Customer Reviews

Sherman Brothers Songbook

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Being a fan of Disney music I had heard of the Sherman Brothers before and knew they had written a good deal of music for movies and Disney theme parks. This collection really illustrates just how prolific they were! Some of the songs I had heard many times before and some I had never heard, but every track was enjoyable and the collection as a whole is outstanding.

It's remarkable how diverse the Sherman Brothers' body of work is, and this collection is a fitting testament to that--everything from "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" to Kenny Loggins' "Your Heart Will Lead You Home." There are some added surprises like a rehearsal recording of Annette Funicello and a recording of Walt Disney giving his stamp of approval to the Sherman Brothers performing "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow." The only disappointment for me was that the three tracks from the movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" were not from the original soundtrack.

The booklet included in the CD package contained a lot of great history about the Sherman Brothers and the recordings in this collection. If you're considering getting the digital download version, it's worth the extra money to get the CD.

I have listened to this recording several times now and have enjoyed it tremendously. While not every song will make it into my "every day" mix, every song at least made me smile and I'm delighted to have this collection in my music library.

For anyone that doesn't know, the Sherman Brothers, Robert and Richard, were the quintessential songwriters for the Walt Disney Studio. They were handpicked by Walt Disney himself in the very late 1950's and were the only songwriters that were put under studio contract. This two-disc compilation is 59 songs that were recorded for Walt Disney Records; amazingly enough there is still a significant amount of the Sherman Brothers songs not included that were recorded outside of Disney. The brothers certainly were a prolific pair, weren't they? However, the good news is that the majority of what is considered to be the Sherman Brothers best work was done under the auspices of the Disney Studio. So if you are either a fan of the Disney films circa 1961 -1971, or of the Sherman Brothers work and both are so closely entwined, they should almost be synonymous, this is a collection you won't want to miss.

With the exception I believe of "The Sword in the Stone", all the other Disney films, television shows, and theme park music are all represented, and in most cases in the original interpretations. So for example Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke perform the four-song suite from "Mary Poppins" from the film's soundtrack. "Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang", which is a non Disney film is included here, but only because Disney Records did record some of the songs, and those are what are presented here not the original Dick Van Dyke/Sally Anne Howes versions. Another omission is the best-known song from "The Jungle Book", "Bare Necessities", simply because the Shermans didn't compose it, which is odd since the rest of the score was theirs. Also I'm not sure if Sterling Holloway and Paul Winchell who so indelibly voiced Winnie the Pooh and Tigger respectively in "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" are used in the songs from that film. The vocals sound close but not quite the same.

Enough quibbling, if you're a Disney baby boomer and you have kids as I, there is much to savor in the old familiar favorites and the flood of warm memories they evoke. Besides the "Mary Poppins" "Jungle Book" and "Winnie the Pooh" films, there is the original "Parent Trap" ("Let's Get Together"), "Summer Magic" ("The Ugly Bug Ball"), "The Monkey's Uncle"(Annette Funicello backed by The Beach Boys), "That Darn Cat!", "The Happiest Millionaire" ("Fortuosity"), "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" and "The Aristocats". Then there are the theme songs for the Disney attractions, "It's a Small World" instantly recreating the 1964-65 World's Fair, where this was introduced to me, and Walt Disney World where I fondly got to revisit it years later with my wife and son. "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" recalls a delightful memory of that same trip to Disney World in 1999 with our feathered hosts Zazu from "The Lion King" and Iago from "Aladdin". And of course hearing "The Wonderful World of Color" I'm transported back in time to all those long ago Sunday nights watching on television first in black and white then in glorious color what everyone I knew called "Walt Disney", but was formally known as "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color". This was the theme song that played as the show began.

Newly discovered pleasures that I've enjoyed start with the romantic ballad "For Now, For Always," written for the original "Parent Trap". In the movie it's sung very briefly by Maureen O'Hara, but is used as her character's theme music. Here is the fully recorded version by Ms. O'Hara, who reveals a lovely, melodic voice. There is a blithe, buoyant duet for Maurice Chevalier and Hayley Mills from "In Search of the Castaways", called "Enjoy It!" and both certainly do! From "The Happiest Millionaire", a very ingénue Lesley Ann Warren does very nicely indeed with a wistful ballad "Valentine Candy", which is reminiscent in it's style and feeling to Rodgers and Hammerstein more famous "It Might As Well Be Spring." Angela Lansbury brings a tender yearning to "The Age of Not Believing" from "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". An irrepressible Louis Armstrong puts his own unique stamp on "Ten Feet Off the Ground", and finally there is the gently sweet lullaby like "Your Heart Will Lead You Home" from "The Tigger Movie" which is sung and co-written by Kenny Loggins.

