The Muppet Christmas Carol
(Soundtrack album)
Louise Gold featured as one of the Muppet Performers,
produced by Jim Henson Records BMG KIDZ, recorded at CTS Studios Wembley in
1992, reissued by Walt Disney Records in 2005. Soundtrack
album for the film The Muppet
Christmas Carol.
Catalogue number: (BMG
KIDZ CD - Canadian Pressing) 74860 30017-2, (BMG KIDZ CD - German
Pressing) 7432112194-2, (BMG KIDZ Cassette) 74869 30017-4, (Walt
Disney Records CD) 61414-7.
Cast
Muppet
Performers - Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Brian
Henson, Mike Quinn,
Scrooge - Michael
Caine
Belle - Meredith
Braun
Cover
version singer - Martina McBride
Background
Vocals - Miriam Stokely, Mae McKenna, Carol Kenyon, Nick
Curtis, Peter Becket, Lindsay Benson, and, Phillipp
Nicholl
Production Team
Original
Songs by - Paul Williams
Score by - Miles
Goodman
Arrangements
- Miles Goodman and Oscar Castro-Neves
Additional
arranging - Chris Caswell
Ms McBride’s
arranger - David Spinoza
Executive
Producer - Robert Kraft
Ms McBride’s
producers - Josh Leo and Robert Kraft
Songs
co-produced by - Paul Williams, Chris Caswell, and, Robert
Kraft
Track Listing (CD)
1. Overture (by Paul
Williams) - Instrumental
2. Scrooge (by Paul
Williams) - Cast (Frank Oz, Louise Gold, Steve Whitmire,
David Rudman,
3. Room In Your Heart
(by Paul Williams) - Honeydew and Beaker (Dave Goelz, and, Steve
Whitmire)
4. Good King Wenceslas
(traditional) - Muppet Brass Buskers
5. One More Step Till Christmas
(by Paul Williams) - Kermit (Steve Whitmire)
6. Marley And Marley (by
Paul Williams)- Marley and Marley (Dave Goelz and Jerry Nelson)
7. Christmas past
(by Miles Goodman) - Instrumental
8. Chairman Of The Board
(by Paul Williams) - Sam The Eagle (Frank Oz)
9. Fozziwig’s Party (by
Chris Caswell) - Dr Teeth and Electric Mayhem (instrumental)
10. When Love Is Gone
(by Paul Williams) - Belle (Meredith Braun)
11. It Feels Like Christmas
(by Paul Williams) - Ghost Of Christmas Past with cast (Jerry Nelson
with: Louise Gold,
12. Christmas Scat (by
Paul Williams) - Kermit and Tiny Tim (Steve Whitmire and Jerry
Nelson)
13. Bless Us All (by
Paul Williams) - Tiny Tim and Family (Jerry Nelson, with: Steve
Whitmire, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, and, David Rudman)
14. Christmas Future
(by Miles Goodman) - Instrumental
15. Christmas Morning
(by Miles Goodman) - Instrumental
16. Thankful Heart
(by Paul Williams) - Scrooge (Michael Caine)
17. Finale - When Love Is Found / It Feels
Like Christmas (by Paul Williams) - Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Ghost
Of Christmas Present, and Cast (Michael Caine, Jerry Nelson,
with: Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Brian Henson. Mike
Quinn,
18. When Love Is Gone
(by Paul Williams) - Martina McBride
The Cassette has the same listing as the
CD, with Tracks 1 to 10 on Side A and Tracks 11 to 18 on Side B. If getting the
CD version at least , the Canadian pressing is to be preferred, because the
sleeve notes are much more informative (containing the lyrics to all the
songs).
This is the soundtrack album for the
film The Muppet Christmas Carol, all the
performers, and most of the production team on it also worked on the film
itself.
