A few weeks ago, a friend of mine (T. Martin) posted his list of his Top 10 Favorite Movie Soundtracks.
In order to understand what we mean by this, I the topic into three categories.
CATEGORIES
The albums will be diveded into three categories:
1. Score - this will be focused on the instrumental music composed originally for the movie.
2. Soundtrack - this will focus on popular music used by the filmmakers.
3. Original Musical - this will focus on musical albums composed just for this film.
I already wrote about my top 20 movie scores as well as top ten soundtracks.. Now, I am moving on to Original Movie Musical Soundtracks.
The movies in this category are all from Original Movie Musicals, not musical adaptations. So for example, West Side Story, Grease, and The Sound of Music will not be found on this list because they originated on Broadway first.
These movies are for musicals that had their first incarnation as movies. So Mean Girls: The Musical, would not qualify, even though it is based on a movie, the music has its origins on the stage.
Also, this is a list of the best original musical soundtracks, not necessarily which of these are the best movies. Some of the movies listed here may not be very good movies. But their original soundtracks are excellent. The movie may help give context to the music, which elevates it. But the music here is front and center.
10. Xanadu
This movie is ridiculously bad. But the music is actually fantastic. It combines some early 1980's pop with a dream-like, lyrical feel. Some of it is horribly outdated, but the music that remains still holds up. I actually find the music transportive to that era.
9. Beauty and the Beast
This movie is often cited as the pinacle fo the "Disney Renaissance," where the studio recaptured the magic of their classif fairy tale animated adventures. Much of that was because of the power of Alan Menken's music. Beauty and the Beast hits just the right tone of romance and magic, along with over-the-top fun with "Gaston."
8. Aladdin
This soundtrack just edges out the previous one, but they are almost tied. It has a fun, frenetic energy, but it also has one of the most romantic love ballads in all of Disney with "A Whole New World."
7. The Little Mermaid
The music for this one just swells with emotion. "Part of Your World" perfectly captures the adolescent desire for change and romance and "Under the Sea" is such a fun tribute to all things aquatic. And "Kiss the Girl" has all the innocent fun of a Disney romance.
6. That Thing You Do!
One of the reason this movie works so well is that all of the original songs written for it feel like they came out of that early 1960's era. Not only that, but they all feel like they could have been gigantic hits. In fact, the whole movie doesn't work unless the main song, "That Thing You Do!" isn't the most catching thing that you have heard in a long time. The movie and the music have a symbiotic relationship that makes the movie fun and the music so enjoyable.
5. High School Musical
It is easy to jump on this movie as cheesy, because it is. It is a movie geared towards children about an idealized high school experience. But there is a reason that this became not just a hit, but a phenomenon. The music is fantastic and most of the songs are bangers.
4. Once
This is a small movie that stands tall because of the power and magic of the music. I remember showing this film to my family and they didn't get it and weren't invested until that amazing song, "Falling Slowly" was performed. Once that happened, all of the music found its way into their hearts. There is a scene where the main characters are doing their first studio recording and you can see the same thing happening to the reluctant sound engineer who is slowly won over by the music.
3. Mary Poppins
One of the reasons that Mary Poppins Returns failed was because it could not match the power of the original's sound track. Off the top of my head I could probably name most of the songs in the movie and remember the lyrics. I can't how any of the sequel's music sounds. I have no memory of it. The original's songs have heart and power, even a melencholy ballad like "Feed the Birds" or whimsical pieces like "Let's Go Fly a Kite."
2. The Wizard of Oz
These songs are part of cinema DNA and will live as long as movies do. Most of us were introduced to this movie when we were children and there is a timeless quality to it. Some have said that "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is the greatest song ever written. When you hear Judy Garland sing it, you can understand why. The longing in her voices touches that part of us that longs for a better life just out of reach.
1. The Greatest Showman
This pick for number one will be controversial, but hear me out:
The soundtrack is fantastic.
I remember being in the theater and hearing the first song "This is the Greatest Show" and being drawn in, but then I felt my heart swell with "A Million Dreams." And song after song delighted and excited all the way through to the end. It is rare to have a musical with such a high rate of great songs. Even the worst song on the soundtrack, "Tightrope," is still pretty terrific. I remember my wife and I got to the car after our first viewing and immeadiately looked up the soundtrack so we could listen to it more on the way home. That is how great it is.
HONORABLE MENTIONS;
-Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
-Music and Lyrics
-Frozen
-An American Tale
-The Muppet Movie
-Muppet's Christmas Carol
-The Chipmunk Adventure
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