The songbook begins with the first song the brothers did for Disney the gimmicky teenage "Tall Paul" sung by Annette Funicello. It's brought to a fitting conclusion in the last selection Walt Disney joining his "Boys" as they all chant "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" an optimistic ditty written for the General Electric Pavilion at the NY World's Fair. The illustrated booklet that accompanies the CD is very well put together, good black and white photographs and very interesting little vignettes about most of the songs. Thanks for the memories, Boys!

Excellent collection. All of the songs are stuck in my head now. The Sherman Brothers are my favorite songwriters. I am now constantly singing "The Flubber Song", "The Parent Trap", "Fortuosity" and "'Bout Time". They are probably my favorites due to the rarity of those songs. My one complaint is that this deserved a four-disc as opposed to a two-disc. There were films that didn't get mentioned in this release, such as "The Sword in the Stone". I would have enjoyed "Hockety Pockety" or "A Most Befuddling Thing". I would also have enjoyed more songs from "The Happiest Millionaire". I would have enjoyed "Let's Have a Drink On It" or "I'll Always Be Irish". Perhaps something from "Charlotte's Web" even though it's not Disney. Neither was "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and it was still included. That was a good appetizer, but when do we get the main course? The Sherman Brothers genius cannot be covered by merely two CDs. I'd like to see a second volume added. In the words of Oliver Twist, "Please sir, I want some more." Other than that, a fantastic release!

I've personally waited for a collection like this for years. A wonderful smorgasbord of Sherman Brothers music from throughout their long, fabled career. Standard, but nice double-disc packaging, extensive liner notes and a great remastering job on both discs.

I'd love to see a follow-up album, with more tunes from "A Symposium on Popular Songs" (especially "The Boogie Woogie Bakery Man") and Annette's Golden Horseshoe Revue classic "Mr. Piano Man Please."

Thank you Disney!

A wonderful potpourri of Sherman Brothers compositions - including some Haley Mills recordings that could prove hard to find on cd - also includes three bous tracks from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
A fine 2 disc collection

This is a new compilation of work which updates a compilation released in 1992. Walt Disney Records executive producer, Randy Thornton, has researched, restored, produced, and released dozens of recordings from the Disney archives over the past 25 years. This is a wonderful compilation of Sherman work from their Disney years which has something from almost every TV show, movie, theme park, and record they were involved with. It is also in chronological order. I grew up listening to all these songs and they bring back very happy memories and are still uplifting and positive. As Mr. Thornton indicated in an interview or liner notes once, it would take a library of CDs to release EVERY Sherman composition. "The Complete Works of the Sherman Brothers" does not exist. This is an excellent selection of "If you had to pick the BEST song from each year or project, what would it be?" One problem is that the Sherman's composed many non-Disney works which means that fans have to research on their own to compile a "complete works" set. Thankfully Disney produced an album of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang songs which allows those songs to be included here although they are not from the original soundtrack. I still meet people who think Chitty was a Disney movie but it wasn't. It was released by United Artists and produced by the James Bond team as the Bond films of that time since the book was written by Ian Fleming, the creator of Bond.

We were looking for a song from a Disney World ride that no longer exists (Dreamflight) and came across this collection. While we didn't find the song we were after, this was such a great product that we just had to buy it. If you are of the boomer age, the early songs will rekindle the fun of the movies and tv that we all grew up with. Just hearing all the upbeat music will put a smile on your face and have you bouncing around the house. I challenge anyone to listen to "The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers" without tapping your toes and grinning ear to ear! More than the music, the fascinating stories and photos in the "songbook insert" will delight everyone, explaining the origins of the songs, and background of some of the lyrics. Of all the Disney music we have collected over the years, this is the only place we have heard the full and original "One Little Spark" from Journey into Imagination (remember Figment?) and Walt with the Sherman Bros. singing "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tommorrow" one of my favorites. While we are buying most music now as MP3s, this is one exception, because the insert is as terrific as the music. What a talented team!

some of the selections on the this recording is the first time its ever been available to the general public. Just wonderful! The only negative thing I would like to say is that it is way to short with only 25 tracks. They have only touched the creative world that the Sherman Brothers have giving us. I only hope they come out with another CD of their creations.. Dennis

I bought this for my son for Christmas and we listened to it in the car. It has so many great songs, I'm hoping to buy one soon for myself! Most of the songs are sung by the original artists -- awesome!

This CD includes many Disney songs from attractions and movies. It is delightful for anyone who enjoys the classic music of Disney.