The Disney documentary train rolls on, with this rather remarkable look at Richard and Robert Sherman – longtime staff songwriters at Walt Disney Productions and composers of some of the best known ditties ever. Much like Walt & El Grupo, The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story is a family affair. Cousins Gregory V. Sherman [...]]]>

The Disney documentary train rolls on, with this rather remarkable look at Richard and Robert Sherman – longtime staff songwriters at Walt Disney Productions and composers of some of the best known ditties ever. Much like Walt & El Grupo, The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story is a family affair. Cousins Gregory V. Sherman and Jeffrey C. Sherman have teamed up to tell the complicated and surprising story of their fathers’ lives, which is far from what even lifelong fans might suspect.

Robert and Richard Sherman

The Film

Bittersweet is a word that tends toward overuse due to a lack of alternatives, but nevertheless if you looked it up in the dictionary you would more than likely find this film.

Any Disney fan word their salt knows the Shermans well; in fact, you’d probably be hard-pressed to find anyone anywhere in America that, even though they don’t know the Sherman name, doesn’t know one of their songs. Their body of work is so vast as to be absolutely absurd, and any collection of their music can only really begin to scratch the surface. The Shermans were the staff songwriters at the Disney studio during its most prolific decade – the 1960s – and in that time they wrote for animation, live-action film, theme parks and pop singles. Their career stretches from Tin Pan Alley standards to 21st century Broadway, and their names and faces have been a familiar and comfortably avuncular presence in Disney circles for fifty years. If the Shermans hadn’t existed, Walt would have had to invent them.

The Progress City Connection: In the studio with Walt, performing There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

So, after all these years of seeing the brothers pounding away at the keyboard together and crafting countless familiar melodies, it came as a shock to nearly everyone when this film emerged and disclosed a remarkable fact – not only did the brothers lead very different and separate lives, but for the last 40 years they have been almost completely estranged outside of their work.

This is astounding for many reasons, not the least of which is that they managed to successfully hide this fact from the public while remaining fan favorites throughout. Most remarkably, though, is that they managed to keep working together with a high quality of output while having precious little to do with each other. Living only a few blocks apart, their families remained rigidly separated in private and in public, and cousins Gregory and Jeffrey Sherman were only reunited as adults before they made this film.

The reasons for this separation are as complicated as they are vague, and if there’s a flaw in this film it stems from this issue. The brothers were always very different people, living separate lives, but it seems that even then there remained some level of contact between the two young families. Only after an event in the late 1960s, during which elder brother Robert Sherman took a break from the partnership – and, indeed, from his family for a few days – did the two households truly go their separate ways. This is obviously still a very painful subject for the participants – even the usually ebullient Richard Sherman – and we never really find out what actually happened and why it was so significant.

One could argue that this has nothing to do with the real reason we care about the Shermans – their wonderful music – and that any further interest is sheer gossipmongering. Nor is it reasonable to root for the filmmakers to aggressively pry for more painful details from the elderly brothers when they’re visibly upset; I certainly wouldn’t care to do it, and I’m not as close to the situation as the interviewers. But if the issue is to be made a part of the narrative, and it really is a point that the film hinges upon, than it would make sense for viewers to have a better idea of why those events cast such a long shadow.

The brothers, in recent years

As the term bittersweet would indicate, though, the Shermans’ story is far from tragic. Born into a musical family, the two brothers were showmen from an early age. Their father, Tin Pan Alley songwriter Al Sherman, was an extremely prolific and successful composer in the early 20th century. At first the brothers seemed destined for different paths; older brother Robert was far more serious and literary, with ambitions to write the great American novel. Younger brother Richard was the first to dabble in the musical realm, and unlike the more reserved Robert he remains a font of constant motion, thought, and activity. As commentator Bruce Gordon points out during the film, the only real analogue to the two could have been if Lennon and McCartney had themselves been brothers.

The film charts the early lives of the two, through youth and beyond as Robert joins the service and witnesses the horrors of war; the trauma of his injuries, and the sights he encountered while liberating Nazi death camps, are evident even today. Economic necessity eventually forced the brothers into sharing living quarters, and with the encouragement of their father they slowly began to embark on a life as songwriters. Success came fairly quickly, but when one of their songs, Tall Paul, became a hit single for Annette Funicello in 1959, it led to career-defining staff positions at the Disney studio.

Directors Jeffrey Sherman (L) and Gregory Sherman (R) flank everyone’s favorite funnyman Dick Van Dyke

I could go on at length recounting the tales of the Shermans, as this film really does seem like an endless stream of amusing or interesting anecdotes about the brothers and their work. As I always do with any good documentary, I feel like this could have been expanded into five different films and I would have been satisfied. An endless stream of commentators, historians, and participants appear to help tell the stories and discuss the music; off the top of my head, participants include Roy E. Disney, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Jeff Kurtti, Bruce Gordon, Leonard Maltin, John Lasseter, Angela Lansbury, Hayley Mills, Leslie Ann Warren, John Davidson, Debbie Reynolds, Alan Menken, John Williams, Randy Newman, John Landis (!), Kenny Loggins (!!) and Ben Stiller (!!!). And that’s just off the top of my head.

The real joy of the film, of course, is seeing the brothers themselves, in both new interviews and a wealth of archival film. Richard remains as sunny and energetic as always, banging away on his piano in his stream-of-consciousness fashion. He also has a seemingly infinite recall of every number the brothers ever wrote. Robert, having moved to London after the death of his wife, remains pensive and at times almost haunted; he focuses now on his career as a painter. Still, despite their occasional barbs and bristles, the footage of the brothers working together remains endlessly entertaining and one gets a hint of the sheer creative energy that must have been a constant presence in the Disney studio of the 1960s.

The Shermans on the Disney lot in swankier times

The DVD

Mercifully, the documentary hits DVD with a suite of interesting extras that flesh out the story of the film.

Video & Audio

Another documentary, another variety of source materials. The newly-filmed interviews consist mostly of “talking head” segments, but the film also extensively uses archival photo, film, and video to flesh out the tale. These are, naturally, of varying visual quality but everything looks pretty good except for elements that were obviously filmed on video in the 1980s.

The film is in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, with audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 (English) and Dolby Digital 2.0 (Spanish).

Bonus Materials

The extras on this disc fall into two main segments. Eight extended segments focus on certain topics with more detail than in the film itself. Then there’s the “Sherman Brothers’ Jukebox”, which features eight individual segments focusing on specific songs. Of special note here is a collection of hilarious sketches that Disney storyman Roy Williams used to slip under the brothers’ office door to illustrate whatever the brothers were up to at the time.

Features

• Extra Scenes – Why They’re “The Boys”, Disney Studios in the 60′s, Casting Mary Poppins, The Process, Theme Parks, Roy Williams, Bob’s Art, Celebration
• Sherman Brothers’ Jukebox – Chim Chim Cher-ee, Feed the Birds, There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Jolly Holiday, Up, Down and Touch the Ground, A Spoonful of Sugar, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Ugly Bug Ball

In Summary…

Clip-n-Save Drop Quote: “THUMB A RIDE WITH THE BOYS!! – ProgressCityUSA.com”

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story would seem to be a natural for any Disney fan who has ever hummed a Sherman tune; that would be, well, pretty much all of you. Two very interesting and very different individuals managed to live separate lives while maintaining a public facade that cloaked their personal acrimony, but in this time they also achieved unheard of professional success; during their thirteen years on Disney staff alone they received four Oscar nominations for their more that 200 songs. All told, their work graced 27 Disney films and two dozen television productions, and their post-Disney work includes such family standards as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Charlotte’s Web. It’s a remarkable body of work by two remarkable people.

Click to buy

On August 17th, the new “Disney Pearl” imprint will release an album by the great Brian Wilson containing covers of works by George and Ira Gershwin. Some of these songs are well-known standards, while two are previously unfinished compositions that Wilson [...]]]> Bumble Boogie, anyone?

Here’s something I’ve been waiting to hear about for a while.

On August 17th, the new “Disney Pearl” imprint will release an album by the great Brian Wilson containing covers of works by George and Ira Gershwin. Some of these songs are well-known standards, while two are previously unfinished compositions that Wilson has completed for this record.

The songs will get the full Brian Wilson treatment; with production by Wilson and featuring his band on backing instruments and vocals, the new recordings will feature his trademark lush orchestration and stacked vocal harmonies. The album begins and ends with a capella vocal renditions of 1924′s Rhapsody in Blue, a conceit that’s reminiscent of Wilson’s concept album Smile.

The path to this release began last year when the Gershwin estates and their publisher gave Wilson access to over 100 demos, unfinished pieces, and song fragments that were left incomplete when Gershwin died in 1937. Wilson then selected two of these for the project. The first, The Like in I Love You, was originally known as Will You Remember Me? before it was cut from Gershwin’s musical Lady, Be Good! in 1924. The second new piece, Nothing But Love, was adapted from a song fragment called Say My Say which was abandoned in 1929.

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin hits stores and online music sellers August 17th; a vinyl pressing will be available on August 24th. More information is available at Disney’s music site and Brian Wilson’s site, or you can follow Disney Music on Facebook or Twitter.

Track Listing:

1. “Rhapsody in Blue”/Intro
2. “The Like in I Love You”
3. “Summertime” (from Porgy and Bess)
4. “I Loves You, Porgy” (from Porgy and Bess)
5. “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin” (from Porgy and Bess)
6. “It Ain’t Necessarily So” (from Porgy and Bess)
7. “’S Wonderful” (from the Broadway musical “Funny Face,” also used in MGM film “An American in Paris”)
8. “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” (used in the film “Shall We Dance” and nominated for Academy Award)
9. “Our Love is Here to Stay” (from the film “The Goldwyn Follies” and MGM film “An American in Paris”)
10. “I’ve Got a Crush on You” (used in Broadway shows “Treasure Girl” and “Strike Up the Band”)
11. “I Got Rhythm” (from Broadway show “Girl Crazy”)
12. “Someone To Watch Over Me” (from Broadway show “Oh Kay!”)
13. “Nothing But Love”
14. “Rhapsody in Blue”/Reprise

Hello folks, it’s Beacon Joe here again.  First off, I’d like to thank everyone for listening and commenting on the podcast, and hope you all enjoy it.   The reason I’m writing is to obtain a little information on a ditty Michael and I overheard at the D23 convention last September.

We had the pleasure [...]]]>

Hello folks, it’s Beacon Joe here again.  First off, I’d like to thank everyone for listening and commenting on the podcast, and hope you all enjoy it.   The reason I’m writing is to obtain a little information on a ditty Michael and I overheard at the D23 convention last September.

We had the pleasure of being around for the presentation “Lost Chords – Never Heard Music from Disney Animation” hosted by Russell Schroeder, in which a song “This is Home” was presented from the ill fated never-to-be-released film “Tale of a Mouse”.   While we recorded it, our recording quality was poor and I can’t quite decipher the lyrics.

This is where you come in.  Should you have any more information on this song, whether it be history, lyrics, or even a recording – I would love to hear from you.  You can email it here, and I will thank you with an undying gratitude.

Hope to hear from you soon…

Until next time, this is Beacon Joe, signing off.

With the release of Disney’s first animated fairytale in many years, fans get to experience what was once an annual ritual – the release of a new musical soundtrack. Originally intended for long-time Disney composer Alan Menken, The Princess and the Frog was eventually re-assigned to John Lasseter’s self-professed favorite composer, Randy Newman. In [...]]]>

With the release of Disney’s first animated fairytale in many years, fans get to experience what was once an annual ritual – the release of a new musical soundtrack. Originally intended for long-time Disney composer Alan Menken, The Princess and the Frog was eventually re-assigned to John Lasseter’s self-professed favorite composer, Randy Newman. In this instance, Newman’s presence makes sense; his roots in the New Orleans musical culture fit well with the film’s setting, and his wry and witty lyrics mix with stand-out vocal performances by the film’s cast to create a thoroughly enjoyable soundtrack.

My listening experience with this album was slightly odd due to the fact that I’ve seen only part of the movie, amounting to about four of the songs. With the visuals for these tracks already in my head, I had a much quicker connection to those numbers. In the roughly two weeks since I received the album, though, I’ve grown familiar with the rest of the album and it all meshes nicely. Newman’s songs cover a range of styles from the Louisiana region, providing a nice variety and keeping things from getting stale.

Skipping the album’s first track – more on that later – takes us to the first of the film’s songs, a melodic prelude that you might have heard in the film’s trailer. Performed by Anika Noni Rose, the voice of the film’s heroine, this little prologue sets the tone of the film nicely.

The next track kicks up the tempo with an upbeat tour of the Crescent City, Down in New Orleans. One of the great things about this soundtrack is getting Randy Newman’s songwriting without the downside of Randy Newman’s singing. Instead, our introduction to the film’s world is performed by New Orleans musical legend Dr. John – a perfect fit for the material. His bluesy, boogie-woogie tempo makes this Dixieland-inflected piece an appropriately energetic way to start the film.

It became codified in the 1990s that every Disney fairy tale had to have an “I want” song, in which the “princess” in question would sing about her hopes and wishes. Almost There fills that role in Princess and the Frog, but with a noticeable shift in tone. Instead of pining for lost love or adventure, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) asserts her vision for the future. A waitress with a life-long goal to become a restaurateur, Tiana doesn’t sing about what she wants to happen – she sings about what will happen. It’s very affirmative and upbeat, and Rose’s voice is a superb fit for the character. It’s technically proficient, but also full of good humor and charm.

Her voice is so good, in fact, that you find yourself hating that this is her only solo number in the film. That’s obviously necessary for story reasons (this isn’t some 3-hour musical from the 1960s, after all), but her voice fits the character so well that it leaves you wanting more. A few previous Disney features, notably The Lion King and Lilo & Stitch, have released a second soundtrack with music “inspired” by the film. Far be it from me to suggest anything to Disney marketing, but I’d kind of like to see a Newman-produced album of jazz, blues, and songbook classics featuring the voice cast of the film.

Disney musicals also need a villain number, and so we get Keith David’s Dr. Facilier and Friends On The Other Side. This piece could only have been in an animated film, because if there had actually been real scenery, David would have devoured it whole. They might have had to actually build a few sets for him to chew on anyway. Dr Facilier is larger than life, and indeed this song is strongly evocative of Poor Unfortunate Souls from The Little Mermaid. It’s the most operatic piece in the soundtrack, incorporating quite a bit of dialogue and plot into its lyrics. This makes it a little more true to the Disney model, but David’s booming voice is perfect for the character and the song’s bluesy undertones and he really makes the most of it.

When We’re Human is a jazzy Dixieland piece featuring the now-transformed Tiana and Naveen (Bruno Campos) as well as the jazz-loving alligator Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley). Veteran trumpeter Terence Blanchard contributes his considerable skills to this song, which underscores the markedly different goals of the characters (Tiana want to become human again to get back to work on her restaurant; gadabout Naveen wants to get back to the ladies). The song’s pretty fun, has some nice musical moments, and moves at a brisk pace.

We’re introduced to Jim Cummings’s Cajun firefly Ray with the zydeco-infused Gonna Take You There. This is probably the most comedic piece on the album, and while it is indeed catchy it’s my least favorite of the tracks due to my general indifference to zydeco.

Cummings fares much better with the next number, the Cajun waltz My Belle Evangeline. The relaxed tempo conveys the appropriate feeling of moonlight on the bayou, and there’s more great trumpet work by Terence Blanchard. Thankfully, despite the fact that Ray seems to be the film’s comic relief, they play this song pretty straight. In many ways, it’s a descendant of Kiss the Girl from The Little Mermaid, and it’s a lovely song that might be well-served by a cover version in the future (if only Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm would make amends!).

