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Mary Poppins
CD DetailsComposer: Robert B. Sherman Composer: Richard M. Sherman Conductor: Irwin Kostal Edition: Music CD Format: Enhanced, Soundtrack, Special Edition CD Release Date: 2004-11-16 Music Label: Walt Disney Records Soundtracks: Music CD 1- Buena Vista - Glynis Johns
- Overture - Glynis Johns
- One Man Band - Glynis Johns
- Sister Suffragette - Glynis Johns
- The Life I Lead - David Tomlinson
- The Perfect Nanny - Karen Dotrice
- Air Mail/Admiral Boom/The Not-So-Perfect Nannies/Mary Poppins Arrives - Julie Andrews
- A Spoonful of Sugar - Julie Andrews
- Pavement Artist - Dick Van Dyke
- Jolly Holiday - Marni Nixon
- Jolly Holiday (Reprise) - Julie Andrews
- Penguin Dance - Richard Sherman
- The Carousel Horses - Richard Sherman
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - Richard Sherman
- Pavement Artist (Reprise) - Dick Van Dyke
- Stay Awake - Julie Andrews
- Trouble At Uncle Albert's - Julie Andrews
- I Love To Laugh - Julie Andrews
- A British Bank - Julie Andrews
- Feed The Birds - Julie Andrews
- Father's Footsteps - Bill Lee
- Fidelity Fiduciary Bank - Bill Lee
- Panic At The Bank - Julie Andrews
- Chim Chim Cher-ee/March Over The Rooftops - Julie Andrews
- Step In Time - Dick Van Dyke
- A Man Has Dreams (The LIfe I Lead/A Spoonful Of Sugar) - Dick Van Dyke
- Mr. Banks Is Discharged - Dick Van Dyke
- Let's Go Fly A Kite - Dick Van Dyke
Music CD 2- Cherry Tree Lane (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- Mr. Banks Dcided To Hire A Nanny Himself (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Children Write Their Own Advertisement (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Line Of Applicants And Marry Poppins Arrives (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- Notes On Mary Meeting The Banks (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- Up To The Nursery (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- Bert And The Talking Pictures - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- A Carousel Horse Ride To The Seashore (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Return Home (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Next Morning We Meet The Sweep (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- Uncle Albert's (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- A Change In The Wind And Adventure With Admiral Boom (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Bird Woman (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- Mr. Banks And The C ompass (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Compass Sequence: Timbuktu (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Compass Sequence: The Land Of Sand (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Compass Sequence: Tea In China (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Compass Sequence: The North Pole (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- The Return Home (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- Everyone Descends On Cherry Tree Lane (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- Mary Departs (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts) - Mary Poppins (Special Edition): An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
- Hollywood Spotlight Microphone - (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts)
- The Sherman Brothers Reminisce About Their Work On Marry Poppins - (The Mary Poppins Story Meeting Excerpts)
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: Notes on Mary Meeting the Banks - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: Up to the Nursery - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: Bert and the Talking Pictures - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: A Carousel Horse Ride to the Seashore - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: The Return Home - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: The Next Morning We Meet the Sweep - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: Uncle Albert's - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: A Change in the Wind and an Adventure with Admiral Boom - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: The Bird Woman - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: Mr. Banks and the Compass - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: The Compass Sequence: Timbuktu - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: The Compass Sequence: The Land of Sand - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: The Compass Sequence: Tea in China - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: The Compass Sequence: The North Pole - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: The Return Home - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: Everyone Descends on Cherry Tree Lane - Julie Andrews
- The Mary Poppins Story Meetings: Mary Departs - Julie Andrews
- Hollywood Spotlight Microphone: Dick Tufeld interviews the stars, composers, and musical director of Mary Poppins - Julie Andrews
- The Sherman Brothers Reminisce about Their Work on Mary Poppins - Julie Andrews
Music reviews of Mary PoppinsMusic Review: An Album that's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Rating: 5 Stars
In 1964, Walt Disney Pictures, under the directorship of Robert Stevenson, released what became a timeless musical fantasy called "Mary Poppins". Starring Julie Andrews as the mysterious & magical Mary Poppins, the film is a fictional account of a dysfunctional family living in London circa 1910. The father, George W. Banks (David Tomlinson, who played Emelius Browne in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" in 1971), is obsessed with his job at a prestigious Fidelity Fiduciary Bank and with maintaining a professional atmosphere at all times at home. The mother, Winifred Banks (Glynis Johns, whose film career began in 1938), is preoccupied with demonstrating as a suffragette and maintaining a clean home. Their young children, Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber, who died at the young age of 21 in 1977), are allowed minimal time with their parents, who prefer to have a nanny look after and raise their children for them. Unfortunately, Jane and Michael rarely like any of their nannies, who regularly quit after the children do something mischievous to each of them. Also working for Mr. & Mrs. Banks are the maid Ellen (Hermione Baddeley, who played Mrs. Cratchit in the 1951 classic "Scrooge") and the cook Mrs. Brill (Reta Shaw, who played in "Pollyanna" in 1960 and "The Ghost & Mr. Chicken" in 1966), neither of which have the time or the desire to look after Jane and Michael.
