With this year marking the 45th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, I thought I would review the latest Haunted Mansion CD released in 2009 in commemoration of the attractions 40th anniversary
With 7 tracks on the CD, it has a running time of about 49 minutes.
Track 1 - The Haunted Mansion
This is pretty much an immersive ride through of the attraction starting from Mansion Foyer, lasting all the way to the crypt when you see Little Leota
Track 2 - Ghostly Music Box
Included in this CD is a track that originated from Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris. At Disneyland Paris, this Ghostly music box melody could be heard coming from the gazebo out on the lawn of Phantom Manor. At Disneyland in Anaheim, this track is only played in the queue during Haunted Mansion Holiday
Track 3 - Otherworldly Concerto
Buddy Baker and organist Gaylord Carter performed the Haunted Mansion's organ theme in many different ways to get just the right sound. This track is a collection of those variations which include:
• Foyer's organ theme
• Portrait Gallery organ theme
• Loading area done in an organ theme which leads into the Ballroom organ
• Ballroom organ theme which is played several times over in different styles
Track 4 - A Swinging Wake
This is an instrumental (or karaoke) version of "Grim Grinning Ghosts"
Track 5 - The Graveyard Band
This band in the graveyard plays "Grim Grinning Ghosts"
Track 6 - 999 Happy Haunts
The famous "Grim Grinning Ghosts" sung by the singing busts. From there, we move to the rest of the graveyard (Ghosts having a tea party, a "wise old man" holding an ear trumpet trying to hear what the mummified mummy, an executioner, a prisoner, an operatic pari, and a decapitated knight) hearing their full version of the song.
Track 7 - Phantom Manor Suite
Disneyland Paris has a darker romantic tone to their Phantom Manor. This track is an instrumental ride through of Phantom Manor without the Ghost Host narration. The musical arrangement was composed by John Debney.
For being a small album in commemoration of the iconic Disneyland attraction 40th anniversary, this is still a great CD for anyone who enjoys Disneyland's The Haunted Mansion. Especially since it includes two tracks (2 and 7) from Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor
A favorite track of mine is track 4 "A Swinging Wake". I like to just put that on repeat and just imagine being on the ride, in the doom buggie, exiting out of the attic scene and "falling" down to the graveyard.
Another favorite track is track 6 "999 Happy Haunts" because you get to hear the individual characters sets singing along to "Grim Grinning Ghost" in the graveyard. When you are on the attraction, you are in the graveyard for only a couple of minutes. And as you travel past all the singing ghosts, it can be a bit difficult to hear how they are singing along to "Grim Grinning Ghost" since you only see them for a short time.
For an album that's almost an hour long and under $10, how can one pass up on this?
or download from iTunes
