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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than Disney Mania 4..., March 28, 2007
1. Part of Your World (Miley Cyrus) -- 3/5. Meh. It's almost a carbon-copy of the last version of Part of Your World (on Disney Mania 2?) being the "punk rock" version of the song. It's easier to listen to than the Disney Mania 2 version, but it feels very pointless to me. Miley's voice is easy to listen to, but they've already done this song twice, and she didn't add anything new to it. Excuse the pun, but this song is an empty shell of its former self!
2. Two Worlds (Corbin Bleu) -- 4/5. Finally a song that hasn't been done a billion times! I like this... it's a very laid-back, melodic verison of the original song. It's actually slower than the original song during most parts, but you wouldn't know that just by listening to this track. Unlike most "let's speed up/slow down a Disney song and call it a new version" songs on Disney Mania, it doesn't feel very forced -- that is, until about 2 minutes into the song where they do weird random chanting before returning to the actual song.
3. So This Is Live (The Cheetah Girls) -- 4/5. Interesting! It has a slight light R&B beat to it, and they sing the second verse of the song in Spanish. They add in some lyrics not present in the original song, but with the easy beat it feels like it could've been part of the original song. It's enjoyable and different from the original without sounding unnatural.
4. I Wan'na be like you (Jonas Brothers) -- 3/5. It feels, like the first track, very empty. Boring. The song choice was interesting (Disney is really fishing for songs now!) but I suppose it's not the singer's fault that the "speed up, add guitars" is the generic way to "remake" a song on Disney Mania. Don't hate it, don't particularily like it.
5. When She Loved Me (Jordan Pruitt) -- 5/5. One of my favorite tracks of the CD! It doesn't vary far from the original version (From Toy Story 2) but in this case, it doesn't matter. Unlike the Part of Your World on this CD, it's song with actual emotion in the song. It's very soft and subdued, it feels like you're drifting off to sleep when you listen to it. Highly recommended!
6. Kiss the Girl (Ashley Tisdale) -- 5/5. I hate to admit it, but this song is one of my guilty pleasures. It's very upbeat, fun, and overall a very nice track to listen to. This is probably one of my least-favorite Disney songs, but the Ashley Tisdale version is pretty fun to listen to. There are no real gripes with this song, since I think this version successfuly translates from the "Broadway" style Disney song to a pop version.
7. The Second Star to the Right (T-Squad) -- 2/5 The second (third?) version of this song. Eh... they tried to make it "hip" by having random rap sections added to the section. (Believe me, rapping "Twinkle twinkle little star how I wondered where you are" in the middle of this song is NOT helping it.) They also repeat words in "hip hop" fashion... it feels very ridiculous to me. This song does not translate well into the rap/hip hop version they have on this CD. They essentially took the Jesse McCartney version from an earlier Disney Mania and tried to make it SUPER COOL for all them youngins today.
8. Cruella de Vil (Hayden Panettiere) - 4/5. The second(?) version of this song on Disney Mania. Defiantely an improvement from the last time! It maintains the certain sneaky-sinister tone of the original song with a modern twist to the song. (Also, I had to laugh - they insert a clip of the dad saying, "Cruella de Vil... that's it!" various times throughout the song.) Hayden's voice is one of the few unique voices in a franchise of Disney pop singer clones. (She even has that sinister look to her in the CD booklet!)
9. Colors of the Wind (Vanessa Hudgens) - 4/5. I have to admit, I was really wary when I read that there would be another version of this song, especially after the lackluster version by Christy Carlson Romano on Disney Mania 3. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. Unlike a certain song (Part of Your World!) they've done something different with this song each time they've used it. (What, three times now?) There's a soft almost techno-like beat in the background, but the song isn't so sped up that it sounds silly. They kept the song very modern by avoiding the pitfalls of the Carlson-Ramano version (the stereotypical wind instruments and bird calls.. yikes.) Her voice never reaches the intensity that we want it to reach, but we can't really compare her performance to the original singer, Judy Kuhn.
