From Lincoln to Heffalump and the TOWER of TERROR
Joel McNeely - who is Joel McNeely? Well, have you seen one of the many direct-to-dvd/video releases of the The Walt Disney Studios released in the recent years? Then chances are high you enjoyed some of the scores he composed for releases such as Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007), The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006), Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005), Mulan II (2004), The Jungle Book 2 (2003) or Return to Neverland (2002). But his work can also be heared in sevearl big screen releases of Walt Disney Pictures such as Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (2005), Holes (2004), America’s Heart and Soul (2004) and other releases such as The Avengers (1998) or Air Force One (1997).
Unfortunately most of his work for Disney features, in particular for the direct-to-DVD/video sequels was never officially released on CD - which is a shame, since his work for Return to Neverland (the sequel to Disney’s Peter Pan), Mulan II and The Fox and Hound 2 which has been released (at least partially) on Walt Disney Records clearly shows a great ability to come up with impressive scores fitting the very different needs of these features but also entertaining enough to be listened to on its own without the movie. But there is a special treat to be found online…
Take a look at his official website … there´in the category Filmography Joel McNeely not only provides a list of the movies he has scored, but also (if you click on the name of a movie) a link to a sub-page featuring the track listing of a CD release (if such exists) or (if no CD release exists) some selected tracks from his score which he offers as mp3 for the listening experience and / or download free of charge! Fans of Disney features and movie scores will find quite a few gems here…
And before I forget it: if you are a theme park fan you should take a close look at the filmography list as well … because hidden between the movies are two projects from Disney theme parks: the 2001 redo of the attraction “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” as presented in the Main Street Opera House in Disneyland Anaheim till the park’s 50th anniversary and the TOWER of TERROR at Tokyo DisneySea. Neither of these attractions has received an official CD release for its score, but thanks to Joel McNeely now high quality, original source mp3s of selected parts of his score for the attractions are available;
From “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” he provides “America the Beautiful”, “Gettysburg Address” (the score played during the speech in the show, not including the speach) and “Exit Music”, while for the TOWER of TERROR at Tokyo DisneySea guests of the page are treated to the track “Exit Music”! A unique treat for fans of Disney theme park music not to be missed.
A big THANK YOU to Joel McNeely for providing fans with original recordings free of charge most of which normally would never reach the public. And also a thank you to the community over at the MagicMusic boards who discovered this online treasure.