Customer Reviews

Miracle On 34th Street: Original Soundtrack Album (1994 Film)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the all-time great holiday soundtracks.It ranks
right up there with "Home Alone"!The songs are great(Kenny G's
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is a gem!),but it's
the instrumentals that really stand out-that main theme is
beautiful!As companion volumes,I recommend the complete
orchestral score CDs for both the 1994 and 1947 versions,
which are available online at www.intrada.com.

Then this is your cd. The whole cd will have you singing along and tapping your toes. The songs range from fun and unbeat (Natalie Cole's "Jingle Bells"), to easy jazz (Ray Charles "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"), to beautiful and soothing (Sarah McLachlan's "Song for a Winter's Night"). It has been one of my favorite Christmas cds for years.

Great album with songs by great performers. The music was as good as the movie. I really enjoyed Sarah McLachlan's Song For A Winter's Night, and Natalie Cole's Jingle Bells.

Track Listing
1. Overture - Bruce Broughton
2. Jingle Bells - Natalie Cole
3. It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas - Dionne Warwick
4. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Kenny G
5. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - Ray Charles
6. Joy To The World - Aretha Franklin/FAME Freedom Choir
7. Santa Claus Is Back In Town - Elvis Presley
8. Signing - Bruce Broughton
9. Bellevue Carol - Bruce Broughton
10. Song For A Winter's Night - Sarah McLachlan

Love the show, love the great mix of music. Nice for background music when you're having a get-together - not distracting like some mixes can be.

this is an awesome soundtrack it is enjoyable and fun to listen to. the best songs on this disc are all of them

This is a wonderful variety of holiday music. If you have ever seen the movie, it will bring back fun memories. This CD is great for parties and other holiday gatherings. After all, it has everyone from Natalie Cole to Kenny G to Elvis! Sure to put even the toughest Scrooge out there in the Christmas spirit!

Driving home to Maine for Thanksgiving, I found myself (as usual) switching stations constantly along the Mass Pike. I can't think of any other stretch of road where the signals go in and out so quickly. Well, it makes for some variety, I suppose, but it's kinda distracting. I really have to get a car CD player one of these days. If only for safety's sake.

One thing I discovered is the number of stations that were already in high holiday mode (as in EXCLUSIVE holiday mode). Now I hate to be a Scrooge, but a steady diet of anything can get pretty maddening. At least, if there were a mix of styles. Problem is, as radio station playlists become more and more restrictive, genre-wise, the special holiday programming becomes increasingly samey too.

The nice thing about the soundtrack for the 1994 version of MIRACLE ON 34TH ST. is that it actually has the kind of variety you wish you'd find more of in broadcasting. It's a mixed bag, but not outrageously so. Fans of Natalie Cole can usually deal with listening to Dionne Warwick (and vice versa). Nobody in Ray Charles' camp is likely to complain about his track being followed by Aretha Franklin. And I know that Kenny G. has his detractors, but in limited doses, I never have a problem with him. The instrumental take on "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" mixes a little light jazz among the soul and the standards. And it's all rounded out nicely with soundtrack selections composed for the film (I assume--never actually saw the movie) by Bruce Broughton, which are very well done. The closer is a pleasant surprise from Sarah McLaughlin. "Song For A Winter's Night," while not really a Christmas carol is appropriately seasonable and quite haunting. The double tracking of her vocal adds a dimension to her somewhat mannered style that I hadn't heard before.

So maybe I'll break down, get that CD player installed in my car, and bring this CD along when I head for Maine again over Christmas. It'll offer more variety than most radio stations--and no commercials. How can I lose?