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| Disney's The Little Mermaid (2008 Original Broadway Cast) | 
 enlarge | Artist: Original Cast Recording
Creators: Sierra Boggess, Norm Lewis, Sherie Rene Scott, Tituss Burgess, Eddie Korbich, Sean Palmer
Label: Disney
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $10.28
You Save: $8.70 (46%)
New (40) Used (9) from $8.79
Avg. Customer Rating:  42 reviews
Sales Rank: 1021
Format: Cast Recording
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 000103302
UPC: 050087111816
EAN: 0050087111816
ASIN: B000Y0CYBE
Release Date: February 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 I'm in LOVE! February 27, 2008
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Much much better than the $25 they were charging at the theatre! I'm glad I waited...and the wait was so worth it! This soundtrack is pretty gosh darn awesome!
I really do think that the new songs could easily fit into the original - my favorites are "I Want the Good Times Back", "She's in Love", and "If Only". But all the other newbies are good too! Sherie Rene just shines!!
Unlike many, I think Sierra Bogess is a little lacking - I just don't fully associate her voice with that of Ariel, but then again no one can compare to the incomparable Jodi Benson. But nevertheless, Sierra does amazingly well and is not at all difficult on the ears! (Same goes for whoever played Sebastian - the Broadway vocalist does not compare AT ALL to Sam Wright!!!)
I do like how they really fleshed out Eric's character in the Broadway show. You can't really tell from the soundtrack, but they gave personality to Ariel's sisters as well. The only downside is that there is considerably less Flounder in the stage show than in the movie, but with two little kids playing the part I can see why they wouldn't want it to be so overburdensome!
So basically - go buy the cd! You won't be sorry!
on the fence . . . or uh reef . . . that is March 1, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
i have been interested in this production since it was nothing more than an online rumor that alan menken might turn his acadamy award winning musical into a broadway stage musical. i followed this production through its original demo, casting anouncements, delays and reviews. although i have never seen the show, i did buy the cast album as soon as possible. one reason that i wanted this so badly is because i feel that although the little mermaid is not alan menken's greatest work (that would go to beauty and the beast) the little mermaid is the most consistantly strong piece that he has produced. so how do i feel about this new recording?
PERFORMERS
with material that's already been recorded and loved the world over, it is essential that the performers bring something new and worth while to the production. this is especially true of a disney film from almost 20 years ago. so how do the performers do here? for the most part, many of them sound like they are just impersonating the original cast. eddie korbich as scuttle is a nearly perfect impression of buddy hacket. this could really hinder the creativity of the piece, but for the most part, the cast works well
sierra boggess as ariel is quite good, she's not jodie benson, but she still does nicely, especially on the songs that benson never sang (the world above, beyond my wildest dreams, and if only) these songs all shine and boggess' voice is beautiful. however, on part of your world, something just isn't quite there. don't get me wrong she does give a great performance, but it's just not the same.
sean palmer is increadable as prince eric. his biggest strength is that all of his songs are new to the score (her voice, one step closer, and if only) his voice is emotional and his songs are subtley beautiful. he and boggess do a great job in their respective leads.
titus burgess is great as sebastian and brings the cool sound of the carribean regaee that makes all of his songs great.
and now there's sherie renee scott. my biggest complaint comes here. she doesn't try to impersenate pat carroll which is nice, but she also lacks the cool sultry quality that carroll brought to poor unfortunate souls. her other song (i want the good times back) doesn't work well either. scott's jazzy and brassy voice is great, but seems misfit here and she doesn't seem consistant in either her character or dialect.
overall, most of the cast does well, especially when they get to sing songs that no one has heard.
PERFORMERS 4 out of 5
SONGS
alan menken said that he used his original academy award winning score to produce the new music for these songs. that in itself works well, when he actually sticks to that. the songs are obviously rooted in the original score (the world above, her voice, sweet child, beyond my wildest dreams, one step closer, and if only) sound great and are some of my favorites. but the songs that leave me scratching my head are the ones that seem completely out of left field with little or no connection to the original score (human stuff, i want the good times back, she's in love and posituvity) the orignal songs all shine just as brilliantly as ever, and for the most part this is a wonderfully cohesive musical.
SONGS 4 out of 5
overall, this is a strong fun musical that doesn't really aspire to as much as say beauty and the beast. that in itself is obvious in just the original scores. i still love beauty and the beast, but overall i do feel that mermaid's cast is better, wheras the new songs are not up to same quality as beast's were. but this is a good musical for fans of the broadway form and especially anyone who loves alan menken or disny.
OVERALL 4 out of 5
Big Improvement From Tarzan June 15, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
While not quite the level of brilliance seen in "The Lion King" or "Mary Poppins", Disney's latest effort, "The Little Mermaid" aims to restore a bit of the magic lost in "Tarzan".
