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Disney's "Tarzan" Soundtrack with music
by Phil Collins
Undoubtedly
inspired by Elton John and Hans Zimmer's soundtrack
for The Lion King, the soundtrack for Tarzan, Disney's
summer 1999 blockbuster, has little of the freshness
that makes the film a visual treat. It follows the
same formula that's informed every Disney soundtrack
since The Lion King -- take two sweeping ballads
and one uptempo dance number, and surround them
with reprises and re-recordings for radio, as well
as excerpts of the score. It's an exercise in recycling,
essentially. As recently as Aladdin, Disney's animated
films had rich soundtracks filled with robust songs
and surging, dramatic scores.
Tarzan is symptomatic of this decline. The core
elements, however reminiscent of The Lion King they
may be, aren't bad in and of themselves (apart from
"Trashin' the Camp," a jive lyric-less
doo-wop parody). The excerpts from Mark Mancina's
score may push the melodrama buttons a little hard,
but they are effective blends of African and movie
music. Meanwhile, Phil Collins' songs are surprisingly
strong, much more melodic and appealing than anything
he's done since But Seriously.
The main theme, "Two Worlds," is a particular
standout, eerily echoing his former colleague Peter
Gabriel's worldbeat explorations at times, but all
of the songs (exception: "Trashin' the Camp")
are quite strong. The only problem is, they're repeated
and repeated and repeated. "Two Worlds"
is included no less than four times, "You'll
Be in My Heart" comprises two tracks and "Trashin'
the Camp" is here twice, once as a duet between
Collins and N Sync. All the different versions are
designed to appeal to different markets, but it
makes listening to the album a chore -- especially
since there is no marked difference between the
film version of the song and the radio version,
apart from Collins' vocals. Of course, this is hardly
a new situation for Disney; it's just that the repetition
and recycling have never been so blatant or tiresome.
It would have been better to include a main version
of each song, then surround it with more of Mancina's
score -- it probably would have resulted in a stronger
listen -- but as it stands, Tarzan is a soundtrack
with potential, yet is undone by its formula Phil
Collins went on to receive two Academy Awards -
Best Score and Most Original Song with "You'll
Be In My Heart"
Disney's Tarzan Soundtrack:
1 Two Worlds
2 You'll Be in My Heart
3 Son of Man
4 Trashin' the Camp
5 Strangers Like Me
6 Two Worlds
7 Trashin' the Camp (Phil and N'Sync Version)
8 You'll Be in My Heart (Phil Version)
9 Two Worlds (Phil Version)
10 Wonderous Place (Score)
11 Moves Like an Ape, Looks Like a Man (Score)
12 Gorillas (Score)
13 One Family (Score)
14 Two Worlds (Finale)
