The soundtrack to the Disney movie "Brother Bear." The movie itself was a little on the fluffy side (started out great with the prehistoric Indians, got kind of cheesy with the bears) and could have used some more plot development--Disney would have done much better to go with the darker theme of the first part of the movie rather than amp up the lighter funnier theme of the second part--but the soundtrack IMO is gorgeous. I feel sad that it didn't get nearly the attention it deserves. :( --- "Brother Bear" is the story of a young native man whose careless actions result in the death of his beloved older brother at the hands of an angry she-bear. The lead character, Kenai, sets out to seek his revenge on this bear...only to end up changed into a bear himself. He ends up in the company of cutesy cub Koda, and all would be well if not for the fact that he finds HIMSELF being hunted...by his OTHER brother, who thinks he's dead! It isn't the best of Disney's movies--far from it--but it's at least worth a watch. And is much better than the far-too-PC "Pocahontas." (The soundtrack beats out the "Pocahontas" soundtrack by a long shot, too.)

Listening to if you like Phil Collins! Because, of course, he and Mark Mancina are the primary artists on this soundtrack. Some of the music has a very vaguely native sound (it wouldn't pass for authentic, though), so if you like American Indian music you might enjoy this a bit.

"Look Through My Eyes," "Welcome" (the Phil Collins version), "No Way Out" (the single version), "On My Way," and both versions of "Transformation"--you have GOT to hear "Transformation" by the Bulgarian Women's Choir in order to believe it! And the score tracks by Mancina are beautiful too, in particular "Three Brothers."

I don't really care for "Great Spirits" performed by Tina Turner (what were they thinking??), or for the alternate version of "Welcome" performed by the Blind Boys of Alabama. :/ "Spirits" would have been much better if they'd stuck to the formula that Phil Collins created. The Blind Boys are all right, but they don't top Phil's version of the same song. --- I strongly have the feeling that there were some original songs which were either cut from this album or just not included, since I seem to recall seeing an early plug for the soundtrack and it had songs that aren't on this one. I also seem to recall hearing a snippet of a Phil Collins version of "Great Spirits" in the original ad for "Brother Bear." What has become of these songs? --- I also wish there were more of the score by Mancina, and more of a native influence, such as the chanting in "Transformation" and in the score tracks. I obtained a pirated copy of the FULL score, however, and it really wasn't that great in comparison; the tracks are all separated, so you have nothing longer than about three minutes, and most run only about one minute. You really can't top several score tracks being strung together as one, as they are on this CD. I do still wish there were MORE of it available, though. Perhaps Mancina and Collins will work together yet another time?

Listen to it again...because at first I wasn't terribly enthusiastic about it. ^_^; I admit, I liked the "Tarzan" soundtrack (also done by Mark Mancina and Phil Collins!) more, and was a bit disappointed. However, additional listens made me appreciate this soundtrack more, and now I consider it ALMOST as good as "Tarzan" (Tina Turner and the Blind Boys make me have to subtract a teeny bit of the appeal).

Excited, because I'm currently working on a fantasy serial based on American Indian mythology, and as you may or may not know, I tend to listen to soundtracks while imagining my own fictional scenes playing out--so of course "Brother Bear" fit right in!

The composer is Mark Mancina, who also composed the score of the "Tarzan" soundtrack. The primary vocal artist and songwriter is Phil Collins--also from "Tarzan"! I guess Disney thought they could do just as well a second time, huh? Too bad that, in the public's mind, they didn't... --- Other artists on the CD are Tina Turner, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and the Bulgarian Women's Choir. I know--when I first saw the words "Bulgarian Women's Choir," I was rather leery...but give that track a listen, you won't soon forget it.

If you like the "Tarzan" soundtrack, and much work by Phil Collins, you should like this just as much (just skip the Tina Turner and Blind Boys tracks!). It's also good if you like American Indian-INSPIRED music (as I said, there is no way this would make it as authentic native music, but it does have a nice vague Indian air to it).

If you're more of a stickler for authenticity, you probably would not like this CD in terms of it being true to American Indian music. But you'd rather expect that when the main performer is Phil Collins--a British guy--right? --- I also would not recommend this if you just don't like Disneyesque soundtracks or scores, because yes, this is very Disneyesque. If you have to ask what "Disneyesque" is, you probably don't want to know.

I absolutely adored the "Tarzan" soundtrack, so was thrilled when I found out that Mancina and Phil Collins would be teaming up again (even though NOBODY can ever beat out "The Lion King" soundtrack, with Tim Rice and Hans Zimmer). As I said already, after a first listen I wasn't as thrilled as I'd hoped I'd be. But I've warmed to it. I just wish they'd ditched Tina Turner and the Blind Boys and stuck to a formula that already worked in the past. And had put as much thought into the movie itself as they did into the soundtrack. I feel rather sad that I liked "Brother Bear" a lot more than most critics did, but I've never been much of a movie connoisseur. I wanted Phil to get another Oscar for this one. :/ --- Here's hoping that Disney someday tries a third Mancina/Collins pairing! I'd probably buy it no matter what the movie's about...though it isn't likely to be a traditionally animated movie yet again. Too bad. :( --- I almost forgot to mention that it would be interesting to buy this CD in combination with Phil Collins's solo work, "Testify," and compare the musical styles on both. Both CDs must have been recorded around the same time (2002-3), and IMO the overlapping influences--from the instrumentation to the lyrics themselves ("Brother Bear" song--"Look Through My Eyes"; "Testify" song--"Thru My Eyes")--are obvious. Neato!

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Created Apr 28, 2006 at 9:57am • Submit your own review...