The soundtrack peaks with the gospel blowout Dig a Little Deeper, featuring Jenifer Lewis (as Mama Odie) and the Pinnacle Gospel Choir. This is a huge number, with quick, brassy lyrics, and it leaves one feeling like you’ve been to a revival yourself. It’ll be wild on the big screen.

The last song on the soundtrack is a reprise of Down in New Orleans by Anika Noni Rose, and it’s the perfect way to end the film. Rose totally blows it out, and the performance is so lively that it feels like the curtain call at a packed Broadway show. Did I mention that I’m totally crushing on her voice? This number will no doubt leave fans hyped and ready for whatever Disney has coming next (just try and forget for the moment that it’s Winnie-The-Pooh).

The songs on this album are pretty consistently great – consistent in a way that Disney soundtracks haven’t been in a while. The sad exceptions to this are the seven excerpts of the film’s score that flesh out the remainder of the tracks. New Orleans has such a long musical tradition in so many genres, it seems shocking that these seven tracks from the score are so blandly orchestral. True, people rarely listen to these soundtracks for the purely musical sections; after all, the big set pieces of these films are the songs themselves. Still, with all the superlative work that artists like Michael Giacchino have been doing on animation soundtracks recently, one comes to expect more that a run-of-the-mill underscore with some light music cues underlining the action.

Newman has done good scoring work before, and there are bits and pieces on this album that hint at greater Dixieland or jazz possibilies. The bulk of the score, though, seems sadly underwhelming, conventionally orchestral, and highly forgettable.

What I wish I could forget, though, is the aforementioned track that leads off the album – a mind-numbingly bland piece of R&B called Never Knew I Needed. This song, which I assume plays over the film’s end credits, is the conceptual descendant of the “hit single” covers from the Disney animated soundtracks in the 1990s; these dull, adult-contemporary radio ready singles by artists like Celine Dion provided the flavorless, synthesized soundtrack for a million elevators and dentists’ waiting rooms in the previous decade.

This isn’t to say that the song, by someone called Ne-Yo, is really awful or tasteless – it’s just breathtakingly, astoundingly boring. Of course, that statement applies to my general opinion of all modern R&B anyway. Again, going back to the New Orleans music tradition, they couldn’t find a more appropriate way to make a single for the film? Heck, get Harry Connick, Jr. if you want the radio-friendly vibe. The problem, of course, is that Disney is no longer peddling to the middle-of-the-road adult crowd. This single is aimed, like everything else, at the Disney Channel market, and it’s the first truly pandering move I’ve seen from this film’s marketing so far. What’s funny is that they’ve taken a genre and a label – Ne-Yo comes under license from Def Jam Records – that tends towards the scandalous, and filed off any rough edges to make it unthreatening enough for the Disney Channel pre-tweens and their moms. What’s left is neither tonally appropriate for the film, or even an interesting song in its own right. At least in the 90s they stuck these at the end of the album; this time, we get it stuck at the first so you have to fast forward every time you pop in the CD.

But that’s one track out of seventeen, and that’s certainly not a bad slugging percentage. The songs from the actual movie itself are catchy and fun, and musically interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing them all in context on the big screen, and I would recommend this disc to anyone who is a fan of animated musicals, New Orleans, or singing amphibians. It’s fun to see Disney getting back to its roots, and doing it in style.

The Princess and the Frog: Original Songs and Score can be purchased online at Amazon.

One more thing before I forget -

Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair officially released today. Mine shipped from Amazon the other day and I can’t wait to get my grubby little paws on it. It’s rare that I’ll so blatantly shill for a product here, but this is something that every Disney [...]]]>

One more thing before I forget -

Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair officially released today. Mine shipped from Amazon the other day and I can’t wait to get my grubby little paws on it. It’s rare that I’ll so blatantly shill for a product here, but this is something that every Disney fan who is even remotely interested the release of rare park music should purchase and support. It’s taken almost a decade to get this project released, and many times along the way it was called off. This is the type of item that we as Disney fans so often beg for but rarely get – something of real quality, created with care and attention to detail, and not pandering to the whims of the trend-based mass market. The only way we’ll get those other obscure titles we crave is to support folks like Randy Thornton at Walt Disney Records who are fighting to get them to us.

