You've Got a Friend In Me - Robert Goulet

There are not many sequels out there that I like better than the original. The Empire Strikes Back, Spider-Man 2 and X2: X-Men United are a few of them. Toy Story 2 also has to be on this list because when I walked out of the theatre I couldn't believe how good it was. This week is Sequel Week and I'm posting a song from Toy Story that was covered for Toy Story 2.

The elements were all right to make this a good movie. The characters were strong, the animation was way better, the new characters were there for a reason and it featured When She Loved Me, one of my favourite modern Disney songs.

But I think the biggest reason this movie was so good was the story. Most Disney sequels are just a re-hash of the first film. For example, The Little Mermaid told the tale of a mermaid who longed to have legs and live on land. The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea was about Ariel's daughter who longed for fins and to live under the sea. Toy Story 2 was not like this at all. Instead, they took a look at the other side of the toy world, the collector. It was smart, funny, dramatic and adventureous.

The end of the movie featured a squeeze toy named Wheezy who just had his squeaker returned which meant he could sing. So he sang a big band version of You've Got a Friend In Me! Wheezy was voiced by ROBERT GOULET who just died last October. The movie only contains a short clip of the song but you can find the whole version in two places: The Toy Story 2 soundtrack and here at Covering the Mouse!

Toy Story 2 isn't the first time Goulet has provided a voice for animation. You can also hear him in Gay Purr-ee and Recess: School's Out.

You've Got a Friend In Me Robert Goulet 1999

A World of My Own - Ed Harcourt

Finishing up Big Band Week we have a Terrible Track that comes from a live concert in London last year.

English alternative rocker, Jarvis Cocker, thought it would be a great treat to put on a two and a half hour concert of Disney music by some of the UK's most alternative musicians as part of his Meltdown festival in June 2007. He called it Forest of No Return and his main influence was Hal Willner's 1988 compilation album STAY AWAKE.

I didn't get to go to this show but a friend found a bootleg copy of it and sent it to me. The bootleg really is just a guy with a recording device in his jacket pocket. The sound quality is awful and that is one big reason why this is a terrible track.

ED HARCOURT, an English singer-songwriter sang a few numbers throughout the night but this one was probably his weakest. There are parts where I question if even knows what the melody is supposed to be. And about three minutes in, when he starts getting more...creative with the melody, it causes me to skip to the next track.

However, his piano playing is quite excellent and I read a review that said he had a whole-head rabbit mask put on his head right before his piano solo. Ed was still able to pull of a good solo.

The big band arrangement of this piece sounds great but the crappy recording and bad singing causes me to put this on the "terrible" list. I would love to hear a studio recording of this song! Will we get it? Maybe in a world of my own.

A World of My Own Ed Harcourt 2007

The Bare Necessities - Harry Connick, Jr.

We're almost at the end of Big Band Week and today is the last good post of the week because tomorrow is Terrible Track Friday.

Today I'm posting a song from a modern jazz artist who often uses the big band sound in his work. HARRY CONNICK, JR. Disney was keeping an eye on this young talent from the start. In 1991 Harry was asked by Disney to record The Bare Necessities for SIMPLY MAD ABOUT THE MOUSE, a compilation album of famous pop musicians. This was only a year after Harry found success recording the soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally.

I'm surprised that more people haven't used this song in this fashion. The mood seems to fit so well as a jazz piece but it gets over shadowed by the jazzier I Wan'na Be Like You. Harry's version is really nice but he cuts out the "When you look under the rocks and plants" part of the song and it throws me off when I hear it.

The Bare Necessities Harry Connick, Jr. 1991

Whistle While You Work/Give a Little Whistle - On the Record Cast & Company

Today's contribution to Big Band Week takes us to the world of showtunes. This medley of Whistle While You Work and Give a Little Whistle comes from the On the Record Broadway musical from 2005. Showtunes often use jazz bands in their music because of the big band style fits so well with all those people that are running around and dancing on stage.

