Original Cast Recording

I came home today and found a wonderful surprise in my mailbox. It was The Little Mermaid Original Cast Recording, sent straight from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre! The CD was officially released this week, but I got the special version you can only get from the actual theatre... cause I'm a nerd like that! Anyways, I have to say this is the greatest CD I have ever heard! It's just so amazing!!! We've had the leaked Broadway workshop to listen to for the last two years but now the final version is out and it is so worth the wait! It's really funny to hear how some of the workshop songs have changed. But I think they've changed for the better. This CD is so beautiful, it literally had me in tears listening to it. OMG, this is pretty much the soundtrack of my life.

Thoughts on some of the songs.

"The World Above" - This was not in the workshop so it was a complete surprise. This is Ariel singing about how much she feel she belongs in the human world. It is so pretty and it feels like the lyrics were written just for me. It may just be my favorite of all the new songs.

This is where I belong
Beneath the clear wide blue here!
I feel completely new here in the world above!
It's like my life was wrong
And somehow, now, at last I'm in
My own skin
Up here in the world above!

There's so much light here
Light and space!
The sun's so bright here
Upon my face!
It feels so right here
Warm as love...
Life seems to be
Almost calling to me
From this strange new world above!

"I Want the Good Times Back" - I really like this song because it tells the backstory of King Triton and Ursula. They're apparently brother and sister! Wow!

"She's in Love" - This is a very silly, catchy, and almost out of place song sung my Ariel's sisters and Flounder. Some of the lines are hilarious!

"Her Voice" - This pretty much stayed the same from the workshop. Eric sings about the voice that haunts him.

"Beyond My Wildest Dreams" - My favorite from the workshop, it's been changed a bit. It's no longer just Ariel singing in her head. There are other people singing about her, which makes it resemble "Belle" somewhat. I love the change. It really conveys the scene of this wide-eyed yet confusing girl seeing this new world for the first time.

"One Step Closer" - This is another song that wasn't in the workshop. It's awesome! Eric teaches Ariel to dance. The song makes you want to dance yourself!

"If Only" - This has undergone a serious makeover since the workshop. No longer just a duet between Eric and Ariel, they mixed in Sebastian's reprise and a new section for King Triton. This is such a beautiful, yet heartbreaking song. If you don't feel something during this song, you have no heart.

"The Contest" - This wasn't in the workshop either but it's so funny. It's a bunch of women butchering "Part of Your World" trying to impress Eric.

"Part of Your World" - "Part of Your World" is the soul of the story and the anthem of dreamers everywhere. It's a difficult song to sing because to do it right, you have to feel it. Sierra Boggess did the song justice. I don't know how Disney found her, but they found the perfect Ariel!

These aren't all the songs. There are 29 total, but these wee the ones that really jumped out at me. I love them all though. I love this CD!