Sierra Boggess makes a terrific Ariel & might have received a Tony nomination for her efforts in a less competitive year. Norm Lewis, Titus Burgess, and the amazing Sherrie Renee Scott round out the leads - though I'm not sure all were used to their potential.
Alan Menken's score includes both songs from the movie as well as new additions. The music is principally geared towards the younger set, but several songs are standouts:
Part Of Your World
Under The Sea
Poor Unfortunate Souls
If Only (Quartet)
Entertaining and Fresh April 2, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I love that this recording has new songs to expand the storyline in areas that I was always curious about. True, some of them sound too familiar, such as "Les Poissons", and others don't exactly fit the original feel of what we think of Little Mermaid as sounding like. Poor Scuttle is stuck with truly forgettable songs, and I lament the fact that one of my favorite parts of the film -- the sound of Ariel's voice being pulled into Ursula's shell, haunting and echoing -- was left out.
As Ariel, Sierra Boggess is truly inspired casting. She has a beautiful, shimmering soprano that really sounds like what a mermaid would seduce a sailor with, and a clear belt that gives me chills. I must say that I'm dismayed when I hear people say that she's not quite Ariel, or even Jodi Benson. Of course Jodi will always be the voice that people judge other Ariels by, but this isn't fair: when you eat lemon pie, you can't say, "Hmm, this is close to lime pie, but I like lime pie better because it just taste really lime-y". Whatever your first exposure to something is, you will remember it, and the ones that follow in its footsteps need to be greeted with an open mind. If Sierra didn't sound the part, it would be a different story; but she does, and that is young, spunky, curious, and golden-voiced. It's delightful to hear her go even farther than Jodi with her range, power, and ability to sing brilliantly with both her legit and belt voice.
I must agree with other reviewers who are disappointed with this new version of Ursula. I feel like Sherie Renee Scott's Ursula is cruel and ill-intentioned but never truly EVIL.
The singing is generally better than the performances, with Norm Lewis fairly flat and put-on as Triton, Sierra falling a little too much into sounding innocent and sweet all the time, and Sherie holding back from getting really wicked in parts you want her to.
Still, I try to uphold my lemon-lime theory. This version is very close to the film, so enjoy the changes with an open mind and rejoice in the gorgeous singing and more detailed story.
 A Wonderful New Musical - Critics are Clueless March 7, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast and several other works by Alan Menken, so naturaly I was thrilled to find out The Little Mermaid was going to become a stage musical. I bought the original soundtrack to the movie and rediscovered a classic. I fell in love with the songs all over again and could not wait to get hold of the original cast recording. But when the reviews for the show came out, I was very disappointed that it wasn't more of a success. Most of the critics blasted sets and costumes and said the songs weren't anything special. Since Alan Menken and bad music in no way go together, I figured the lack of Howard Ashman, Stephen Schwartz, or Tim Rice would result in lyrics that were sub par and less than witty.
But the day I bought the recording, I was pleasantly surprised with the music and found that most of the new lyrics were pretty clever (although the abundance of fish and sea references were a tad annoying). Most of the new songs sound very Menkeny, like "She's In Love" which sounds like it came straight out of "Little Shop of Horrors", "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" which begins and ends almost exactly like "Belle", and when "Les Poissons" is sped up, it sounds curiosly like "Be Our Guest". I love it. I would agree that the old songs are the best. The fresh orchestrations bring out new, beautiful harmonies that make the whole CD worth it. (particularly on "Kiss the Girl"). I was slightly disappointed that "Poor Unfortunate Souls" was not a bigger, darker number than in the movie. Menken kept the orchestra down during the last verse, and for me it made the song less powerful and not nearly as intimidating. Which brings me to Sherie Rene Scott.
Most of the performers do very well at their parts, they bring new elements to thier charecters and stay true to old ones. But Sherie Rene Scott has completely reshaped Ursula into a charecter that I don't particularly care for. Instead of a voluptuous, cruel, and bitter sea-witch, she is presented as a comical diva, comparable to Streisand. I feel robbed of the second most evil Disney Villan (the most evil would go to Jafar who was pure evil, but Ursula is not far behind). I find nothing wrong with her singing voice and am well aware of how famous and talented she is, but she has ruined a great charecter and that is my biggest complaint about the musical.
Yes, I gave it Five Stars, but I'm not yet conviced it deserves all of them. But I still listen to it all the time and enjoy it very much. This CD is not without its flaws, but I can look over them when I hear John Treacy Egan's outrageous take on "Les Poissons". You can't see costumes, sets, and choreography when you listen to a recording, so just sit back, ignore the critics, and enjoy some beautiful music.
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