Dave
Goelz, and, Steve Whitmire went
on to feature on the album A Green And
Red Christmas, for which Louise Gold,
Jerry Nelson,
Frank Oz, Jerry
Nelson, Dave Goelz, Louise Gold and Steve Whitmire
were among the eight main puppeteers on The Muppet
Show, which
Muppet performers Frank Oz, Jerry
Nelson, Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, and Steve Whitmire
had previously featured on: Muppet Show
Music Album , The Great
Muppet Caper (Soundtrack album), John Denver And The
Muppets A Christmas Together, John
Denver & The Muppets Merry Christmas 45RPM, Christmas
For Kids, John Denver Christmas,
and, Muppet Hits 1 and Muppet Hits 2 (on the latter two of which Robert Kraft
was also Executive Producer). They also feature on Music Mayhem And More and Muppet Music Sampler (both of the latter
also feature the song One More Step ‘Til Christmas).
Muppet performers Frank Oz, Jerry
Nelson, Dave Goelz and Louise Gold have also featured on: The Muppet Show Music Hall,
The Muppet Show 2, For What It’s Worth, and
Jim Henson Presents Silly Songs,
they also appeared on The Royal
Variety Performance (1977).
Muppet performers: Louise Gold, Dave
Goelz, Jerry Nelson. Frank Oz,
The singing talents of: Nick Curtis,
Carol Kenyon, Miriam Stockley, and of course Louise Gold,
can also be found on Spitting Image.
Frank Oz, Dave
Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, and, Mike Quinn
puppeteered on The Dark Crystal, for which Jerry
Nelson did some voice-work.
Louise Gold, and, Mike Quinn, puppeteered in an item
about The Dark Crystal on Blue Peter.
Brian Henson, Dave
Goelz, Frank Oz,
Jerry Nelson and Frank
Oz can also be heard on Born To Add
Louise Gold, Jerry Nelson, Frank
Oz, and, David Rudman can also be heard on Elmo’s Lowdown Hoedown
The brilliant Muppet singing double act Jerry
Nelson and Louise Gold can also be heard on Jerome Kern The First 100 Years.
They mauy also have sung together on The
Count’s Countdown, although there has been some debate as to whether Louise Gold actually sang on that.
Jerry Nelson, Steve
Whitmire, and, Louise Gold appeared in “a
burlesque show with some of the Muppet-company”.
Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Steve
Whitmire, Louise Gold, Brian Henson, and, Mike Quinn
had previously puppeteered on the film The Great Muppet Caper, whose soundtrack
was also recorded at CTS Studios,
Wembley.
Louise Gold,
Louise Gold, and, Mike Quinn had previously puppeteered
on the UK Co-Production of Fraggle Rock, for
which Jerry Nelson, and, Dave Goelz (besides puppeteering on the
main show) did voice-work.
Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Louise Gold,
Steve Whitmire, and, Mike Quinn had previously puppeteered
on The Muppets Go To The Movies.
Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz,
Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, Brian Henson,
and, Mike Quinn went on to puppeteer
on the film Muppet Treasure Island.
Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and, Louise Gold went on to puppeteer on The Animal Show, on which Frank Oz did a guest puppeteering appearance.
Brian Henson went on to
produce Mopatop’s Shop.
The Muppet
Performers on this album, Dave Goelz,
Louise Gold, Brian Henson, Jerry Nelson,
Frank Oz,
Louise Gold,
Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, and, Mike Quinn
went on to puppeteer on The Secret Life
Of Toys.
Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Louise Gold,
Steve Whitmire, and, David Rudman puppeteered on Sesame Street (in the early 1990s).
Muppet
Performers Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire,
and Louise Gold had featured in the
documentary Of Muppets And Men, on which
Brian Henson appeared in
the documentary The Wonderful
World Of Puppets.
