."

My only complaint about this soundtrack is that I wish more score was present on here. I find it hard to believe that there's only approx. 55 minutes of music in a 90-minute movie where it seems like you're hearing background music almost every minute. The Special Edition CD is just under an hour and five minutes, meaning they could have placed 10-15 minutes more of score cues and such on here and made it more complete. I'm sure ALL of the score wouldn't fit onto here, but most of it would be nice. Especially the score from the scene where the Beast gives his library to Belle, which I think is one of the most beautiful pieces in the film.

However, it's hard to find any other fault with this CD. The sound quality is fantastic, the music is gorgeous, and it's just CLASSIC. I give it 9 stars out of 10. If only Disney had given the Pocahontas soundtrack this same treatment when they released a new DVD edition of the film with the deleted song "If I Never Knew You" fully animated and integrated into the film. Instead, they chose not to even BOTHER re-releasing it or anything, making the song commercially unavailable outside of the DVD. Shame on you, Disney!

Peter Pan (1960 NBC Telecast Starring Mary Martin) On YouTube!

2007-11-26T06:10:00.000-06:00

In 1955, NBC broadcast the Broadway musical adaptation of Peter Pan. The telecast featured the original Broadway cast, which included Mary Martin as Peter and Cyril Ritchard as Mr. Darling and Captain Hook. The live broadcast was a massive hit for NBC, and another live performance would be done a year later. Once again in 1960, NBC broadcast the final live performance of Peter Pan. This time, the performance was preserved on color videotape for posterity. As opposed to rebroadcasting it annually, NBC only rebroadcast it three more times - in 1963, 1966, and 1973. After the 1973 broadcast, NBC was unable to locate the videotape and the production was presumed lost until it was discovered in 1988. In 1989, NBC rebroadcast the special for the first time in sixteen years. Shortly afterwards, NBC and GoodTimes Home Video released the special onto home video, where it remained in print for many years. A DVD release in 1999 was quickly put out of print and now goes for $250+ on sites like Amazon.

In 1990, I recieved two videos for my birthday. The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan. And I watched both of them obsessively, absolutely loving both of them. Years later, I somehow lost my tape, but managed to tape a Disney Channel broadcast in the mid 90's, albeit the signal was nasty, so it wasn't amazing quality. Fast forward to around 2002 - I check out the video from the library and make a copy. Fast forward another couple of years - someone on LiveJournal sends me a DVD-R taken from their VHS copy. Not only that, but I now also own a good quality legitimate VHS copy.

I've always loved this adaptation of Peter Pan far more than any other - even Disney's, and I'm a major Disney fan. But I didn't grow up watching Disney's over and over again. In fact, I didn't even own Disney's version in any format until the 2002 DVD re-release. Never got to tape a TV broadcast or anything. But I absolutely loved the music from this version, plus I think the cheap sets and special effects give it a charming feel. After all, it IS nothing more than a play on tape.

Posted below are a few musical numbers from the 1960 NBC telecast.

More clips, as well as the entire telecast, split into 15 videos, can be found here.

Public Domain Goodies

2007-11-25T22:44:00.000-06:00

Being someone of little income, I've found something that truly satisfies my DVD addiction - the $1 DVD.

That's right, for the ridiculously low price of $1, you can buy one, sometimes even two movies on one DVD. Anywhere from 1 to four hours of scratchy dirty worn faded out-of-focus dreck for $1.

Not always dreck though. Some well-known classics can be bought, in varying degrees of video and audio quality, for $1. Films like the 1937 version of A Star Is Born, Charade, Of Human Bondage, The Little Princess, Gulliver's Travels, many a Hitchcock classic, Our Town, and many many more.

Of course, some awful dreck that's only good for children and fans of bad films is available there as well.

I've owned this on VHS for years. I used to LOVE watching this movie, despite the fact that it has oh-so-little to do with the actual story of Thumbelina. This program is actually an edited down version of the 26-episode Japanese TV anime series, titled Oyayubi Hime Monogatari, or The Story Of The Thumb Princess.

Since discovering that this title was even available on DVD, much less in the dollar DVD bins (Thanks to Digiview, one of the more popular manufacturers of $1 DVDs.), I've been on the lookout. But I've had no luck. Until just last year, when I was in Wal Mart buying Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics album. I decided to also do some pilfering in their $1 DVD bins near the front of the store. Lo and behold, I found it! Thumbelina: A Magical Story, a charming little childhood favorite, on the amazing medium of DVD for the insanely low price of $1! I snatched it up along with their DVD of an Australian animated version of Wind In The Willows that I also used to own on VHS, (I eventually sold it. The sound mix was terrible. The music always drowned out the dialogue.) plus a couple of Digiview Toon Factory compilation DVDs.

The DVD, for $1, is surprisingly good quality. I have the feeling they somehow had access to the original tape master, and not just one of the VHS tapes released in the mid 90's by Starmaker, which would have provided a nastier transfer. It is obvious when watching that a videotape was the source for the DVD transfer, but it must have been a high quality one.

I do believe that this, unlike many $1 DVDs, is not in the public domain, but was released through a licensing deal with Digiview.

