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Alan Menken/Jack Feldman - CD

Newsies Alan Menken/Jack Feldman CD
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  • Artist: Alan Menken/Jack Feldman
  • Format: CD
  • Year: 2001
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • UPC: 050086070770
  • Item Number: 08607077
  • Release date: 01/30/2001
  • 1. Prologue
  • 2. Carrying the Banner
  • 3. Santa Fe
  • 4. My Lovey-Dovey Baby
  • 5. Fightin' Irish: Strike Action
  • 6. The World I Will Know
  • 7. Escape from Snyder
  • 8. Seize the Day
  • 9. King of New York
  • 10. High Times, Hard Times
  • 11. Seize the Day (Chorale)
  • 12. Santa Fe (Reprise)
  • 13. Rooftop
  • 14. Once and for All
  • 15. The World Will Know (Reprise)
  • 16. Carrying the Banner (Finale)
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Newsies by Alan Menken/Jack Feldman on CD


Newsies is Disney's 1992 return to that rarest form of film, the live-action musical. With original music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, the music tells the story of the 1899 New York City newsboy rebellion against newspaper kings William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. The film was dead on arrival and played in some lucky local cinemas for two weeks. This was sad news, considering that it could have been the beginning of a whole new musical generation. The music of Newsies has since gained a following and has a timeless appeal, joining the roots of a great Broadway musical while attempting to fit the songs to their era. Despite the 1990s production, we are expected to believe the songs might have been sung by newsboys in the 1890s. We don't, of course -- the songs are too elaborate and pop driven (it is also likely that a newsboy who was more melodic than a hum or whistle would have been put in his place if the newsies are as rough as this film would have us believe). It works as a timeless piece, though, because it is a mixture of then and now -- while the arrangements are cheerfully old-fashioned, you can almost picture Nsync filling in for the vocalists who are comprised of trained singers and actors, including the great Welsh actor Christian Bale (American Psycho). Bale plays Jack Kelly, the leader of the rebellion, and was confident enough to lend his own vocals. It was a smart move, as he brings the ballad "Santa Fe" to stunning highs. It is not the only high on this album, which is charged with circus level excitement throughout. It is astounding that, in a film consumed with grand musical ambition, not one of the songs was selected for an Academy Award nomination. The touching call for justice "Seize the Day," "Carrying the Banner," the Newsie theme, the joyous "High Times, Hard Times," sung by Ann-Margret, the demanding proclamation "The World Will Know," and the absolutely terrific "King of New York" are each worthy of repeated listening. The film itself is worthy of a second chance. ~ Peter Fawthrop, Rovi
  • Artist: Alan Menken/Jack Feldman
  • Format: CD
  • Year: 2001
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • UPC: 050086070770
  • Item Number: 08607077
  • Release date: 01/30/2001
  • Label: Disney
  • Genre: Stage & Screen
  • Style: Cast Recordings, Musicals, Soundtracks, Original Score
  • Album Time: 43:56

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  • Newsies Alan Menken/Jack Feldman CD
Newsies Alan Menken/Jack Feldman CD

Editorial Reviews

Touted by its makers as an attempt to bring live-action musical motion-pictures into the '90s, Newsies fails not because it lacks what the great musicals of the past had, but because it inserts nothing new into the genre, simply rehashing the archetypes and clichés that beat movie musicals to death in the first place. But just because it didn't incite '90s remakes of Bye Bye Birdie and Singin' in the Rain doesn't mean Newsies is completely worthless. For fans who enjoy even the more mediocre song-and-dance flicks of the '40s, '50s, and '60s, it's got just about everything. The songs are catchy and enjoyable, the story is simple and secondary to the music, and the cast isn't bad. Even Ann-Margret is in it, so at the very least audiences may want to squint and imagine they're watching a second-rate musical from the early '60s. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide