Customer Reviews

Mary Poppins: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack (1964 Film)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

It gives me no pleasure to give a 3-star rating to a 5-star motion picture soundtrack. But there's so much more they could be giving us.

Right now, you can purchase from Amazon the soundtrack to THE SOUND OF MUSIC. It's a CD which contains 16 tracks. However, if you're a bigger fan, you may purchase a 35th Anniversary Special Edition soundtrack to THE SOUND OF MUSIC which contains 31 tracks on two CDs. This larger soundtrack contains instrumental music which you will not find on the original soundtrack. In other words, you can purchase all of the music from the movie.

Why can't they do this with MARY POPPINS? That's what I miss most! It's the instrumental music without words (e.g. when George Banks was summoned to the bank at night and he walks by the St. Paul's Cathedral, the orchestra beautifully playing "Feed the Birds").

I am glad that all the songs (with words) are on here. That alone makes it better than most soundtracks out there. Another really great thing is the interviews at the end with the Sherman brothers who wrote the songs (as well as many other Disney songs). They explain the origin of the song "A Spoonful of Sugar," and they talk about several other songs including one which they loved very much but were unable to put in the film.

This year marks the film's 40th anniversary. Hopefully, we will soon have out a complete MARY POPPINS soundtrack.

I was given "Mary Poppins: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack" when I was four, in 1970. I still hum most of the songs. You will too. Though it was released several decades before, it is a classic, entertaining and completely delightful CD.

These songs are silly, deliciously without any message. "A Spoonful Sugar" (helps the medicine go dow-own!) is as meaningless as it is catchy. Don't be embarrassed after a few listens, that you, an adult, are caught up in public whistling "Chim Chim Cher-ee."

The music seems a million miles away from the canned pop tunes Disney cranks out now. Don't get me wrong, I love "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast" but there is a point at which today's Disney seems to be written to meet a market need than for the pure love of music.

Among my prouder moments in grade school was being able to spell 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,' and that I could say it without stumbling over each syllable.

I fully recommend "Mary Poppins: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack."

Anthony Trendl

Just a word to everyone out there. I saw "Mary Poppins" in 1964, and bought its Original Soundtrack Album on Vista Records (a subsidiary of Disney). That album's score was not taken directly from the movie soundtrack (as this "restored" CD release is). Instead, bits of music and dialogue were included in the LP to make for better segues; the "Overture" ends in an entirely different fashion; the biggest damage was done to "Supercali..." where the musical intro has been omitted as well as the comical dialogue in the middle of the song. The sound engineers have stripped out all the charm and warmth of the original Soundtrack version, and yet they call it a "Restored" or "Remastered" version. This is why I continue to play the vinyl version (transferred to CD). And frankly, there is no reason to include all 8 minutes of "Step In Time." If you want all 8 minutes, just watch the DVD -- like every other song, that's where they lifted the music for this CD.

If you were a child of the 1960s, it would have been hard to avoid this movie and its many classic songs. Many of us are now passing our love for the film to our own children.

Dick Van Dyke screws up the cockney accent big-time -- comedians in the UK still make jokes about this. Glynis Johns can't really sing. Disney's attitude to women's emancipation seems, at best, ambivalent. There is plenty here that wouldn't make it into a 21st century movie -- apart perhaps from Renee Zellweger's wandering accent in "Bridget Jones's Diary". But it is these unpolished elements that make the soundtrack so lovable.

The Sherman Brothers rarely get a mention in histories of popular music. Goodness knows why -- it is possible that more people know their songs than those of Burt Bacharach or Paul McCartney. It's therefore excellent that this CD finishes with an interview with the two.

I normally review albums by the likes of Keith Jarrett, Deep Purple and Steely Dan for Amazon, and I had to think twice before admitting that 'Mary Poppins' is one of my favourite song collections!

I love all Disney films and I was considering buying the soundtracks of my favorite ones (Alice In Wonderland, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Mary Poppins). By carefully analysing the tracks of each CD, I saw that most of them had the song and the score weaved together all in one package. But I don't think I would like it or listen to it, I mean don't get me wrong, I enjoy instrumental music but it tends to get boring. So then I saw that the Mary Poppins album had only songs on it meaning that my problem was solved, I only bought the Mary Poppins soundtrack. Julie Andrews' voice is beatiful and not only did she win the Oscar for Best Actress, her interpretation of the son Chim Chim Cher-ee won one for the Sherman Brothers and when she sings Feed The Birds, it sends chills up my spine. Might I add that if you still want the other songs or simply more, buy one of the song compilation CDs like Classic Disney Volumes I, II, III, IV and V or (what I did) get the two Princess Collection albums, they are worth it.

And whatever you do also buy the movie, one of Disney's best live-action films and watch for Julie Andrews in Disney's latest motion picture : The Princess Diaries (in theaters August 3rd) which also has a great sountrack (if you like pop) but unfortunately, Julie doesn't sing.

I bought this CD when it came out around '98 and I love it! It reminds me so much of the movie and is so upbeat; its great to sing along and clean house to! My niece will fall asleep right away listening to this cd and drinking a bottle of apple juice. If you loved the movie, you'll love this CD! Yea!!!!! Two thumbs up!!!!!!!

This is such a great CD. It has all my absolute favorite songs on it. I think I've watched and listened to the movie and the soundtrack so much now thatI think I know Mary Poppins all by heart! The sound on this CD is just(how else can I express it?)"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!!"Julie Andrews's(Mary Poppins) voice is wonderful,and Dick Van Dyke(Bert)makes you remember "Chim-Chim-Cheree".I even use "Stay Awake" and the beautiful lullaby "Feed the Birds" sometimes when I can't get to sleep.This CD is absolutely a must have for Julie Andrews fans, Disney fans,or just anyone who needs a lift.Cheerio!

MARY POPPINS has always been one of my favorite movies. However, I never fully appreciated the high quality of the score until I heard the soundtrack CD. Every song contributes to the story yet is memorable in its own right. The recorded sound itself is crisp and full, showing its age (it was made in 1964) hardly at all. No wonder the album was so popular when it was first released.
Julie Andrews as Mary is in her absolute vocal prime, with a pristine, warm sound and that trademark clarity of diction. As Bert, Dick van Dyke's "Cockney" accent has often been criticized as artificial-sounding; however, no one could deny that his is a fun and warm-hearted performance. David Tomlinson as the stern Mr. Banks (who finally learns to "lighten up") is totally convincing, singing excellently. Of the smaller roles, Ed Wynn, with his famous infectious giggle, is a delight as Uncle Albert in "I Love to Laugh," a wonderful song that will lift your spirits high. The combination of fine songs, fine singing, and colorful sound makes the MARY POPPINS soundtrack CD a must-have for fans of the movie. You'll find yourself playing it again and again.

In Feb. of 2001 I remember Mary Poppins was on TV and having not seen it for so many years - not since I was a secure, happy little girl and my parents were still married, anyway - I nearly froze when I heard the Chim-Chimney song wafting up the stairwell. I didn't watch the whole movie, but just the slight memory the songs can bring back is enough to reiterate the past in its entirety.
Which is why I completely recommend the soundtrack! If you don't want to sit through the 3 hrs+ movie (or you DO but you just can't justify spending all that time!) then get the soundtrack and remember what it was like to be a little kid!
The songs are great to take you back to any mood - from being sick and cozy on the couch, gazing, shiny-eyed, out the raindrop-laced window at the streetlamps and singing "Feed the Birds", to swinging in the backyard on a summer day when it's about to rain, you and your sister together taunting your only brother with the women's rights creed "Sister Suffragette", or seeing the world in the sense that it's pictured in "Jolly Holiday" (Have you ever seen the grass so green? Or a bluer sky?)

I know everyone has distinct memories from this movie and if they are sentimental and almost melancholily happy, get this soundtrack and reminisce whichever part of your childhood you're in the mood for - they're almost all on here!

When I watched Mary Poppins for the first time in six years, I was reunited with some of my favorite songs, which I had forgotten. I was immediately compelled to buy the CD. Now I can listen to the music anytime without dealing with annoying VCRs.
The sound on this CD is fabulous and the songs are just as great as they always were. From the delightfully bouncy "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" to the beautiful lullaby "Feed the Birds", this CD is something everyone in your family should enjoy. In the little paper that comes in the front of the CD case, lyrics to every song are included (the ones to "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank" are somewhat incorrect.
Also included on this CD is a roughly 17-minute interview with the Sherman brothers, who wrote the music. (I haven't listened to it yet, I'm too impatient) It's a definite plus, but I think the best five things on the CD are "Sister Suffragette" (#2) "Jolly Holiday" (which is #7 and really romantic) "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (#8) "Feed The Birds" (#12) and "LEt's go Fly a Kite" (#17) If you liek MAry poppins, get the CD. It's a big plus from annoying VCRs.