Happy Feet Soundtrack
Posted on Saturday, December 24th, 2011 at 6:34 am
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The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem, and More! – The 25th Anniversary Collection $11.98 Those who spent (or are spending) their formative years watching Kermit and Miss Piggy dance their special interspecies dance will revel in this spectacular, positively historic new Muppets CD, released just in time for the 25th anniversary of Jim Henson’s The Muppet Show. A 20-page insert booklet, complete with color photos, details the fascinating history of Muppet music. Remember when Sesame St… |
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Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 From the New World $11.38 … |
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The Christmas Attic $5.31 Fans of Andrew Lloyd Webber will discover he has a soul mate in one Paul O’Neill, the “conductor” of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. A dyed-in-the-wool sentimentalist, O’Neill presents this pop-rock tale from 1998 with all the glitz and glory of a Lloyd Webber Broadway show. Playing to the common themes of the season through a tale about a little angel sent to Earth to leave behind a gift, O’Neill c… |
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Happy Feet [Original Soundtrack] $8.47 The soundtrack to Happy Feet, the animated penguin fantasia musical directed by George Miller — the man behind such acclaimed films as Babe, Babe: Pig in the City, and Mad Max — is a loose and lively mix of ’70s funk and modern club-oriented R&B. Borrowing from the template popularized by Shrek, the soundtrack features both new cuts and old songs, with some tracks covered by actors in the film. To this end, listeners get Brittany Murphy singing both Queen’s “Somebody to Love” and the disco classic “Boogie Wonderland” as well as Pink reworking Stevie Wonder’s “Tell Me Something Good” with pleasing results. Interestingly, Happy Feet also includes some attempts at the über-hip DJ trend of mashups — two songs played at the same time — with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman doing Prince’s “Kiss” and Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel” and Jason Mraz and Chrissie Hynde on Steve Miller’s “The Joker” and David Gates’ “Everything I Own.” While these are technically more like two-song medleys than actual mashups and are somewhat awkward musically, they are nonetheless unexpected shots of cultural Zeitgeist and a welcome break from the standard soundtrack cover tunes. Throw in an original track from Prince as well as the big-band swing-meets-glam rock-meets-contemporary R&B of Gia Farrell’s “Hit Me Up,” and Happy Feet delivers no less than a computer-animated Moulin Rouge. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi Performers: John Powell – Palmas, Keyboards, Guitar; George Doering – Dulcimer; Sydney Philharmonia Choirs – Choir, Chorus; Alex Acuña – Percussion; Alex Al – Bass; Arturo Velasco – Trombone; Butch Walker – Guitar, Bass, Drums; Dan Fornero – Trumpet; Doug Petty – Piano; Harry Kim – Trumpet; James McKee Smith – Guitar; Michael Fisher – Percussion; Michael Ripoli – Guitar; Paul Pesco – Guitar; Sal Lozano – Saxo |
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Happy Feet Two [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] $12.72 The animated penguin romp Happy Feet Two, like its single-digit predecessor, sports an even mix of upbeat dance, rock, and pop cuts and orchestral work from composer John Powell. Split into two distinct sections, the collection opens appropriately with the “Happy Feet Two Opening Medley,” a relentlessly upbeat North Pole club jam from P!nk, Common, Lil P-Nut, and the Happy Feet Two Chorus. Robin Williams and Hank Azaria follow things up with the gospel-tinged/”Gangsta Paradise”-inspired “The Mighty Sven,” P!nk and the Chorus turn Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” into a Lion King on Broadway outtake, and Janelle Monae offers up an “Ice Cold Mix” of her infectious “Tightrope” before seguing into Powell’s perfectly reasonable orchestral score. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi Performers: Helene Muddiman – MIDI; Paul Mounsey – MIDI; Brian Kilgore – Latin Percussion; Luis Conte – Latin Percussion; Walter Rodriguez – Latin Percussion; Cantillation – Choir, Chorus; Elephant Seal Chorus – Choir, Chorus; Happy Feet Two Chorus – Choir, Chorus; Nick Ariondo – Accordion; Sydney University Graduate Choir – Choir, Chorus; Alecia Moore – Vocals; Alvin Chea – Vocals; Benjamin Flores Jr. – Vocals; Beth Andersen – Vocals; Carmen Twillie – Vocals; Clydene Jackson – Vocals; Common – Vocals; Damian De Boos-Smith – Guitar; Dan Navarro – Vocals; Debbie Gleaso |
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Original Soundtrack – Happy Feet [Original Soundtrack] $17.99 Original Soundtrack – Happy Feet [Original Soundtrack] |