Mickey Mouse Disco (Record Offer, 1979)

Disney advertised this classic album along with the first two volumes of Disney's Children's Favorites performed by Larry Groce and the Disneyland Children's Sing-Along Chorus.  Disney shorts are seen as the songs play and include "Through The Mirror", "Mickey's Band Concert" and clips from "The Three Cabelleros.

Video courtesy of The Musuem of Classic Chicago Television.

Quadraphonic Sound, Disneyland Style

This posting is a bit off topic but worth mentioning since I have acquired an SQ decoder and have gotten into the Quadraphonic craze, myself.

In the 1970s, a new and exciting new format came alive, and it was QUADRAPHONIC sound It became the forerunner of today’s surround sound and came in three major formats: SQ, QS, and CD-4. For matrix you had SQ (by CBS) and QS (Sansui) and for true discrete sound, CD-4. Most of the major labels got into the Quadraphonic craze but Disneyland/Vista did not join in with the others. Sadly, Quad was a commercial failure due to technical problems by the end of the 1970s but was revived in a different form as Surround Sound. Still, quad systems/decoders were even compatible with regular stereo discs and even you could play them with added effects and surprising results.

I know I’m a bit old school but I’ve been collecting Quad LPs for years and now I could appreciate what Quad has to offer. I found that certain Disneyland/Vista Stereo records sound sensational in Quad/Surround (depending on the album, of course). For example, Camarata Conducts Man of La Mancha gives that true “FantaSound” in all 4+ channels. Imagine hearing all of the stereophonic Storytellers and albums enhanced.

To experience the Quadraphonic magic, you need, a quad system with a built-in decoder or external decoder with two stereo receivers. It sounds primitive but the sound really surrounds you.  Even today, with modern surround receivers via Dolby Pro Logic II and above, you can capture the magic with varying results.

UPDATE: In the case of the formats. SQ and QS are matrix and only require a regular stereo cartridge/stylus.  However, for CD-4, you'd need a CD-4 demodulator and a cartridge and stylus (Shibata) to get the full discrete effect (and LOTS of patience.) 

The Official Album of Disneyland/Walt Disney World

This posting comes at a year when Disneyland Park is celebrating its 55th Anniversary and the recent news about the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and the 30th Anniversary of the very first Official Album of music from the Disney Theme Parks. This album undoubtedly one my favorites and

Remains the best of Official Albums.

After my very first visit to Disneyland back in 1981, this was a fantastic audio souvenir of Disneyland and something to recall the wonderful classic attractions including America Sings, Country Bear Jamboree, It’s A Small World and the nighttime classic, The Main Street Electrical Parade. From that year on, the Official Albums have been reissued with new material while updated versions of the main stay tracks from The Haunted Mansion, It’s A Small World, etc have been released. Still, the 1980 release holds a special place in my heart due to the aforementioned attractions no longer being at Disneyland. Here are the track listings of the album:

Side One

The Main Street Electrical Parade (Baroque Hoedown and a medley of Disney favorites)*

Pirates of the Caribbean (Yo Ho, A Pirates Life For Me)

The Music of Main Street

+The Dapper Dans (Coney Island Washboard)

+ The Saxophone Quartet (Minnie’s Yoo Hoo)

+ The Main Street Pianist (Maple Leaf Rag)

The Enchanted Tiki Room (The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room)

The Blue Grass Boys (Foggy Mountain Breakdown)

Country Bear Jamboree (Pianjo, Bear Band Serenade, Fractured Folk Song, How Long Will My Baby Be Gone, Ballad of Davy Crockett, and Come Again)

Side Two

The Disneyland Band (Mickey Mouse March)

It’s A Small World (It’s A Small World After All)

The Steel Drum Band (PP 99)

The Haunted Mansion (Grim Grinning Ghost)

The Royal Street Bachelors (Swanee River)

America Sings (Yankee Doodle, Dixie, My Old Kentucky Home, Polly Wolly Doodle, Down By The Riverside, I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, Old Chisholm Trail, She May Be Somebody’s Mother, The Bowery, After The Ball, Bill Bailey)

The Fife and Drum Corps (British Grenadiers)

The Hall of Presidents-Mr. Lincoln

*= Longer version features Casey Jr, and a Disney Neon Finale medley consisting of Heigh-Ho, When You Wish Upon a Star, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Whistle While You Work, The Mickey Mouse March, and Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. CBJ Track has “Heart, We Did All That We Could” sung by Teddi Barra.

What is interesting is that there are TWO versions of this release and it’s due to the fact that the first version features a longer medley of the Main Street Electrical Parade track and a different version of the Country Bear Jamboree with the song, “Heart, We Did All That We Could” sung by Teddi Barra. In order to obtain this track, look for this inscription on the dead wax (that’s the end of a record) WW-480* Otherwise, versions with the 680 on the dead wax will featured the above tracks.