A few weeks back I bought the Tokyo DisneySea Music Album CD, and I promised a review here on StartedByAMouse.com, so here it is. As always, a few notes: I am not a music critic; I can only tell you what I like or don't like. Also, I haven't been to the new park, so basically, all I can review is the music on the disc. So with that said, we'll begin with a rundown of the tracks.

Up first is Porto Paradiso from Mediterranean Harbor, with music by Steve Wilkenson, lyrics by Carolyn Gardner. Each of the seven "Ports of Call" has its on theme, and each theme is included on the CD. Porto Paradiso is a lively, uptempo number with a distintive Italian sound. The words are sung by a man with a wonderful tenor voice. The song describes sailing into a magical port city that can be reached by listening to the sea. A great song to open the CD.

The second track is the American Waterfront theme, simply titled American Waterfront; music by John Kavanaugh, lyrics by Carolyn Gardner. A 1920's number sung by a chorus describing walking along the waterfront. This song seems to fit in nicely with the pictures I've seen of the architecture of the area. Another uptempo tune that you'll find yourself humming later.

Third is the Port Discovery Theme, with music by Joseph Alfuso, lyrics by Carolyn Gardner. This futuristic sounding song describes a futuristic sea port where discoveries of all time await you. Many synthesizer-like sounds add to the future sound. Think Tomorrowland-type music.

Also from Port Discovery is the Stormrider Suite, composed by Mark Mancina, whom you may remember composed the score for Tarzan. The Stormrider, a simulator ride through turbulent weather systems, is the main attraction for Port Discovery. This instrumental suite, the first piece of actual attraction music on the CD, helps to establish the adventure and danger that confront passengers as they attempt to chase down a storm.

The stickers of the Port of Call logos that came with the CD

The fifth track is Lost River, the theme for the Lost River Delta, an area that can probably best be described as a dense and mysterious jungle. The song itself, with music by Tim Heintz and lyrics once again by Carolyn Gardner, has an exotic sound, and describes the courageous adventures which first explored the area to discover its mysteries.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull is up next, the main attraction for the Lost River Delta. The music, much like the rest of attraction, is very similar to the Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland. As such, it features several familiar themes from John Williams's Raiders of the Lost Ark score woven together by Richard Bellis to underscore the exciting adventures of the ride.

Next is the Arabian Coast theme, which has music by John Kavanaugh and Joseph Alfuso, and lyrics by Steve Hedrick. This port theme borrows heavily from the musical style Alan Menken created for Aladdin. It describes traveling across the land of sand searching for the Arabian Coast, mentioning magic lamps and genies.

This is followed by the Magic Lamp Theater Suite. The Magic Lamp Theater is home to an attraction that combines a 3D movie with a live stage show, all starring the Genie from Aladdin. The score here is several themes that Alan Menken wrote for Aladdin, along with others written by Danny Troob, who conducted the orchestra for this recording.

A Mermaid Song is the theme for Mermaid Lagoon, an area featuring attractions, shops, and restaurants based on the characters and settings from The Little Mermaid. In this song, two sailors describe hearing a mermaid singing and trying to figure out what they actually heard. This one has music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, with additional music and lyrics by John Kavanaugh.

Mermaid Lagoon Theater features a stage show of The Little Mermaid. Included in this track are Part of Your World and Under the Sea, both of which have music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman. It is most definitely not Sam Wright singing Under the Sea, although it may very well be Jodi Benson singing Part of Your World. Both artists have sung these songs on many occasions for Disney, so it is quite surprising that others are used here. These versions of the songs differ only slightly from the versions in the movie.

The collector's card

The Mysterious Island theme has a vocal introduction by Captain Nemo, but no sung vocals, other than the words "Mysterious Island" in a few places. This theme is by film composer Shirley Walker. This area has the theme of Captain Nemo's secret hideaway. The adventurous theme sounds slightly dark and mysterious, as one would expect Captain Nemo to be.

The background music for Journey to the Center of the Earth is next. The attraction finds guests on an exciting voyage through tunnels drilled into a live volcano. The music, however, is a slow-tempo melodic piece composed by the great Buddy Baker. Almost a haunting melody, this theme is even more dark and mysterious than the Mysterious Island theme.

The music from the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction uses several themes from that movie's original score by Max Steiner, put together by Richard Bellis. So it obviously captures the mystery and excitement of that movie. Another great melodic piece to accompany Journey to the Center of the Earth.

The final track is the Tokyo DisneySea Suite. This song features the main Tokyo DisneySea theme, which was based on an original song by Steve Skorija, and features music by Brad Kelley and lyrics by Steve Hedrick, inviting guests "to a sea of dreams". Following the main theme are portions of each of the Port of Call themes in a different order than they appear on the CD.

"Okay but what do you really think about it?" I guess that's a fair question. On every CD I have, there are songs I like better than others, as well as occasionally some that I skip over. But on this CD, about the only thing I sometimes skip over is Under the Sea, because it isn't Sam Wright's voice. But even then, I still let it play.

When I first got the CD and saw that several of the songs were the Port of Call themes, I was slightly disappointed, because my original hope was for a CD full of attraction music. But after just a couple of listenings, I found myself enjoying the entire CD, not just the attraction music. This CD is put together well, and includes something from each Port of Call, and songs from all the popular attractions.

As always, I do have a couple of favorites on this CD. One favorite is the first song on the CD, Porto Paradiso. I always enjoy CDs that start with a lively, uptempo number, and this song certainly delivers. A great performance by a great vocalist (no voice credits are given for any of the songs) adds to this delightful number.

My other favorite is Journey to the Center of the Earth. Of course, I pretty much knew ahead of time that this one would be great because of Buddy Baker, one of my favorite composers. This piece has a wonderful tone to it, and I'm sure the music helps greatly to set the mood for the attraction in the park. To me, it has almost a gentle feel, while also giving a glimpse of the excitement of the ride. Just a great composition, in my opinion.

When I bought this disc, it was a special commemorative opening edition, which they may or may not still be offering. As such, it came with a park map, some stickers, and a numbered card, which is made of credit card plastic, and has some of the official park artwork on the front and the park's slogan on the back. Also in with the disc were some advertising flyers, which were all in Japanese, which showcased the parks, hotels, (I'm guessing on these now) upcoming events, and other releases.

I don't know if I'll ever make it to Tokyo DisneySea, although I would love to go, but I still greatly enjoy this wonderful CD.

Several people have asked me where to get Tokyo Disney CDs. Might I recommend CD Japan at http://www.cdjapan.co.jp which has a large selection of Disney discs. They have reasonable prices and great service.

- Story by Steve Burns; Artwork ©Disney
Posted

Steve is a three-time Disney Store National Trivia finalist and webmaster of BurnsLand, home of Steve's Disney Railroad Adventures.

E-mail Steve at steve@startedbyamouse.com, discuss this article in the StartedByAMouse.com Disney Discussion Forums or use the Talkback feature below.

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