Friend Like Me.html



Aladdin
Soundtrack of Aladdin by Various
Label	Walt Disney Records
Producer	Alan Menken
Professional reviews
1992 Release * Allmusic link 2004 Release: * Allmusic link

Aladdin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack of the Disney film, Aladdin. It was released alongside the film in 1992. The album has been released twice since 1994. In 2001 a remastered release was issued while in 2004, a special edition featuring two new songs was released alongside the Aladdin Special Edition set.

The album won the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. It was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music (lost to the score of the film Schindler's List).

Track listing

Original release

Parenthesis indicate the lyricist for the given track. The music for all of the tracks was composed by Alan Menken.

Side one

1. "Arabian Nights" (Howard Ashman) - Bruce Adler
2. "Legend of the Lamp (Score)"
3. "One Jump Ahead" (Tim Rice) - Brad Kane
4. "Street Urchins (Score)"
5. "One Jump Ahead (Reprise)" (Tim Rice) - Brad Kane
6. "Friend Like Me" (Howard Ashman) - Robin Williams
7. "To Be Free (Score)"
8. "Prince Ali" (Howard Ashman) - Robin Williams
9. "A Whole New World" (Tim Rice) - Brad Kane & Lea Salonga
10. "Jafar's Hour (Score)"
11. "Prince Ali (Reprise)" (Tim Rice) - Jonathan Freeman
12. "Ends of the Earth (Score)"
13. "The Kiss (Score)"

Side two

14. "On a Dark Night (Score)"
15. "Jasmine Runs Away (Score)"
16. "Market Place (Score)"
17. "Cave of Wonders (Score)"
18. "Aladdin's World (Score)"
19. "The Battle (Score)"
20. "Happy End in Agrabah (Score)"
21. "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)" (Tim Rice) - Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle

Special edition (2004) release

1. "Arabian Nights" - Bruce Adler
2. "Legend of the Lamp (Score)"
3. "One Jump Ahead" (Tim Rice) - Brad Kane
4. "Street Urchins (Score)"
5. "One Jump Ahead (Reprise)" (Tim Rice) - Brad Kane
6. "Friend Like Me" - Robin Williams
7. "To Be Free (Score)"
8. "Prince Ali" - Robin Williams & Chorus
9. "A Whole New World" - Brad Kane & Lea Salonga
10. "Jafar's Hour (Score)"
11. "Prince Ali (Reprise)" - Jonathan Freeman
12. "Ends of the Earth (Score)"
13. "The Kiss (Score)"
14. "On a Dark Night (Score)"
15. "Jasmine Runs Away (Score)"
16. "Market Place (Score)"
17. "Cave of Wonders (Score)"
18. "Aladdin's Word (Score)"
19. "The Battle (Score)"
20. "Happy End in Agrabah (Score)"
21. "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)" - Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle
22. "Proud Of Your Boy (Demo)"
23. "High Adventure (Demo)"

Score cues not included on soundtrack

1. Jafar Plots
2. Aladdin on the Run
3. Princess Jasmine/The Sultan Gives Away His Ring
4. Diamond in the Rough/Aladdin and Jasmine/The Guards Arrive
5. Jasmine Confronts Jafar/It's all my fault/Aladdin in the Dungeon
6. Jafar in Disguise
7. Cave of Wonders (Full Version)
8. Jasmine Still Upset/Unconscious Aladdin
9. Genie Out of the Lamp
10. Genie Montage (Various short cues, such as taking off his head and explaining his limitations)
11. Escape From the Cave of Wonders/Jafar in Trouble
12. Iago's Idea/Arrival at the Oasis
13. To Be Free (Full Version)
14. Jafar Finds a Solution
15. The Sultan's Wild Ride
16. Time to Say Goodbye to Prince Abooboo
17. Tell Her the Truth/Talking to Jasmine
18. "A Whole New World" (Movie Version)
19. Aladdin Almost Drowns
20. Genie Flies Aladdin Home
21. Aladdin Breaks the Spell
22. Jasmine Finally Choses a Sutor/He Has the Lamp
23. Guilty Aladdin
24. "Hail the Conquering Hero"
25. "Aladdin's World" (Full Version)
26. The Battle (Full Version)
27. Happy End In Agrabah (Movie Version) (CD version only; the audio cassette version of the "Aladdin" soundtrack and disc 3 of the "Music Behind the Magic" box set feature this version.)
28. "Friend Like Me" (Instrumental Reprise)

Songs

Arabian Nights

"Arabian Nights" is played in Aladdin's opening, sung by the Peddler (Bruce Adler). It was originally longer, and would make appearances through the movie. The lyric "'Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face/It's barbaric, but, hey, it's home," received protests from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and in the 1993 video release, the lyric was changed to "Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense/It's barbaric, but, hey, it's home".¹ The original release of the Aladdin soundtrack, released before the controversy, retains the original version of "Arabian Nights".

