The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem, and More! - The 25th Anniversary Collection [SOUNDTRACK]

Muppets (Related Recordings)

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 17, 2002)
• Original Release Date: January 29, 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00006IZP8
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,012 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Those who spent (or are spending) their formative years watching Kermit and Miss Piggy dance their special interspecies dance will revel in this spectacular, positively historic new Muppets CD, released just in time for the 25th anniversary of Jim Henson's The Muppet Show. A 20-page insert booklet, complete with color photos, details the fascinating history of Muppet music. Remember when Sesame Street's rendition of Jeff Moss's "Rubber Duckie" hit the kiddie pop charts? This 27-song CD harvests favorite and lesser-known recordings from feature films and from the original The Muppet Show, stringing songs ranging from Piero Umiliani's "Mahna Mahna" to Tony Burrello's "There's a New Sound" (the sound that's made by worms) together with skits and grand pronouncements and goofy sound effects like an old-time vaudeville show. A stunning variety of musical styles are showcased in this witty, wonderful collection that reminds us that a world without Fozzie Bear and Gonzo and Kermit and Miss Piggy would be less fuzzy indeed. --Karin Snelson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It could have been so much better., February 7, 2004

By	D. COLLIER "Doug Collier" (Brownwood, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I grew up watching Sesame Street and the Muppet Show. (That may sound like a paradoxical statement to some.) I loved the first few Muppet motion pictures as a kid and now as an adult. I know there are thousands, perhaps millions, just like me. For myself and for them I make the following statement concerning this CD:

We deserved much better.

I know there are some good songs on here. Among them, "It's Not Easy Bein' Green," "Wishing Song," "He'll Make Me Happy," "Can You Picture That," and "Happiness Hotel" along with a few others. Those great classics speak for themselves, so I don't feel the need to elaborate on how good they are. But Scooter's song, "There's a New Sound" is the most redundant song I've ever heard. If I were hearing that song as a 6-year-old child, I still wouldn't like it. There's no variation and no creativity in it.

Creativity has always been a Muppet trademark.

Also, I couldn't believe that they did not include the classic song "Saying Goodbye." I remember this heartfelt song being played on Entertainment Tonight as a tribute the day Jim Henson died. Also missing from THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN soundtrack was the catchy tune on their Broadway show, "Somebody's Getting Married."

The remixing of Gonzo's wonderful song, "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday," was the salt on an open wound. I listened to that and thought, "Of all the songs, why in the world did they have to alter that one?"

Would I recommend this CD (to another Muppet fan)? The answer is yes but only because there are currently no alternatives out there.

Perhaps what would be most pleasing to all the Muppet fans is if the actual motion picture soundtracks were remastered and released. That way, everyone could have the original recordings of their favorite songs as they remembered them.

This rating system won't allow me to give it 2.5 stars, so I'll cut the CD some slack and round it up to 3 stars.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One bad track, but one great CD, December 9, 2002

By	Blake Petit "Novelist, Comixtreme.com columni... (Ama, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Boy, am I glad I stumbled across this CD on Amazon.com one day. I'm a huge fan of the Muppets, and one of the best things about them is their music. This collection really is a grab bag of some of their best stuff, from classics from the TV show to selections from each Muppet movie.

The stuff from the show, of course, is great -- Kermit's old standby "It's Not Easy Being Green" is in there, as is a comedy routine between Kermit and Fozzie, and both the show's opening and closing numbers.

The selections from the movie are a Muppet fan's dream collection -- "Rainbow Connection" from "The Muppet Movie," "Together Again" from "The Muppets Take Manhattan," "One More Sleep `Till Christmas" from "The Muppet Christmas Carol."

The only weak link on this album is the last song -- a remake of Gonzo's "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" from "Muppets From Space." I suppose it was inevitable that this song would be included, since the rest of the music from MFS was nothing more than Muppet covers of rock tunes, but this really is a lousy, pseudo-techno version of the song that pales in comparison to the original version Gonzo performed in the first Muppet movie.

Still, that one bad track is a small price to pay for such a good album. The CD also includes a booklet with interesting tidbits about each song and about the Muppets in general. Here's hoping they do a volume two!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Hey, Look It's a Bear"., November 4, 2002

By	tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I grew up with the Muppets. When I was a wee lad I had daily doses of Sesame Street, weekly doses of "The Muppet Show", when I got older I devoured "The Storyteller", and THE MUPPET MOVIE is still one of my favorite movies of all time. For a fan like me, this album is a must have. It includes songs not only from "The Muppet Show" but at least one tune from all six Muppet movies. However, I wish they would have had something different from MUPPETS IN SPACE than the remake of "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday."

Some of my favorite songs on the album include:

"The Muppet Show Theme"

"Mahna Mahna"

"Wishing Song"

"We Got Us"

"The Rainbow Connection"

"Happiness Hotel"

"One More Sleep 'Til Christmas"

"Love Led Us Here"

The album also comes with a well informed twenty page booklet, filled with all sorts of Muppets trivia. If you love the Muppets, you will love this album.