THE PIRATES WHO DON'T DO ANYTHING (2007)
15 Tracks/ Bonus Audio Track/ Bonus Video Content (Playing Time = 47:20)
Songs by various songwriters.
Album produced by Kurt Heinecke, Mike Nawrocki, Steven V. Taylor. Character vocals: Phil Visher, Mike Nawrocki, Jim Poole, Cydney trent, Keri Pisapia. Additional vocals by Kurt Heinecke, Tim Hodge, Brian Roberts, Chris Wall. Mastered by Ken Love. Album art design: John Trent. Compiled at Taylor Productions/A6 Studios, Franklin, Tennessee.
Decca B00010211-02
Rating: *
This will be a short review since this is not a very good CD.
Is this CD intended just for kids? Or is a shameless ploy to attract the huge audience who went to see the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN film trilogy? In either case it fails to even hit the ship's deck with its rapid cannon fire of songs.
It might have seemed like a good idea to release a sort of parody of the popular PIRATES films, but it doesn't work. This is subtited as "A Veggie Tales Movie." Is this meant to get kids to eat their vegetables? If it is, that's a good thing. But the music on this CD didn't encourage to eat them.
The most listenable songs, at least for me, were the first two tracks.
The first track is "Opening Title/ Spanish Gold" (1:44), with music by Phil Visher and lyrics by Kurt Heinecke. The song comes acrosslike a joyous take-off from Gilbert and Sullivan. It is also reprised on track 15 along with a cue titled "Celebration" (3:37).
On track 2 there's a song titled "Jolly Joe's (1:37), with music by Mike Nawrocki and lyrics by Nawrocki and Kurt Heinecke, and which is full of good humor.
The title song is heard on track 8. It is titled "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (Silly Song)" which just isn't any good, even as a "silly song." The cutesy-pie voice sounds like a bad imitation of Tweety bird from the old Warner Bros. cartoons.
Following the title song is a mostly instrumental track titled "The Sea Medley" (3:57), with the orchestral part sounding a lot like Hans Zimmer on a bad day! In the middle are a few silly words thrown in: "Papa's Got A Gumball Nellie."
Even the longest track, "Donkey-Shaped Help/Final Battle" (track 13, 4:39) sounds entierly derivative of so many overblown action films of today.
Fortunately the words to all the songs are included in the CD flyer since many of the lyrics are not easy to understand. On the other side of the lyrics page is a long colorful poster with the "veggie" characters. If you hang this up on the wall then you can't read the lyrics on the other side. How brilliant of the production team! But I guess this flyer isn't intended to be hung on the wall. Just a way to help promote the movie since the date when it opens in theatres is listed in big letters on the poster.
There is also a Bonus Track: "Second Chances" (4:04). It is a gospel-flavored song with music by Phil Visher and lyrics by David Mullen. The vocal is by someone called "Anointed." It sounds too overcooked and uninspired. It doesn't add anything essential and merely pads this CD out more.
Also, there are three tracks of Bonus Video Content, which just adds more filler to this CD. I had trouble even playing them.
By now you might have guessed that I didn't like this compilation. I didn't. But what's worse is that so much money was spent (wasted?) on this compilation of uninspired film music.
For me, this compilation of songs and a brief bit of score just sank to the bottom of the sea.
Even if you're a fan of the PIRATES trilogy I wouldn't recommended this compilation. Save your money on this one.
--Roger L. Hall, 30 December 2007
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