Following the departure of yet another nanny, George decides to hire an appropriate nanny himself. Jane and Michael write their own advertisement for a nanny, but George regards their innocent description as rubbish as he intends to find a nanny that will uphold his every professional expectation. Mysteriously, the children's advertisement, that George tossed out, comes to Mary Poppins. When a very lengthy line of perspective nannies are seen at the Banks' front door early one morning, all of them are blown away by a strong wind. Coming down from the sky via an umbrella is the magical Mary Poppins. Expecting a rush of perspective nannies to race through the door, only Mary Poppins waits to enter the Banks' home. George interviews Mary, but he is quickly confused by her wit and unexpectedly hires her. From that point on, nothing is quite the same in the Banks home and the children get a nanny that not only fulfills their expectations, but becomes something much more to them. Along the way, the children are also introduced to several interesting people, including the handyman Bert (Dick Van Dyke, who starred in his own 1961 TV show and starred in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"), Uncle Albert (Ed Wynn, who also played the toy-maker in "Babes in Toyland" in 1961) and the bird woman (Jane Darwell).
One of the most important aspects of "Mary Poppins" that transformed it into a timeless classic is its wonderful music as composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, as well as sung by its original cast. My ratings for each of the songs on the first disk of this wonderful two-CD soundtrack are listed below:
Disk #1:
1. "Buena Vista" (4.5, instrumental).
2. "Overture" (5, instrumental).
3. "One Man Band" (5+, Dick Van Dyke). Bert as a one man-band.
4. "Sister Suffragette" (4.5/5, Glynis John). Winifred calling for the rights of women to be able to vote.
5. "The Life I Lead" (5/5, David Tomlinson). George describing his life and what a British home should be.
6. "The Perfect Nanny" (4.5/5, Karen Dotrice & Matthew Garber). Jane & Michael telling what they want in a nanny to their parents.
7. "Air Mail/Admiral Boom/The Not-So-Perfect Nannies/Mary Poppins Arrives" (5, instrumental).
8. "A Spoonful of Sugar" (5+/5, Julie Andrews). Mary encouraging the children to clean their rooms upon her arrival.
9. "Pavement Artist (Chim Chim Cher-ee)" (5/5, Dick Van Dyke). Bert's carefree life.
10. "Jolly Holiday" (4.5/5, Dick Van Dyke). Bert describing how wonderful it is to be with Mary Poppins again within the sidewalk chalk painting.
11. "Jolly Holiday (Reprise)" (4, instrumental).
12. "Penguin Dance" (4.5, instrumental).
13. "The Carousel Horses" (4.5, instrumental).
14. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (5+/5, Julie Andrews & Dick Van Dyke). A word you use when you don't know what else to say.
15. "Pavement Artist (Reprise)" (4.5, instrumental).
16. "Stay Awake" (5/5, Julie Andrews). A lullaby to Jane and Michael.
17. "Trouble At Uncle Albert's" (4.5, instrumental).
18. "I Love To Laugh" (4.5/5, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Ed Wynn). Uncle Albert is visited who is suffering from incurable laughter.
19. "A British Bank (The Life I Lead") (5/5, David Tomlinson & Julie Andrews). Mary telling George that he'll be taking the children to the bank with him.
20. "Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag)" (5+/5, Julie Andrews). Mary describing the life of a poor woman who enjoys feeding birds.
21. "Father's Footsteps" (5, instrumental).
22. "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank" (5/5, Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson) Mr. Dawes Sr. (also played by Dick Van Dyke), the CEO of George's bank, sings praises to the British banking system with George to Jane and Michael.
23. "Panic At The Bank" (5, instrumental).
24. "Chim Chim Cher-ee/March Over The Rooftops" (5+/5, Dick Van Dyke). Bert describing the carefree life of chimney sweep.
25. "Step in Time" (4/5, Dick Van Dyke). Song and dance upon the sooty rooftops of London.
26. "A Man Has Dreams (The Life I Lead/A Spoonful Of Sugar)" (4.5/5 Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson) George singing his woes to Bert.
27. "Mr. Banks Is Discharged" (4.5, instrumental).
28. "Let's Go Fly a Kite" (4.5/5, David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns). George & Winifred spending time with Jane and Michael.
The bonus material on Disk #2 is very interesting to listen to. Overall, I rate the two-CD enhanced soundtrack of "Mary Poppins" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it.
More Mary Poppins free music reviews: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Description of Mary PoppinsMary Poppins Soundtrack Winner of five Oscars (including two for Richard and Robert Sherman's memorable slate of songs), Disney's 1964 adaptation of British author P.L. Travers' beloved children's tales melded live action, animation and music more successfully than any film before or since. Containing the most complete version of the Sherman Brothers' score and a wealth of previously unavailable behind-the-scenes treasures, this double-disc, 40th anniversary soundtrack edition becomes the ultimate musical tribute to the beloved family masterpiece. The Sherman's memorable songs are showcased here in a more comprehensive musical context than ever before; indeed, a number of the expanded or previously unreleased pieces of the Irwin Kostal-arranged underscore now included were truncated in editing the film itself. The generous bonus disc contains the set's greatest historical treasure: a 40+ minute pre-production story meeting between the Shermans, gag writer Don DaGradi and author Travers herself. Also included is a lengthy 1964 audio documentary featuring the Shermans and stars Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, an audio montage of the songwriting team reminiscing and playing their original demos for the project and an illustrated 40-page companion booklet containing a history of the project as well as complete song lyrics. -- Jerry McCulley
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