Review
by Emma Shane
Of
the albums from the various Muppet movies, this is probably my favourite. It is
a lovely score mainly by Paul Williams, who must surely be one (Joe
Rapso being another) of the best songwriters ever to write for the Muppets,
after all he did write the score for The Muppet Movie, including
the beautiful Rainbow Connection. The whole Muppet
Christmas Carol album seems to capture the spirit of the Muppets, while
also having some very moving tender moments. It is truly Jim Henson’s
Muppets singing in a way that they know how to do best, and putting across a
powerful message. Although Michael Caine and Meredith Braun sing
well, the real singing honours on this album go to the puppeteers themselves.
Although sadly minus Richard Hunt’s wonderful voice, and Jim Henson’s
unique talents, the remaining muppeteers put on a good show, in this they have
the super advantage of using two of their very best singing talents, Jerry
Nelson and Louise Gold. In addition, several other pretty notable
performers, such as Steve Whitmire,
All
the numbers are more than listenable to, although some are, to my mind, much
better than others. When Love Is Gone was clearly meant to be the
big romantic hit of the film, like Rapso’s The First Time It Happens
in The Great Muppet Caper, but I don’t think it quite succeeded,
although it is by no means a bad song. Similarly Room In Your Heart,
although given a good performance by Steve Whitmire and Dave Goelz,
is a nice Muppet number, but not that remarkable. It is however worth noting
how much Dave Goelz’s musical performance has improved since the early
days of The Muppet Show. Then there is Good King Wenceslas,
which is well performed and great in setting the scene, and makes a nice
Muppety Christmasy accompaniment. Chairman Of The Board is
lyrically very interesting, and nicely sung by Frank Oz, it provides a
lovely possible insight into how people’s perceptions might perhaps be shaped
by their early experiences. Experienced muppeteers Jerry Nelson and Dave
Goelz lead the cast in Marley And Marley, which is a great
reminder of what happens when the Muppets get hold of a classic story, and
perform it very well in their own unique muppety way.
It
is the Muppeteers themselves who are the real stars of this soundtrack album.
Stepping literally into Jim Henson’s role, of Kermit The Frog, Steve
Whitmire gets his real moment of glory with One More Step Still
Christmas. It is a lovely summation of Christmas Eve, and would be a
great song to play on that day. But for anyone who likes the Muppets, the
number does something much greater; it is a new beginning, for Kermit. Steve
Whitmire displays a real Henson-like quality with this number, and yet at
the same time he does the character in his own way, it is not an imitation,
more an interpretation, but one that is very close to the original (his
Muppet-colleague Louise Gold often achieves a similar sort of effect
when she sings songs written for Ethel Merman, very similar to the
original, but without actually being an imitation). Another soloist is that
wonderful Muppet singer Jerry Nelson, who gets two wonderful
opportunities to shine, and exercise his considerable vocal talents. As his
performances of, such songs as: While My Guitar Gently Weeps and New
York State Of Mind, as Floyd Pepper, not to mention Halfway Down
The Stairs as Robin The Frog, on The Muppet Show proved, Jerry
Nelson can be a very emotional singer. But on this soundtrack with Bless
Us All he excels himself, I can’t help but cry every time I listen to
it. This time it sounds like he really truly means it, he is singing absolutely
in character, and is the character of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol.
He sings with such feeling it is as if there is something much more than just
acting in that performance.
Two
of the most fun numbers on the film are just the Muppets being the Muppets
doing a jolly film. The first of these is Scrooge, which gives most of the Muppeteers
a chance to show their individual and collective talents. Frank Oz has a
few memorable lines, including the opening one, and later on one about a crust
of bread. Louise Gold is next, for once she actually has an excuse to do
English-accented Muppets, and gosh does she get the most out of her lines “But
there’s nothing in nature that freezes your heart like years of being alone”.
Meanwhile
All
in all, for anyone who enjoys the spirit and the musical talents of the Muppets
in general (and Jerry Nelson in particular, along with: Steve
Whitemire, Louise Gold, and,
Critics Comments
.
Links about The
Muppet Christmas Carol (Soundtrack album)
Muppet
Wiki’s page for the album: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Muppet_Christmas_Carol_%28CD%29
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