Disney – A Whole New Sound | 365 Days Of Inspiring Media

Walt Disney Records

Release Date: September 6th 2024

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Disney– A Whole New Sound (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

Part Of Your World (New Found Glory)
Remember Me (Mayday Parade)
Can You Feel The Love Tonight (Simple Plan)
I2I (Magnolia Park)
A Whole New World (Yellowcard and Chrissy Costanza)
Go The Distance (We The Kings)
Surface Pressure (The Plain White T’s)
You’ve Got A Friend In Me (Meet Me @ The Altar)
You’ll Be In My Heart (BOYS LIKE GIRLS)
Colors Of the Wind (Tokio Hotel)
Let It Go (LOLO)
Friend Like Me (Bowling For Soup)

Punk music and I have never seen eye to eye. Even during the early stages of me listening to artists like Hawk Nelson, Relient K and Stellar Kart (and later on Avril Lavigne), it took me several years to firstly be at ease with listening to that kind of music, and also to appreciate that style as well. Even now, punk music is still foreign, and I won’t go out of my way to buy an album of punk music, except for a few artists that I have resonated with. It’s just the way it is. However now, there is a new reason for me to like punk music. Or at least to listen to a cd of punk music. A Whole New Sound, a compilation Disney punk album, released in September 2024, featuring versions of iconic Disney hits sung by new and veteran punk artists. It’s an album several years in the making, and I suppose it’s a release meant to draw punk fans to Disney and Disney fans to punk music. For the most part though, this album works- and I’m sure within a few years, these artists will be well known by Disney fans, and Disney songs well known by punk fans.

Each one of these Disney songs are popular on some level. “Part Of Your World” (The Little Mermaid), “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” (The Lion King), “A Whole New World” and “Friend Like Me” (Aladdin), “Go The Distance” (Hercules), “You’ll Be In My Heart” (Tarzan), “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” (Toy Story), “Let It Go” (Frozen), and “Colors Of The Wind” (Pocahontas) are all part of Disney folklore and are instantly recognisable and loved. “I2I” (A Goofy Movie), “Remember Me” (Coco), and “Surface Pressure” (Encanto) are the lesser known tracks which I’m sure are loved by die-hard fans, but probably not by the wider populous. Each of the 12 are in their own right special Disney songs, and each of these renditions are objectively inspiring and amazing. New Found Glory, Yellowcard, Boys Like Girls, Plain White T’s, Bowling For Soup, We The Kings, and Simple Plan are punk veterans lending their expertise to songs like these, while new artists like LOLO and Magnolia Park have their chance to shine.

On any compilation album, there’s always going to be tracks which are missing (“Circle Of Life”, “The Bare Necessities”, “He Lives In You”, “Be Our Guest”, “Reflection”, “When You Wish Upon A Star”, “How Far I’ll Go”, “Beauty And The Beast”, “Why Should I Worry?”); but maybe they’re reserving them for a second instalment of this compilation album? In any case, A Whole New Sound, even if it’s a one-off experiment, is a success. Maybe not a resounding one (“You’ve Got A Friend In Me” and “Friend Like Me” were both excruciating!); but I commend the artists involved and the choice of songs. I would’ve loved 30, maybe 40 songs. But patience is key. Disney songs are always winners, and they always unlock the kid in us. And if this album can do that, I’m sure there’ll be more albums like these to brighten up our day. And if not, well, we can listen to this release over and over, can’t we? Thanks to everyone involved, you’ve done a great job!