Another fantastic buy from the $1 bin is Brentwood Home Video's Great Literature On Film, Vol. 1 DVD, which contains two films - Cyrano de Bergerac featuring Jose Ferrer, and Of Human Bondage starring Bette Davis and Leslie Howard.

I bought this DVD to see what the quality of their transfer of Of Human Bondage was, as well as to see the other film. I haven't yet watched Cyrano, but I've most definitely watched Of Human Bondage again.

The transfer on this particular DVD edition is NOT perfect, but it's definitely light years above the typical $1 DVD transfer. It's actually on par with the print that's shown on TCM and may even be from the same source material. It's still slightly scratchy and dirty, and the sound is a little harsh, but frankly, I'd say the transfer is on par with that from any major studio.

Another great $1 DVD purchase was made when I picked up a couple of Treasure Box Collection releases. I've still not watched either of the films on this Cary Grant Double Feature DVD, but I've previewed them. The transfer of Amazing Adventure is passable. But the transfer of His Girl Friday is absolutely spectacular. I can't believe this was only $1! Very clean, crisp, and clear. Very little in the way of dirt, grain, etc. Great buy.

In addition, I also enjoy the 20 and 50 movie packs from Mill Creek Entertainment. For anywhere from $5 to $20, you can get an instant library of films and hours of boredom killers. I currently own the Family Classics 50 Movie Pack, the 100 Cartoon Classics set which is now out of print and was released back when they were TreeLine Films, and the Musicals 20 Movie Pack.

Their 50 and 100 movie packs come packaged just like the pic above - a sturdy cardboard box that is held closed in the front with velcro and holds 12 or 24 cardboard sleeves that hold each DVD inside, with descriptions of the programming printed on the front and back. On most of these sets, each double-sided DVD has two full movies, two or three short films, or one full movie and one or two short films on each single-layer side. The exception is the 100 Cartoon Classics set. Each of the 12 single-sided single-layer DVD discs contain about eight or nine cartoons. But they're still packaged in the same box with the discs in cardboard sleeves. Their 20 movie packs come in double alpha DVD cases with five single-sided dual-layer DVDs, with four titles crammed onto each disc. The 20 packs often can be found for about $5 in most stores. (A lot of them can be found in Wal Mart's $5.50 bin, and while regular price in the main local store for buying movies and music is $7.99, I got it on sale on Thanksgiving Thursday for $5.) The 50 packs sell for anywhere from $10 to about $20. I imagine the 100 packs sell for anywhere from $15 to $30.

Most of these titles have one thing in common - their copyright no longer exists. For some reason, copyright lapsed on many films and TV shows, putting them into the public domain. And when something is in the public domain, anyone can, and often does, release it. Companies like Brentwood, Digiview, and Mill Creek specialize in taking public domain films or films licensed to them very cheaply and releasing them onto DVD for as cheaply as possible in order to allow the consumer to purchase them for very reasonable prices...many for just $1. The downside is that not all films in the public domain are great and the video and audio quality is often quite iffy. But you get what you pay for, and sometimes, on that rare occasion, you get above and beyond what you pay for. But most of the time, you get what you pay for.

I have many more $1 DVD titles, plus cheap-o DVDs that cost a little more, like $2 or $2.50, but that's another post. But I hope that this encourages you to do a little bargain bin pilfering of your own. You never know what treasures you might find. And if you don't like what you've bought, it's ok. You're only out $1! And do think about picking up some of those great Mill Creek Entertainment sets. Each one likely contains a bunch of turkeys, but for the gems you find inside them, it's absolutely worth the money.

CD REVIEW: Celine Dion - Taking Chances

2007-11-25T21:08:00.000-06:00

Artist: Celine Dion
Title: Taking Chances
Genre: Pop/Rock
Label: Columbia
Release Date: November 13, 2007

When the US got its first taste of Celine Dion in 1990 with the release of her first English-language album, Unison, and it's lone top 5 Billboard hit, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now," Celine had already been a Francophone recording star in her native country of Canada for nearly a decade. Seventeen years later, Celine Dion is one of the world's most successful singers. She is reported to have sold an incredible 185 million albums worldwide - more than any other female artist - and is the singer of one of the biggest radio hits ever, "My Heart Will Go On," from the blockbuster film Titanic, as well as the winner of five Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year for her 1996 blockbuster, Falling Into You.

Celine Dion released her last pop album in 2003. The album, titled One Heart, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Albums Charts, and eventually sold 6.5 million worldwide. Just the year before, A New Day Has Come, her first album since taking her "break" from music, had debuted at #1 on the same chart with 558,000 copies sold - her biggest first week sales to date - and sold around 12 million copies worldwide. In 2004, Celine released Miracle, a collaboration with photographer Anne Geddes which celebrates motherhood. And she's also released two Francophone studio albums and On Ne Change Pas, a best-of compilation of her Francophone recordings, including several pre-Sony tracks previously unavailable in any official Celine Dion international release.