After opening the show with a gentle A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, this song launches in and sets the mood of the show. You'll definitely hear the big band quality to the songs with the Company playing the instrumental part at the beginning but you'll also hear the showtunes aspect come out in the A Dream is a Wish interlude and with the Cast's over-the-top scatting.

All of the songs in On the Record were arranged by David Chase who does a remarkable job with this medley. He intertwines the two songs so much that at times I'm not even sure which one I'm listening to! The Give a Little Whistle While You Work line is very clever.

Keep an ear out for a few references to Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo and Higitus Figitus!

Whistle While You Work/Give a Little Whistle On the Record Cast & Company 2005

Mickey Mouse March/Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Medley - The Disney Big Band

We continue Big Band Week with a medley of two of the most famous Disney songs of all: The Mickey Mouse March from the Mickey Mouse Club and Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah from Song of the South. It is performed by THE DISNEY BIG BAND who you can hear performing live throughout the park and resorts.

This track is from the MUSIC FROM THE PARK album that features song that you can hear in Disneyland. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah is from Splash Mountain and the Mickey Mouse March can be heard practically everywhere you go in various different styles.

I really like this arrangement because of the creativity of the arranger. Both of the songs don't have very much to work with but the arranger takes both melodies and finds a way to make them interesting to listen to. Some of the melodies are also changed up a bit. At 1:30 the M-I-C-K-E-Y bit is syncopated and they throw in a couple of extra notes to keep the rhythm going. It sounds sort of like M-I-C-C-K-E-Y-Y-M-O-U-S-E.

Mickey Mouse March/Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Medley The Disney Big Band 1996

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Daniel Bedingfield

Out of all the genres of music to cover Disney songs, my favourite has to be the Big Band style. This probably stems from playing baritone sax in the jazz band at high school. This style, which was popularized in the 20s, is different than small jazz combos like the Dave Brubeck Quartet whose songs are made up of improvised solos. Big bands are made up of one or two dozen musicians that have arrangements of the music. The focus is not on the improvised solos but rather the arrangement that people could dance to.

This week at Covering the Mouse I will be posting a big band cover of several different Disney songs. Today's big band cover is by UK pop star DANIEL BEDINGFIELD.

Bedingfield has been on the scene since 2001 but has already scored four #1 singles and three other Top 10 singles in the UK! Not bad for a guy that only had two albums out! He and his sister, Natasha, hold the Guinness World Record for being the only siblings to have had solo number-ones in UK chart history.

His last album was released in 2004 but he has three more albums newly recorded that he is now waiting to be released. When this happens I'm sure we will hear more number ones!

In 2004, Daniel recorded A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes for DISNEYMANIA 2. It is by far the best track on the album and the best version of this song that I have heard. The big band arrangement is fun to listen to and the weird time change at the end of the chorus always throws me but makes the song interesting and unique.

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes Daniel Bedingfield 2004

Everybody Wants to Be a Cat - Claude Bolling Big Band

After Walt died in 1966 the Walt Disney Company realized that they still needed to carry on with his work. So they continued to work on a story about a group of wealthy cats in France who get kidnapped by a greedy butler who is jealous that his boss left her inheritance to her cats rather than him. When the film, The Aristocats was finished it was released on this day in 1970, thirty-seven years ago.

What a great tribute to Everybody Wants to Be a Cat to have CLAUDE BOLLING, the famous French composer and jazz pianist, arrange an excellent big band version of this song. Bolling, a child prodigy (he was a professional jazz pianist at 14 years old!), has been recording albums with his big band since the late fifties. He has also scored over a hundred movies and has several albums on which he plays with famous classical musicians.

In 2004, he released CINEMA HITS, a disc full of movie themes in that big band style that he is so good at. Although this is the only Disney track on the disc, there are some other classic movie themes that are worth taking a listen to.

Everybody Wants to Be a Cat Claude Bolling Big Band 2004