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5. iTunes�As recently discussed in an LP interview with Randy Thornton, there are plenty of exciting not-recently available tracks from Disney on iTunes. Among those of high interest are songs from the original Mickey Mouse Club, an album of Ludwig von Drake�s comedic antics/songs, and the Archive Collection, which essentially lives up to its name.
There are also several key works out there not available under the Disney search word. Varese Sarabande has made available the score for The Black Cauldron, which has been high on collectors� lists for many years. You can also find many different versions of �Der Fuehrer�s Face� from Spike Jones. None of them are the exact version from the Donald Duck short, but it�s great to have at least one version.
Also highly of note are two tracks available as part of regular albums that can either be purchased in hard copy or as solo tracks on iTunes. Favorite Broadway star Susan Egan is best known to Disney fans for her work in two key Disney projects, as the original Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway (heard on the Original Broadway Cast Recording) and as the voice of Megara in Hercules.
On her excellent So Far . . . album, Egan recorded the song �A Change in Me.� �A Change in Me� was inserted into the Broadway and touring productions of Beauty and the Beast after replacement Toni Braxton took on the role several years into the show�s run. Because of this, the song was never recorded for the Original Broadway Cast Recording. As mentioned earlier, it was used in On the Record and was recorded by Ashley Brown for that album. Here, however, Susan Egan gives us a more character-driven interpretation of the song. It is fitting that the song should be performed by the original Belle in such a manner.
On her Coffee House album, Susan Egan recorded a song written for Meg before �I Won�t Say (I�m in Love)� called �I Can�t Believe My Heart.� As always with Alan Menken, it�s a great melody and David Zippel�s lyrics are very pleasing. As Egan herself has said, though, it wasn�t the right song for Meg�it�s too straightforward and literal for the character. Meg would never say, �What I�ve been taught / I learned the hard way / That life and love are never just / And if you trust you�re just one of the fools / And now I can�t believe my heart / Is saying don�t resist him / That I�ve been on my guard too long.� It�s a case of the right song for the wrong character. These lyrics are essentially what Meg expresses in the movie, but in �I Won�t Say (I�m in Love),� she does it the way Meg would�without admitting any of it.
If you�re one of those without access to iTunes, you have several options. If a technology-friendly friend or family member uses iTunes, you can ask for tracks for gifts (you know, when they say, �What do you want for Christmas?�). You can also hand someone an iTunes gift card (available in many stores) to purchase the songs for you without charging their credit card.
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-- Jim Miles
With a love for animation discovered from watching Oliver & Company in 1988, Jim Miles has actively been studying animation and storytelling through animation since the fifth grade. In addition to his column for the Laughing Place, Jim has written two novels, both of which he hopes to revise for publication sometime before he dies. His love for great literature and the theatre has also driven him to write a libretto for a dramatic musical entitled Fire in Berlin as well as to start a musical comedy, City of Dreams. Jim will soon move to Los Angeles to pursue a full-time writing career.
The opinions expressed by Jim, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted September 29, 2008