10. Go the Distance (Lucas Grabeel) - 5/5. Wow! The sleeper hit of this CD is Lucas Grabeel's version of Go the Distance. It's sung, like When She Loved Me, in an emotional almost Broadway-like performance. However, they have toned down the long, intense notes of the original song to keep a more modern approach. They also added more modern instruments and beats to the song. This is probably my favorite track! It's modern and remade without being just another pop rehash that we've been seeing too often on the Disney Mania soundtracks.
11. Siamese Cat Song (B5) - 1/5. The Siamese Cat Song was given another chance after the, erm, interesting version by the Duff Sisters earlier. It failed. Again. Apparently, they thought added random raps (much like Second Star to the Right) would make the song refreshing. ... Nope. "Well we found a baby there was milk nearby! 'cause we are, we are, we are Siamese if you please." ... Yeah, no thanks. At least the Duff sister version kept the sinister-tone of the original song. This one is ludicrious. (I refuse to give to 0 stars because I've only given a 0/5 once before, I think it was on Disney Mania 3...)
12. Reflection (Everlife) - 5/5. Another amazing track on this CD! It uses the Christina Aguilara version of the lyrics (the credit song lyrics). It has a faster beat than the original, has some backup singing, and has a modern appeal to it. The singer sounds a bit too similar to Christina Aguilara for me, but I suppose that can't be helped. Guitars were added in between verses, but nothing too "rock," which would make the song too forced. The vocals are very nice! They're strong without sounding synthesized, rare on a Disney Mania CD. One of my favorites!
13. Let's Get Together (Go Go') - 4/5. Nothing to complain about... a bit punk/rock, peppy, the vocals are pretty nice. Nothing incredibly amazing, but nothing bad about it either. A sweet punkrock band feel to it.
14. True to Your Heart (Keke Palmer) - 4/5. I debated about giving this song a 3/5, because it was essentially the same as the Raven version with a different singer, random back up singers, and random "Woo-oos" and "Yeah-heahs." except there's nothing really wrong with the track. It's fun, it's not *trying* to be super hip with the chillins, it's just kind of... there.
15. Find Yourself (Drew Seeley) -- 5/5. I haven't heard this song in the original context. I think it's from the movie Cars? In any case, I enjoyed it! Another laid-back, "listen to while you're almost sleeping" type of song. (It seems as if most good Disney Mania songs are these types of songs.) Umm. The vocals are very nice, especially for a male Disney singer.
The Good:
*Go the Distance, Reflections, and When She Loved Me are sung with emotion and nice vocals.
*Some songs actually try to be original and not stick with the formula.
The Bad:
*Speeding up a song and adding a heavy punk rock guitar = not interesting, boring, empty.
*Giving the song a rap or R&B rhythm and adding ridiculous raps = sounds forced, ridiculous, and it makes me want to skip a song the moment I heard the first rap. (Disney = doesn't translate into rap well.)
My Verdict? Better than Disney Mania 4, which only had about 4 tracks worth listening to. My favorite Disney Mania's will always be 1 and 2 as a whole, but like every Disney Mania album, it has a few gems.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better Then The Others, April 27, 2007
I've bought every Disney Mania that has been released. I really liked the first Disney Mania, but two, three, and four I was slightly dissapointed with. This one is arguably the best one. The only song I did not enjoy was the Second Star to the Right. My favorites were; Part of Your World, When She Loved Me, Colors of the Wind, Go the Distance, Reflection, and Let's Get Together.
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disney is rolling in his grave!, April 12, 2007
This album is a disgrace to Disney music. The only 2 songs on this CD worth listening to are Corbin Bleu's Two Worlds and Lucas Grabeel's Go the Distance. The rest of the tracks are so far removed from the original classics that they're barely recognizable. This music was NOT written as edgy rock and shouldn't be sung that way. All the magic from these pieces is lost in these "modern" versions. I have the first two Disneymania CDs, and those were good, but they've gotten progressively worse and they just repeat all the same songs from the previous discs. Every new artist's version of a song sounds exactly like the one that came before them.
(and no, I'm not some 54 year old baby boomer who only goes in for classical music. I'm a 21 year old college student who loves her classic Disney)
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