Tarzan

Composer: Songs: Phil Collins, Score: Mark Mancina
Lable (Release Year): Disney Records (1999)
Availability: *****
Rating: ****

So what happen to Alan Menken? It was Jerry Goldsmith for Mulan and now Mark Mancina. Anyway, unlike the soundtracks for previous Disney animated features, the concept of this soundtrack is quite different. Before, the soundtracks are very musical like. Half of the tracks are songs that sung by the characters and the rest are score tracks plus a few pop songs. However, in Tarzan, "Trashin' the Camp" is only one track that is sung by a character and it is not even exactly a song. It seems to me that they use Phil Collins' songs as a narrative voice rather than having the characters sing and dance around. I have not seen that movie so I don't know how it works. But it just seems kind of strange to me.

Obviously, the selling point of the soundtrack is the songs of Phil Collins but not Mark Mancina's score. All of the songs are written by Phil Collins and Mark Mancina co-arranged some of the songs. Phil Collins' songs are as good as any other songs from other Disney animations. I think "Two Worlds" is an instant classic. I had played the song numerous times the day I got the soundtrack. The first version (Track 1) is particularly enjoyable because it has film score type grand arrangements. However, the songs that won the Golden Globe is "You'll Be in My Heart" instead. In my opinion, "Two Worlds" is a better song. His upbeat songs have great melodies and rhythm and are very enjoyable. On the other hand, Mancina's score seems a little bit awkward to be on the album due to the short playing time. It seems a little unfair for me to review the score here. "The Gorillas" is a tongue-in-cheek action cue. Exactly the type that you would expect from a Media Venture composer. "One Family" is generally an instrumentation cue of Collins' songs. In other words, the playing time of Mancina's original materials is even shorter. There is one thing I don't really understand. Even with the songs, the playing time is still only 41 minutes. Why couldn't they put more score on? It's not like Disney can't afford the re-use fee or need to worry about the CD doesn't have a big market. If you want to enjoy more of Mancina's score, there is a promotional release out there which contains (I think) about 30 minutes of the score.

Despite the mistreatment of the score, I still think this soundtrack is worth owing just because Collins' songs are so good. However, if you just want to hear Mancina's score, you will be disappointed.



    Track Listing:
  1. Phil Collins - Two Worlds (3:18)
  2. Phil Collins & Glenn Close - You'll Be in My Heart (1:37)
  3. Phil Collins - Son of Man (2:44)
  4. Rosie O'Donnell - Trashin' the Camp (2:17)
  5. Phil Collins - Strangers Like Me (3:00)
  6. Phil Collins - Two Worlds Reprise (0:52)
  7. Phil Collins & 'N Sync - Trashin' the Camp (Phil and 'N Sync Version) (2:24)
  8. Phil Collins - You'll Be in My Heart (Phil Version) (4:18)
  9. Phil Collins - Two Worlds (Phil Version) (2:42)
  10. A Wonderous Place (score) (5:19)
  11. Move Like An Ape, Looks Like A Man (score) (2:57)
  12. The Gorillas (score) (4:28)
  13. One Family (score) (3:48)
  14. Phil Collins - Two Worlds Finale (1:17)
    Total Time: 41:01
Review Date 3/7/00

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