So what are you waiting for? Buy, buy, buy!

We knew it was coming, but now it’s official. Album producer Randy Thornton posted today that the 5-disc compilation Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair is officially targeted for release on March 24th. Previous release dates had been missed due to production errors, but the current batch checks out and will be in [...]]]>

We knew it was coming, but now it’s official. Album producer Randy Thornton posted today that the 5-disc compilation Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair is officially targeted for release on March 24th. Previous release dates had been missed due to production errors, but the current batch checks out and will be in our hot little hands by the end of the month. Press release follows!

Walt Disney Records Releases
Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair
5-Disc Box Set on March 24

Burbank, CA – On March 24, 2009, Walt Disney Records releases Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair, a rare behind the scenes look at Walt Disney’s contribution to the 1964 New York World’s Fair. It was here where Walt unveiled several unique attractions and exhibits that would forever change not only Disneyland, but greatly influence the future of Disney Theme Parks yet to be imagined. This 5-CD set includes more than three hours of recordings from the four Pavilions (Progressland, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, “it’s a small world,” and The Magic Skyway) Walt Disney and his team of artists created for the Fair, plus a 24-page full color booklet written by Stacia Martin. Each disc is outlined below:

(Disc 1) – Progressland

Behind-the-scenes recordings and original music from the Progressland Exhibit, featuring a never-before released original World’s Fair production of “Carousel of Progress.” The disc includes the many variations of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman’s “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.”

(Disc 2) – Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

Experience the sounds of the original “Illinois Pavilion” from the Illinois Story to an audience with President Lincoln. Also included are the original recording sessions of the man who gave Mr. Lincoln his voice (Royal Dano) and the lavish original score by Disney Legend Buddy Baker, also presented as individual tracks.

(Disc 3) – “it’s a small world” – A Salute to UNICEF and all the World’s Children

Includes the original demo recording of the legendary song written by the Sherman Brothers, as well as isolated vocals and a grand master mix of the varied international interpretations of the famous tune directly from the attraction soundtrack. Also included is a tour of this ‘little boat ride’ with Walt Disney as your guide.

(Disc 4) – The Magic Skyway

This recording takes the listener on a time-traveling ‘road trip’ with Walt Disney as he personally escorts you through the age of dinosaurs, the assent of man, and to the distant future. The disc also includes “Auto Parts Harmonic,” which features music from a 13-piece orchestra with instruments made entirely from car parts.

(Disc 5 – Bonus) – “Carousel of Progress”

As a special bonus, the set also includes “Carousel of Progress – Alternate Universe Version.” Fully recorded and scored, this complete production is an early ‘work-in-progress’ version of this timeless classic.

Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair was digitally restored and mastered by Grammy-winning producer Randy Thornton and Jeff Sheridan. Thornton says, “This historical collection has been ‘in the works’ for over seven years. To finally have all these great recordings of Walt’s legendary contributions to the 1964 New York World’s Fair is beyond thrilling, and a wonderful tribute to Imagineer Bruce Gordon (1951 – 2007) who dreamed up this set so many years ago.”

Doh!

As 2009 finds new and fascinating ways to stick it to me, news has just emerged that the impending release of the 5-disc CD set, Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair, has been delayed due to production issues. Print samples of the packaging proved unsatisfactory, and they’re having to scrap that work [...]]]>

Doh!

As 2009 finds new and fascinating ways to stick it to me, news has just emerged that the impending release of the 5-disc CD set, Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair, has been delayed due to production issues. Print samples of the packaging proved unsatisfactory, and they’re having to scrap that work and start over. Producer Randy Thornton promises that the release is impending, but could be delayed as much as five weeks.

Buy hey, after nine years, what’s five weeks?