It was so popular that Disney unleashed a spinoff album, Rythm of the Pride Lands, which paved the way for the Broadway musical and is clearly the basis for several of the new songs. The "Rythm" CD proved successful enough to warrent the release of "Return to Pride Rock," featuring songs from Simba's Pride, plus various other African-influenced songs.
So my point is, while I was listening to "Rythm" last weekend I was wondering if 1 1/2 would by any chance be getting a soundtrack.
I suppose it was pretty much inevitable. The movie features at least one new song from Elton John and Tim Rice (Meerkat Rabsody, adapted from the Lion King deleted song Warthog Rabsody) and a Hans Zimmer score.
Amazon turned up <a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... mz>this</a>, listing a February 3 street date, which will put it just a week ahead of the movie. But instead of taking preorders, they're citing it as unavailable and leaving the customer a chance to buy it used if it shows up from the Marketplace sellers.
They don't have a track listing, either.<b>Availability:</b> THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE. If you would like to purchase this title, we recommend that you occasionally check this page to see if it has become available.
Figuring something fishy was up, I called my local Barnes & Noble store to see if they could tell me anything more about it and/or preorder it for me. They confirmed the 2/3 street date and told me it comes with a low $6.98 price tag (!), but when they tried to preorder it they couldn't. Something or other about if they were going to preorder it it would have to be shipped to my house resulting in a service charge. Disappointed, I said, "Okay, then can you tell me if you're going to be carry it?" They couldn't tell me that, either. Looking at the Barnes & Noble <a href=http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/ ... 0086104673 target=blank>website listing</a> for it confirms the $6.98 price and it IS available for preorder there. My guess is that the store people would have to place the order through the website in my name resulting in having it ship to me resulting in a shipping charge, rather than being able to order it into the store, but that seems very strange since I've had no problems preordering other things with them in the past and having it come in through the store for pickup.
But in general they seem to be pulling a Rescuers on this release, if you know what I mean. Poor to nill information being passed to retailers who will sell it; difficulty placing orders; no track listing; and absolutely nothing about the disc on either The Lion King 1 1/2 website or the Walt Disney Records website. This is a shame since it could have been a really big seller for them, considering the big names involved, the strength of the Lion King brand, and the super-low SRP. But the question on my mind now is: How do I get one? Dad isn't a fan of ordering online, and I'd rather get it in store as well so as to get it on 2/3 and not wait for it to ship. Any suggestions?
Also, what do you guys all think of the music we've heard so far? The music on the official site as background music (and in clips) are great, I think, and while it may lack the epic scope of the original movie's score, it's exellent for the kind of lighthearted laughfest that The Lion King 1 1/2 is. And another question, mainly directed towards Prine Phillip since he's seen the movie: If you read this, can you talk about the songs and whole musical element of the movie a bit? Do you think the CD is worth purchasing? How do the songs compare to the other songs in the TLK legacy? Thanks.
Your thoughts, everyone?
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