Woefully disappointing and unoriginal
J. Green | Los Angeles, California | 01/29/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I like Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas music. I also like some of their earlier "Fresh Aire" music. And I really like Disneyland and most of the Disney movies. So you'd think it would be a no-brainer that I'd like "Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse," as in Mickey Mouse, right? Well, I thought the same thing and unfortunately we're both wrong on that one.
There's not much originality here - each song sounds pretty much the same. It's all got the same cheesy fake new-agey synth sound to it that ruined the Fresh Aire series when it came to numbers 5 and 6. Gone is the variety and freshness of sound that characterized the first three and made them so delightful to listen to. You can pick out the Disney tunes easily enough, but it sounds like Chip Davis was on autopilot when he cranked these out, and it pretty much stinks of commerciality. I kind of like a couple of the songs ("Chim Chim Cher-Ee" from Mary Poppins and "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinnochio) but some are downright dreadful (the "Mickey Mouse March" sounds more like a funeral march). And none are worth listening to anywhere but Disneyland (I think they play a few of them around the park, including the evening parades) which is the only place these songs will have any magic."