It is later featured in The Return of Jafar, where it uses part of the cut lyrics and is sung by Brian Hannan, ² and this version is also the intro theme of the Aladdin TV series. Aladdin and the King of Thieves features an "Arabian Nights" reprise originally considered for the first film, which is also sung by Bruce Adler.

"Arabian Nights" pops up in the movie's underscore quite often, primarily used as a theme for Jafar.

One Jump Ahead

"One Jump Ahead" is sung by Aladdin (Brad Kane) while he escapes from the guards carrying a stolen bread, explaining that this is the life he lives, he has no choice but to steal, much as he does not wish to. It replaced "You Can Count On Me", a song that would be used to introduce Aladdin but was considered too pokey³.

Tim Rice and Alan Menken's biggest inspiration for "One Jump Ahead" was another cut song, "Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim", that would feature Aladdin and three friends removed from the film. During the writing, Rice and Menken also came to a ballad in the same vein, used in a later scene as "One Jump Ahead (Reprise)". ⁴ The reprise, titled, "One Jump Ahead (Reprise)", is also used in the score as the theme for Aladdin.

A slow version of the song (the reprise, specifically) is heard in the underscore frequently as a theme for Aladdin.

Friend Like Me

"Friend Like Me" is sung by the Genie (Robin Williams) while he shows off his powers to Aladdin in a Cab Calloway-like musical, telling him that he is a friend unlike any other. It was the first scene in Aladdin to have its animation finished, and features some differences in character design.⁵. This song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, it was Ashman's last nomination.

During the movie's end credits, an instrumental reprise of the song is featured.

Prince Ali

"Prince Ali" is another flamboyant number sung by the Genie (Robin Williams) as he introduces Agrabah to Aladdin's royal alter ego, Prince Ali Ababwa with a giant caravan. During the song, Robin Williams imitates a Thanksgiving Parade commentor ("Don't they look lovely, June?") and Ethel Merman. The film version cut a conceived intro for the song and two extra verses in the middle.⁶

A Whole New World

Main article: A Whole New World

Prince Ali (Reprise)

A parody of "Prince Ali" sung by Jafar (Jonathan Freeman), while the villain uses his newly gained powers to reveal Ali is only a street rat, and sending him to the ends of the earth. The filmmakers liked Jonathan Freeman's singing, and wanted to give Jafar a song, but they rejected Menken and Ashman's original composition for the scene ("Humilliate the Boy") and a new piece composed by Tim Rice ("Why Me"), as they were too long. Instead, they used a reprise of "Prince Ali." ⁶³

Cut songs

Other songs were written, and removed from the film. The 2004 soundtrack includes two, both written by Howard Ashman and sung by Alan Menken in the album: "Proud of Your Boy", which Aladdin was going to sing to his mother (a character removed from the film)³, and "High Adventure", sung by the Genie to encourage Aladdin (cut because two songs for the Genie were considered enough)⁶.

The 2004 DVD includes as extra features "Proud of Your Boy" sung by Clay Aiken, and four songs in test versions: "Proud of Your Boy", "You Can Count On Me", "Humiliate the Boy", and "Why Me".⁷

The Score

Many of the movie's songs pop up in Alan Menken's underscore. Also, each character is given their own theme that plays when they are onscreen.

Aladdin's Theme is an instrumental of the "One Jump Ahead" song, reflecting his sweet nature, that of a Diamond in the Rough. It can be heard many times throughout the movie, for example, the scene where Aladdin gives two children bread.

Jasmine's Theme is soft and sweet, but also sad-sounding, because she feels trapped. It is introduced in her first scene at the palace.

The Sultan's Theme is a royal fanfare, though it sounds fairly goofy, because the Sultan is a silly king to begin with.

Jafar's Theme is dark, like he is, an instrumental of "Arabian Nights."

Genie's Theme is "To Be Free." It is surprisingly sweet for a comic character, to show that he truly means well and just wants freedom, similar to Jasmine. Although it is associated with Genie in the film, the tune was combined with Jasmine's theme and rewritten for Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular as "To Be Free," Jasmine's song.

When Aladdin and Jasmine are together, it is usually accompanied by "A Whole New World."

References

External links

• Cut lyrics from Aladdin