High School Musical [ENHANCED] [SOUNDTRACK]

David Lawrence (Composer)

Product Details

• Composer: David Lawrence
• Audio CD (January 10, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Soundtrack
• Label: Walt Disney Records
• ASIN: B000CCXCTW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (481 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,719 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Disney has struck platinum with High School Musical, a made-for-cable movie that was mega-popular on the Disney Channel before spawning a mega-popular soundtrack. Echoing Grease, the plot involves two students (Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hutchinson) who fall for eath other while on vacation, only to realize theygo to the same high school—though they belong to different cliques. Fortunately they both love singing! The songs are typical Disney pop: on the bland side but also very well-crafted, they stick to your head like strawberry-flavored gum. Among the standouts are "Get'cha Head in the Game," which incorporates noises from a basketball game (squeaking sneakers, bouncing balls, whistles) to great effect; the fab tribute to 1970s piano-pop "What I've Been Looking For"; and the old-school show-tuney "Stick to the Status Quo." The music falters when it tries to go "caliente suave" (a la Gloria Estefan's substandard "Bop to the Top") but overall this CD could get kids to bounce and sing along nicely. Bonus tracks include a reprise of "Get'cha Head in the Game" by R&B group B5 and, fittingly, karaoke versions of the hits "Start of Something" and "Breaking Free." --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Product Description
While on a family New Year's vacation, shy brainiac Gabriella meets high-school basketball star Troy. During a karaoke contest at the teen party, they discover their love for singing... and an interest in each other. But will they be able to break out of their "expected" cliques and discover new interests and talents within themselves? Find out... in High School Musical! Starring Ashley Tisdale from Disney Channel's original TV series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Zac Efron from the WB's Summerland. Soundtrack features all-new music performed by the cast of the movie plus a bonus track by one of today's hottest teen R&B music groups, B5! CD also includes two instrumental tracks for karaoke fun!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

187 of 211 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Waddya know? A charming Disney film for kids and their unwitting parents, January 28, 2006

By	David Pearlman "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As a 40-something adult, this is the kind of movie that would usually send me running from the room. Of course, things change if you have a target-aged young daughter who comes home and tells you that her friends told her this movie is a MUST WATCH!! All right, so with much trepidation I agreed to sit and watch this with my daughter.

And what do you know? It turns out to be charming. No, there are no surprises here (except maybe that it IS charming and not just treacly pap, as are so many for-kids morality movies). Someone had the clever idea of making a musical for kids--a series of music videos tethered by a thin plot, really--and it works. I have to admit that I was fully won over when the basketball practice turned into a music number (Get'cha Head in the Game), with the stock sounds of basketball (squeeky shoes, etc.) cleverly mixed into the song.

There are a number of pretty good songs/videos in the movie, though my favorite is the Breaking Free duet that basically serves as the climax.

Much has been made about the question of whether the actors who sing these songs are really all that musically talented. It's hard to say without seeing them perform live, but most of these songs have clearly been enhanced by an autotuner, which suggests these may be actors with very modest singing ability (typical of the modern Disney stable, think Hilary Duff, Christy Carlson Romano, etc.) rather than singers who can also act.

But who cares? The songs are catchy and worthwhile within the context of the film and they sound fine and in-tune and catchy on the soundtrack album. I don't expect that these actors will be taking the production on the road anytime soon, so it really is irrelevant what studio trickery might have been used to get the songs to their final state. This album is a fine sourvenir of the movie, and is eminently listenable (and often a lot more than that).

59 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best DCOM Soundtrack!, January 22, 2006

By	Lisa Verson (Dayton, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am an avid Disney Channel watcher and I tend to watch some of the new DCOMs that come out. Most of them are eh, so-so and rather predictable. However, High School Musical "bops to the top!" All of the actors are magnificent and the songs vary in the style. There are some ballads, hip-hop, "show tune" style, and so much more. I also think the dancing is AWESOME!!!!

The acting is great. Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, and Zac Efron all star in this musical. And they all sing their own songs (pre recorded yes, but still great!!!!). Their dancing is wonderful as well. Kenny Ortega directed AND choreographed the movie.

So, what you need to do is watch the movie on Disney and buy the soundtrack...I have listened to it several times now and have yet to get tired of it. It's a worth while purchase.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kudos, Disney, February 8, 2006

By	Kay - See all my reviews

Many people refuse to even take a glance at this movie and soundtrack because they hear that it's a cheesy musical. It's a shame that they are missing out on something great just because they may think that it's cool to ignore it. In some cases, they just hands down don't like it, but i can guarantee you that most people just won't give it a chance or are too embarrassed to admit it. But they're entitled to their own opinions, so I'll leave it be.

I am entitled to my own as well, and I'm here to say that this movie and soundtrack are very impressive. The cliche moral of the movie (to break free from what you're used to & to follow your dreams) seemed to somehow be a novel concept because it was taught with songs and music, but maybe it was just me. Kids can really relate to this movie and the humor in the movie was not that of regular Disney movies. It was actually funny in a way that didn't involve pratfalls or forced laughter. Old Disney movies were great, but they started to get pretty bad. I'm a sucker for musicals, so I watched this movie. I'm proud to say that High School Musical gave me hope for a better future in Disney Movies.

This soundtrack will bring cheer and a sense of comfort to most people who listen to it. The young voices of Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Lucas Grabeel are fantastic and compliment each other very well. The songs that were written are more than appropriate for the movie and the catchy beats make you want to listen to them again and again.

I felt the need to write this review because people seem to be so harsh on everything Disney related. Before you get all offensive, just remember that we are all entitled to our own opinion and I chose to acknowledge some of your harsh ones, but still accepted them. This soundtrack is very good, and I highly recommend it.