Customer Reviews

In The Key Of Disney [Amazon.com Exclusive Version]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Okay...this is simple enough: if you are fans of Disney music and the Beach Boys, you will highly likely really enjoy this album. I know I did! Brian Wilson scores with this one - delivering classic Disney tunes with a definitive Beach Boys sound. Each track is unique and highly enjoyable. "Kiss the Girl" has an especially good Beach Boys flavor to it. Highly recommended!

Where do you even begin..... Musical Genius Brian Wilson has hit all the right notes once again with a fantastic covers album of Classic Disney Music. It doesn't get much better then this.

Throughout the album he covers songs featured in movies like: Toy Story, Jungle Book, Pocahontas, The Lion King, Dumbo, Mary Poppins, Pinocchio & even Cinderella. The list of songs he could've done can be endless with Disney's 80 year catalogue, but I find Brian chose a good batch of songs. Being an old school Disney fan, I would've enjoyed MORE songs and more of the older stuff, but listening to the previews and listening to the album at work before release, I grew to really appreciate the album for what it was. 10 stars I'd give it. Anything Brian touches turns to the sound of Gold. This should be a highlight album of the year for any music collectors.

Now for us audiophiles, this album NEEDS to be pressed in a LTD Edition Vinyl just like the Gershwin Album was. I ended up buying that one on CD and 3x on Vinyl. Thats a fantastic album. Brian just knows how to get the musical point thru to any generation.

This album is WORTH picking up. Do yourselves a favour and DO IT!!!!!

Beautiful cd that Brian has recorded for his children. I am going to buy a lot of copies of this for my kids and grand kids. I'm a school teacher and I'm alway looking for great music to play for my class. Love Colors of The Wind, Baby Mine, well just all of them. Good for Brian for finally doing what he wants. He's proven all he needs to prove, now he's having fun and making us SMiLE.

The hardcore BW "purists" won't like it, but so what? It's not about them. Brian Wilson has paid his dues and he can record whatever the heck he wants so they need to just plain shut up with their criticism! This CD is for those of us who actually get it about having fun with music, and who enjoy a little lightheartedness and nostalgia from time to time. This CD has an appeal for kids as well as kids at heart who remember what Disney was like BEFORE all the "tween stars" took over...when it was still all about the Mouse, The Duck, the Goofy, and when going to Disneyland was still a dream come true rather than an overcrowded financial nightmare. When you think So. California what comes to mind? The Beach Boys and Disneyland, so for me this musical merging is perfect for those of us who like to have fun and a bit of whimsy in our lives. Key of Disney takes us back to a time of innocence, of wonder, of when it was ok to visibly show joy and enthusiasm for something or someone without worrying about looking unsophisticated. Sometimes it's great to be 50 going on 5 and release some of the everyday stresses and worries, and this kind of music facilitates that. I plan to buy TWO CDs...one for me, and one for my grandson. He needs to know what Disney was like before Miley Cyrus and the Cheetah Girls.

(NOte that this is a review of the 11 track CD on the Disney Label - not the Amazon Exclusive CD with 13 tracks)

I can't believe I'm giving a Brian Wilson a four (and not a five star) rating, but - after a few plays - I think that's what it deserves. Five stars means it's an album I'll play a lot. I'm not sure this is it - and I'll explain why.....

This is Brian Wilson week in my house since both this CD and the 2-disc "Smile Sessions" by the Beach Boys (well - it's really Brian's) both arrived and I've been playing the 40-year-old-plus Smile recordings along with the "less than a year old" Disney songs. In the early days of the Beach Boys, Wilson was a musical wunderkind - composing new songs. Brilliant songs. But it's been quite a few years since he has done that. Even "Lucky Old Sun" (which I like) had covers as well as originals.

When ".. reimagines Gershwin" came out last year I liked the idea that Wilson was doing new arrangements. With the Disney set, he does some new things but a lot of it sounds like the Beach Boys covering Disney. And - on at least some song (including the first track - Randy Newman's "You've Got A Friend in Me") his vocals seem off. I like what he did with "Kiss The Girl" and "When you wish upon a star" though.

So As Amazon's 4 star rating mean "I like it" and five stars mean "I Love it", I really have to go with the four stars this time. But I'll remain a Wilson fan and continue to follow his career. By the way, though I haven't finished "The Smile Sessions", I' really in a five-star mood there, because of the creativity I'm hearing.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

Just when you think Brian should be loosing steam, He comes up with some more tunes and Great remakes .There is at least 4 songs that you just can't stop listening to .
Big Job Brian !!!!

If you like the Beach Boys and you like Disney music, this is the album for you. The songs are catchy, fun pop tunes--perfect for a day at the beach or tooling around town. I love this album--it's always on my iPod. Kiss the Girl is my favorite track by far. So much fun!

Brian spits out another wad of sticky, immaculately produced pop goo - this time aligning himself with fellow California visionary, Walt Disney. This would be a great CD for the appropriate listening group; unfortunately, that age group is kids aged 5 - 10.

The other group that might find themselves interested are the many thousands (like myself) who consider themselves Brian Wilson/Beach Boys completists. If you simply have to own every Brian & Beach Boy release, well . . . what are you waiting for? You best hook up with Amazon ASAP and get this mindless attempt at money making as quickly as you can. If I'm not mistaken, it's advertised as a limited or special release, so it may not be around forever.

Brian is a great guy, was a great artist & innovator and, bless his heart (and he's got a big one) the poor guy has been through hell. But there is very little excuse for putting his name on something as banal as this.

Bottom line: For Brian Wilson's Disney, it's definitely Enter At Your Own Risk.

As we experienced last year with 'Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin', Brian still has a lot of life - and brilliance - left inside of him. This newest endeavour of his, a compilation of Disney Classics presented as only Brian Wilson could, continues on that wonderful path. His interpretations of these songs is exactly what you'd expect from Brian... rich and nicely thought out musical productions with beautiful vocals all around - exactly what he did in the '60s' with the Beach Boys and what he continues to do to this day. I would definitely recommend this release to anyone ... not just fans of Disney, or fans of Brian / the Beach Boys, but to everyone who loves light and enjoyable music that will hook you into singing along.

My only fear is that with the Beach Boys' long awaited 'SMiLE' getting released on November 1st, this incredible addition to Brian Wilson's catalogue may get overlooked while people rush out to purchase that. My suggestion would be to get them both. While listening to 'SMiLE', you will hear the brilliance of a (then) 24 year old genius who was taking on the world with some of the most original and unique material one could ever imagine in 1967. Upon then listening to Brian's 'In The Key Of Disney', you will hear that same brilliance still shining through but this time through the eyes and ears of a 69 year genius who has already won over the world.

As far as tribute albums are concerned, this album is top-notch. The song selection runs the gamete of Disney's catalog, from Mary Poppins all the way up to Toy Story 3. If you grew up with Disney films and Beach Boys' records, this purchase is well worth it.

That being said, I could not bring myself to give it a 5-star rating, when compared to the rest of Brian Wilson's catalog. Even in the last few years, "That Lucky Old Sun" and "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin" are miles ahead of this CD in terms of musicianship and orchestration. I would put "In the Key of Disney" probably on par with Brian's "Imagination" album from a decade or so back. The guy is talented enough to make singing the phone book bring a tear to your eye, but you're left wanting more in certain albums like this - simply because of the high standard you have come to expect out of Brian Wilson.

So, if you do not yet own any of Brian's work, your money is likely better spent elsewhere. But if you are a fan of his work on the whole, I still think it is well worth the price of admission. His rendition of "Kiss the Girl" outdid Sebastian the Crab... and that's saying something :)