In 2002, Disney launched the “Disneymania” series, a CD series dedicated to popular artists of the time covering beloved Disney classic songs. On Oct. 30, Disney released the “We Love Disney” soundtrack with artists like Fall Out Boy, Jessie J, Ariana Grande and more for the new generation. These popular artists cover songs from all over the classic Disney spectrum such as “In A World Of My Own/ Very Good Advice” from “Alice in Wonderland” and “Let It Go” from “Frozen.” Each artist gives their own signature twist to cover the song and for the most part, it works.
The album opens up with the super energetic track “Friend Like Me” from “Aladdin” performed by Ne-Yo. While the song was already a super jazzy tack, Ne-Yo adds even more funk and jazz to the song to make it more bouncy than the original, which is a near impossible feat. Ne-Yo’s smooth voice paired with the blaring trumpets gives the song that blues house feel that distinguishes it from the film’s original track.
Gwen Stefani’s rendition of “Rainbow Connection,” originally performed by Kermit the Frog, evokes emotion in even the grumpiest Statler and Waldorf’s. Definitely a candidate for randomly slow dancing with your significant other, Gwen Stefani’s distinctly strong voice makes the song one of the more memorable tracks on the album. Fans of the original song can hear the banjo being played in the background accompanied by various other calming string instruments.
“In A World Of My Own/Very Good Advice,” performed by Jhene Aiko, is one song that doesn’t sound right. While Aiko’s voice is beautiful and carries the tune quite well, the music itself falters. With audio tracks of Alice from the original movie, an odd cosmic sounding synthesizer and the constant snapping of fingers, the music doesn’t feel right for the song’s lyrics.
For fans of the punk-pop genre, Fall Out Boy covers “The Jungle Book”’s “I Wan’na Be Like You,” a song previously covered by Smash Mouth and the Jonas Brothers and originally performed by Louis Prima. With heavy use of guitar, bass and drums, the song focuses more on the beat rather than the lyrics. Fall Out Boy’s lead singer Patrick Stump’s voice takes a back seat to the guitar’s powerful solos. Toward the end of the song, Stump and the guitar battle it out much like Baloo and King Louie do in the film which makes for a fun nod to fans.
Since being released in 2013, “Let It Go” from Disney’s “Frozen” has been covered by just about everyone. This time around, it is covered by country band Rascal Flatts and Pretty Little Liar turned country star, Lucy Hale. This version of the empowering ballad is pure country. The track sounds extremely similar to the original, but with a country twang. Played heavily on an acoustic guitar with an awesome backing drum beat, Gary LeVox, lead singer of Rascal Flatts, and Hale’s voices harmonize to create a cohesive and overall pleasing version fit for a queen.
The album comes to a close with the Disney classic “It’s A Small World” where all of the artists who lent their voices to the album come together to give it a lovingly sweet send off. All of their voices harmonize nicely to conclude the compilation.
While some songs on “We Love Disney” could use a little work, the album is a must listen to for any Disney fanatic and can bring anyone and everyone back to their childhood.
Rating: 4 out of 5
