Customer Reviews

Sleeping Beauty (1959 Film) [Blisterpack]

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

 

 

Every "Sleeping Beauty" fan will want this latest recording because it is incomplete! Whatever was left out from the last issue is probably here, but don't throw out those vinyls just yet. "Aurora" (soprano Mary Costa) gets cut-off in the middle of her first cantata! A huge chunk of Miss Costa's incredibly beautiful operatic passages (which are included in the video) have been completely edited due to "technical reasons". Balderdash, Mr. Producer! It's 1998, deal with it! Reconstruction treatments need make no apology, especially when they preserve a voice as beautiful and distinct as Mary Costa's. Nevertheless, album producer Randy Thornton deserves high marks for his technical contributions to this hodgepodge of a so-called "Disney musical". Marketing strategy tells me that the next re-issue will produce the corresponding "Never Before In Its Entirety!" soundtrack. In the meantime, this recording is a gem.

This is one of Dysney's finest music scores for a film. Using selections of Tchaikovski's Sleeping Beauty suite, and blending original voice music, it is one of those rare Dysney scores that actually turn out well. I recommend this soundtrack for any Dysney fan. I have not heard any greater score other than Beauty and the Beast. The lyrics are memorable and you can even dance to the music, since it is in fact a waltz. The dramatic selections are syncopated in Maleficent's themes and the love theme between Rose and her prince is unforgettable. This is just as good as Tchaikovski's rendition, so don't consider it a minor work.

We all know the score to Sleeping Beauty is simply beautiful. That alone warrants a five-star rating.
With so much of the film being underscored, you could nearly recite the whole thing in time with the CD. The only way to possibly improve would be to squeeze in a few moments that didn't make the album cut.
The liner notes are lovely, which earns major points in my book. Some beautiful art and a message from the boss at Walt Disney Records cap off a must-have soundtrack.

(NOTE: The "newer" CD released alongside the Blu-Ray has different cover art, but the track listing is EXACTLY the same. The audio may have been restored somewhat, but this previous version was already so clean I'm not sure what more they could do!)

oF COURSE, mARY cOSTA'S VOICE IS A DELIGHTFULLY REFRESHING ONE... bUT FIRST, THIS ALBUM IS INCREDIBLY INCOMPLETE AND, SECOND, WHO WILL GIVE US MARY MARTIN'S SPARKLING PERFORMANCE, BOTH AS A NARRATOR AND AS A SINGER ?