Now, with the closing of her wildy successful Las Vegas show, A New Day, Celine Dion has released her 13th English language album, Taking Chances. The album debuted at #3 with 214,556 copies sold, which is fairly good in 2007 numbers for an album without a hit single, but a bit disappointing considering this is Celine Dion.

First week sales aside, time will tell how well this album does. But enough of that. What do I think of this album?

Frankly, I'm a huge Celine Dion fan. I love her beyond the point of sanity. But I don't blindly love everything she does. In fact, Taking Chances is the first Celine CD I've bought since A New Day Has Come over five and a half years ago. That was the last one I wanted to buy. I liked a few songs from One Heart and I enjoyed her Francophone releases. (I do, however, pretend Miracle doesn't exist, but that's neither here nor there.)

To me, the title sums up what this album is about - taking chances. Now I don't even pretend that this is a complete 180 from all the generic Adult Contemporary dreck she's been churning out since 1990. But it's definitely got some freshness to it that, frankly, Celine hasn't had in her music in a long time. Well, freshness for HER. Honestly, this album would be more contemporary in 2004 or 2005 than it is now, but it's not TOO stale yet.

For the first time in a long time, if ever, Celine is bringing to her English-language recordings some of her rock-flavored pop sensibilities that have been a part of her Francophone recordings since her multi-million selling 1995 album D'eux, known in the US as The French Album. True, it's still very pop. Celine will never do real rock and roll. She knows enough to not completely abandon her fanbase. But it's just enough of a twist, and, to even MY surprise, she's very convincing at it. From the opening title track to her cover of the Heart mega-hit "Alone," (Which I think is amazing in its new arrangement with the strings and music box intro, but I must say, even Celine can't sing this song as brilliantly as Ann Wilson.) to the funky bluesy-rocky feel of "Can't Fight The Feelin'," to "Fade Away" which sounds like it would have been at home on Kelly Clarkson's megahit Grammy-winning Breakaway album, the new "let's add some guitars" sound, which could have turned out so laughably bad and contrived, actually succeeds.

In addition, there's a couple of great danceable pop songs on here, which a lot of people might be shocked to find out she's done before. And quite a few of them, at that. (See "Misled," "Love Can Move Mountains," most of Unison, "Sorry For Love," "That's The Way It Is," etc.) However, this album's two major dance pop outings, the Shakira-channeling "Eyes On Me," co-written by Australian megastar Delta Goodrem, and the Euro-dance flavored "Shadow Of Love," are among the best of her career.

Don't think Celine's given up her trademark ballads. "A Song For You" is a gorgeous piano-heavy ballad featuring a gorgeously restrained vocal performance. The two tracks written and produced by Linda Perry, the soft-rock "My Love" and gospel-flavored "New Dawn," blend new and classic Celine effortlessly. The album's closing track, "Skies Of L.A.," written by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, The-Dream and Thaddis Harrell, and produced by "Tricky" and Kuk Harrell, (Tricky and The-Dream were responsible for, among others, the Rihanna hit "Umbrella.") is a gorgeous dream-like piano-heavy track.

The album isn't a complete success, however. Despite the fact that the song "I Got Nothin' Left" is a very VERY good song, her extremely nasal vocal performance on the song almost makes it unlistenable. And not even the great bluesy production and great lyrics of "That's Just The Woman In Me" can make up for Celine's horrific attempt at channeling Janis Joplin. And to be honest, "Right Next To The Right One" does so little for me, but I don't hate it, so it could grow on me.

Finally, the title of the song "Surprise Surprise" really does say it all - it's the surprise of the album for me. When I first saw that track title, I admit. I laughed and expected it to be complete crap. But when the album leaked and I heard it, I was amazed at how much I liked it. And so far, Surprise Surprise and Fade Away, which is my favorite song on the album, seem to be the big fan favorites, and even seem to be favorites of people who aren't even big Celine fans.

To sum this way too long review up, Celine really has taken some chances with this album. If I'm honest, it's not THAT far removed from everything else she's done, and that's ok. Download "Treat Her Like A Lady" or look it up on YouTube for a prime example of what can happen when Celine tries to veer too far from what has worked for her in the past. But it's enough of a change that it doesn't feel like I've heard this album over and over already. I give Taking Chances 9 stars out of 10. Even if it flops quicker than Kelly Clarkson's latest effort, (Which sold a disappointing 698,000 copies in the US and fell off the charts after only 18 weeks. Sad, I love that album too.) I don't care. I think it's the best material Celine has recorded in years, and I'm just hoping the rest of the world realizes this too.

More images from the album. Click the small thumbnails for a larger view:

Welcome!

2007-11-25T20:56:00.000-06:00

Welcome to One Of The Living. You may know me from my now-closed Judy Garland sharity blog, Once In A Lullaby. Although there will be no file sharing here, except possibly for things in the public domain, I promise to try to make this blog fun and exciting to read.

Here, I will be posting reviews on films, DVDs, CDs, TV shows, etc., as well as YouTube videos, photos, etc. Things I like, basically.

In case you're wondering, the title of this blog comes from the Tina Turner song of the same name. It was recorded for the soundtrack to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and won Tina the second of four Grammy Awards for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.