Disney films named after one particular character are never really about that one character; they are about the surroundings, romance, animals, and people who provide comic relief, sentiment, and musical opportunities. As far as the self-named titles go, The Little Mermaid comes closest to having a fairly representative one. Ariel, the little mermaid, is so full of life and charisma that she could have carried the film alone. She did not, of course, since she was surrounded by other colorful characters like Ursula the sea witch, Flounder the fish, Sebastian the crab, Scuttle the seagull, and an overprotective father named King Triton. It is not surprising that Ariel was chosen for an album of contemporary pop songs and ballads. It is also fairly predictable that the album will not appeal to many of the fans of the movie for a couple of reasons. The movie features Academy Award-winning music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, also responsible for the witty soundtrack to Little Shop of Horrors. On Songs From the Sea, the music is written by lesser-known writers, presumably from Disney's Saturday morning cartoon factory. The songs are not part of a larger-scale story; they are random and centered all around Ariel, though the album does feature "Scuttle Strut" sung by Buddy Hackett, as well as appearances by other cast members. In its favor, the album features the return of Broadway's Jodi Benson as the voice of Ariel, and the songs are catchy. Artistically, the music is a few notches above the Little Mermaid cartoon series (from which another album was released by Disney) and several notches below the classic film. ~ Peter Fawthrop, All Music Guide
Tracks
Track Title
Composers
Performers
Time
The Sea Kingdom
(2:24)
What's It Like to Be a Mermaid
(3:28)
The Scuttle Strut
(2:45)
There's Only One Ariel
(2:47)
He's a Friend
(3:13)
At the Mermaids Ball
(2:26)
Party With Me
(2:37)
My Room in the Sea
(2:59)
Dreaming
(3:37)
H20, What a Feeling
(3:25)
We Share the Earth
(2:57)
Where Mermaids Dwell
(2:57)
Credits
Kenneth Mars (Vocals), Kenneth Mars (?), Robin Frederick (Producer), Jodi Benson (Vocals), Jodi Benson (?), Jaclyn Angelotti (Vocals), Jaclyn Angelotti (Choir, Chorus), Liza Hale Baron (Vocals), Liza Hale Baron (Choir, Chorus), Michael Becker (Mixing), Ray Benson (Vocals), Ray Benson (Choir, Chorus), Aleta Braxton (Vocals), Aleta Braxton (?), Edward Delaplaine (Vocals), Edward Delaplaine (Choir, Chorus), Buddy Hackett (Vocals), Buddy Hackett (?), Angie Jaree (Vocals), Angie Jaree (Vocals (Background)), Angie Jaree (?), Harold J. Kleiner (Executive Producer), Janis Liebhart (Vocals), Janis Liebhart (Vocals (Background)), Janis Liebhart (?), Gary Lux (Engineer), Raymond McLeod (Choir, Chorus), Ken Neufeld (Vocals), Ken Neufeld (Choir, Chorus), Julia Parminter (Vocals), Julia Parminter (Choir, Chorus), Elaine Reed (Vocals), Elaine Reed (Choir, Chorus), Sebastian (Vocals), Kath Souci (Vocals), Kath Souci (?), Susan Stevens (?), Tim Thompson (Vocals), Tim Thompson (Choir, Chorus), Samuel E. Wright (Vocals), Samuel E. Wright (?), Lee Kaiser (Assistant Engineer), Lea Holland (Art Direction), Judy Barnes (Cover Art), Greg Wray (Cover Art)
