11/3: Main Street Christmas Loop

[Al Lutz]

A Much Requested Article Returns, the Complete Artist and Track Listing... Discuss it here...

DIRECT ARTICLE LINK: MiceAge.com - A different look at Disney...

[sir clinksalot]

Thanks so much Al!!!! Can't wait to sit on Main Street with a cup of hot chocolate and hear the loop in a few weeks.

[ttrocc7007]

Al,
Of all the columns of yours I've read through the years, this one continues to be my favorite. It's sort of become your 'It's A Wonderful Life.' One knows it comes every holiday sseason, and when it does you know the holidays are officially here.
This is some really fine investigative work combined with a real sense of joy in the writing.
Thanks for originally writing the piece, and thanks for running it again this year.
All my best for your holidays, and we'll look for more in 2010.

[h2opolodad]

I agree with Sir Clinksalot - can't wait for Christmas time, and to hear all of these songs while sitting at the DLR!

[richboi117]

How cool. This music is so...Christmas-eey. I love it. My favorite is the 12 Days Of Christmas song that is SO hard to find (maybe that's why it's my favorite?).

[Ex-SmallWorld CM]

Thanks to Al and the Disney Music Loops, I am happy to say that I've been able to track down the music on vinyl LP (at least the rare ones since the Music Box Christmas is not rare at all). I play these albums along with others and hear these brings the Disneyland Holiday Season home.

[Disney2055]

Al -
What a great update. I first read the information last year about this time and thought. Hey, I'm going to try to get all of those songs too. Well after about 6 months and a lot of looking in record stores, I have a complete set of songs! Hooray for MiceAge/Chat!

It is possible, however you have to look very hard for the Ed Sullivan record. It was the hardest one to find in my search.

Thanks!

[Neverlandtink]

Thanks Al, every year I look forward to that column! It means of course, that Christmas is just around the corner...

Just an FYI to everyone,

There are several Christmas music Blogs out now that offer free downloads of out of print Christmas music. With carefull digging, you might be able to find some of these tracks or full albums. Falalalala is one as well as Big Balls of Holly. Those two have links to other blogs as well.

Lannie

[HighLeveller]

A perennial favorite returns. Some corrections and comments:

Unfortunately a perennial error also returns: track 16, Petit Papa Noel (Little Father Christmas) is Paul Mauriat And His Orchestra from his album The Christmas Album. The original LP (Philips PHS 600-255) is easily found on eBay; also I've heard somewhere or another that this song has shown up on compilations available on CD (if the album itself isn't already).

The David Rose songs are also on Capitol ST-290 (this was the album shown in last year's version of this article); it looks like a reissue (or vice versa) of the same album.

The Felix Slatkin album has had at least two reissues. You need the original version. The reissue LM-1070 (this one has the Christmas tree and a black background), and the version with the street lamp that's frequently listed on ebay, are both missing "Ihr Kinderlein Kommet". (At present this is the only song I'm missing.)

Hollywood Pops Orchestra: "Caroling, Caroling" can be found fairly easily (and with great sound quality) on the compilation LP The Sound Of Christmas (Capitol SL-6534).

If you make your own version and try to synchronize it while in the park, you'll notice right away the loop in the park is played too fast, and everything's at least half a semitone sharp in pitch. So don't worry that your version might be playing wrong (unless maybe you has the playing speed on your turntable wrong while recording).

I think that's all. I had great fun with the loop last year. We had a big Christmas Eve shindig, with the loop on repeat as background music. It was well liked--and nobody was the wiser for what it really was. I listened to it in the park a lot too, while waiting for Candlelight, except mine was at the right pitch and in stereo.

[DVkid07]

I've seen this column come and go in the past, and always think "I should find all those songs!" Well, this year I've set out to do just that. Admittedly, I'm not going to be as diligent as some of those that have already piped up, as I'm not a vinylhead (yet).

Though I plan to conduct much of my search online (thanks NeverlandTink for the blog tips) I still needed a way to keep track of which songs I'd found (and where) and which songs I was still hunting for. Enter the following Excel spreadsheet, quickly laid out for the purpose. I'm sharing in the event that some of you are embarking on the same search as I.

http://static.steveniswriting.com/20...stmas_Loop.xls

Or, should the above download give you any trouble, try the following ZIP archive:

http://static.steveniswriting.com/20...smtas_loop.zip

Lastly, thanks Al for making this information available. Should make for a fun holiday project.

[Mickey Mouse]

Originally Posted by HighLeveller

Unfortunately a perennial error also returns: track 16, Petit Papa Noel (Little Father Christmas) is Paul Mauriat And His Orchestra from his album The Christmas Album.

While the point seems trivial, I think Al's right in saying track 16, Petit Papa Noel, is by Raymond Lefevre. I found pictures in another MiceChat thread from a previous year of a rare Disneyland Christmas album that backs him up...





It seems odd that Disney would ever produce a christmas album with all the correct versions of the songs played in the park except one. This evidence and the fact that Al has clearly done amazing research, going as far as comparing the tracks on his ipod in the park should be enough to put this rumor to rest. Petit Papa Noel is by Raymond Lefevre.

UPDATE: Oops! Turns out my "evidence" was actually fan-created artwork as you'll read below. Beautiful though, had me fooled! That's what I get for scanning through old forums and not reading throughly.

[Sosai X]

Originally Posted by Mickey Mouse

While the point seems trivial, I think Al's right in saying track 16, Petit Papa Noel, is by Raymond Lefevre. I found pictures in another MiceChat thread from a previous year of a rare Disneyland Christmas album that backs him up...

It seems odd that Disney would ever produce a christmas album with all the correct versions of the songs played in the park except one. This evidence and the fact that Al has clearly done amazing research, going as far as comparing the tracks on his ipod in the park should be enough to put this rumor to rest. Petit Papa Noel is by Raymond Lefevre.

That is not an official album. Those covers were made by a fan for their own personal compilation.

12/13: The Main Street Christmas Music Loop

The Paul Mariat version is the correct one.

Here's the one I made for my compilation:





These tracks have never officially been issued together on an official Disney CD.

[Mickey Mouse]

So all this talk of Main Street Music Loops got me thinking about the normal, everyday, non-christmas music loop. Anyone have a complete list? disneymusicloops.com has a partial list with all the song titles, so that's a great start, but they're missing some albums and artists.

I've started a thread to discuss it if you interested...

Main Street Music Loop (Not Christmas)

[Mickey Mouse]

Originally Posted by Sosai X

That is not an official album. Those covers were made by a fan for their own personal compilation.
CD.

Alas you're correct. I'm sorry I misread the post I pulled those photos from. That makes much more sense because I was confused why it was so hard to track down song titles that were once compiled on a vinyl record.

Beautiful artwork however by both you and this other person. Very authentic and nostalgic looking. Had me fooled that's for sure!

[whamo]

This fantastic thread begs a question. When will Disney release a "Christmas in the Park" CD with these numbers, in proper rotation, on it? I've been wishing they'd release a similar CD of the songs I hear in the California park for a long time.