formerlyfreedom January 2, 2015 Share January 2, 2015 Alan Menken! Awesome music! Singing! Dancing! Here's a spot to talk about the music in Galavant! 1 Link to comment
Actionmage January 5, 2015 Share January 5, 2015 I think the enjoyment of the music would have been stronger if ABC had just limited the use of the Galavant theme to maybe just The Bachelor. I did like that the soldiers were all 'Wait, wha?" at Richard's singing line of "we'll start a genocidal war". That's what makes this fun. Even the peasants and soldiers get to react to what other folks are saying out loud. I am very glad Mr. Menken and his writing partner ( whose name keeps eluding me) got hold of this. In lesser hands, this could have been a total fail. 2 Link to comment
MostlyC January 5, 2015 Share January 5, 2015 Yes, the promo monkeys at ABC need to be flogged for Excessive Use of a Theme Song. 5 Link to comment
ParadoxLost January 5, 2015 Share January 5, 2015 I think the enjoyment of the music would have been stronger if ABC had just limited the use of the Galavant theme to maybe just The Bachelor. I did like that the soldiers were all 'Wait, wha?" at Richard's singing line of "we'll start a genocidal war". That's what makes this fun. Even the peasants and soldiers get to react to what other folks are saying out loud. I was already annoyed the first time they did it with the Bachelor. I did laugh a little when they went into the musical The Middle promo right after it. But doing the ABC promos to the opening Galavant song was a bad idea. With Richard's singing, I liked that Gareth was in the background demanding back up singing and dancing for the King. 1 Link to comment
HoodlumSheep January 5, 2015 Share January 5, 2015 Favorite song of the night was "Hero's Journey" for me. Link to comment
Snarkette January 6, 2015 Share January 6, 2015 If Menken is there, I am there. I would listen to him do a musical about tax audits or fibromyalgia. 5 Link to comment
Milburn Stone January 6, 2015 Share January 6, 2015 Loved "You're Not the Worst Thing Ever." 3 Link to comment
stillshimpy January 6, 2015 Share January 6, 2015 Don't forget the Qualifier, Milburn, it's part of what was cracking me up, Maybe You're Not the Worst Thing Ever. I loved that :-) 3 Link to comment
legaleagle53 January 7, 2015 Share January 7, 2015 And guess what song is now available for download on iTunes! Link to comment
Milburn Stone January 7, 2015 Share January 7, 2015 Thanks for the heads-up, legaleagle--just downloaded it. Here's hoping there'll be more as the weeks progress. Link to comment
legaleagle53 January 7, 2015 Share January 7, 2015 Oh, I'll bet the whole soundtrack eventually becomes available! Link to comment
blackwing January 7, 2015 Share January 7, 2015 According to Amazon, the soundtrack will be released on February 17! Link to comment
Snarkette January 7, 2015 Share January 7, 2015 (edited) Three iTunes tracks were available at air time: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/cast-of-galavant/id939979186 There's a fourth one that just went live (Jackass in a Can, what a perfectly brilliant way of referring to gallant knights) Edited January 7, 2015 by Snarkette 1 Link to comment
SmithW6079 January 8, 2015 Share January 8, 2015 Favorite song of the night was "Hero's Journey" for me. Me too. I especially loved Sid and Isabella's "very true" bits to Galavant's declarations that Madelena was married against her will. Also, Galavant's "Oh, I'm out of shape. My tummy hurts. That was a long song" made it for me. 2 Link to comment
aradia22 January 8, 2015 Share January 8, 2015 I'm having three issues at the moment. One, I think the melodies aren't that strong because this style doesn't play to Menken's strengths. He writes the most gorgeous ballads and underscoring. He can do more uptempo numbers but for me, they generally work because they're paired with strong lyrics. He doesn't have that in Glenn Slater. The lyrics are weak and the jokes are juvenile. I haven't been happy with Glenn Slater since hearing the lyrics he came up with for the adaptation of The Little Mermaid to the stage. I never bothered to watch that Home on the Range movie. My last issue is the vocals. I'd say the actor playing Galavant is the best singer in the bunch. The actor playing Isabella isn't bad but occasionally she sounds a little more pop than theatre to me and she's either holding back or she's too tentative. She keeps pulling back instead of pushing and singing out. Timothy Olmundson isn't fantastic but he's alright and Madalena is probably the weakest for me. It's not embarrassing but her placement is weird and she's the only one that makes me do a double take and wonder if that last note was sung properly vs. just not sung that strongly. I bring up the vocals because it makes it harder to judge the quality of a lot of the songs. Link to comment
ChelseaNH January 8, 2015 Share January 8, 2015 There's something about the title song that reminds me of "Good Morning, Baltimore" from Hairspray. Which is weird because they're not the same at all. Link to comment
SilverShadow January 8, 2015 Share January 8, 2015 I'm having three issues at the moment. One, I think the melodies aren't that strong because this style doesn't play to Menken's strengths. He writes the most gorgeous ballads and underscoring. He can do more uptempo numbers but for me, they generally work because they're paired with strong lyrics. He doesn't have that in Glenn Slater. The lyrics are weak and the jokes are juvenile. I haven't been happy with Glenn Slater since hearing the lyrics he came up with for the adaptation of The Little Mermaid to the stage. I never bothered to watch that Home on the Range movie. Oddly enough, while I'm not normally a big fan of Slater because his lyrics lack specificity or innovation, or are just weird, I think he's doing some of his best work here. "And though there's something scary, behind your cold dead eyes" cracks my shit up. Or maybe I'm just comparing this to his worst work, from Love Never Dies. The romantic reunion duet for Christine and The Phantom, "Beneath A Moonless Sky" should not have made me laugh forever. 1 Link to comment
Bill1978 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 While we haven't got Galavant in Australia yet, and we better or I'm sending a stern letter to the network, I have been YouTube-ing the songs. And I must say I am really impressed with the wit of Slater's lyrics. Something I feel was missing with his previous 2 outings with Menken (ignoring his contributions to Mermaid). I haven't laughed at lyrics so much sicne hearing Book Of Mormon the first time. While I think Schwartz is a better fit for Menken at the moment, I must say these are some of the wittiest lyrics to a Menken composition since the Ashman days. In regards to Menken's melodies, I initially was underwhelmed by them and slightly disappointed. Which was confusing for me as I am a massive Menken fan. But upon repeat listens, I think the problem is caused by not having access to a full blown orchestra (well to my ears it sounds like a little orchestra). I think the music needs a bit more oomph from the orchestra to really highlight Menken's work. Many of the songs do have memorable hook to them, like classic Menken so they can't be all that bad. Here's hoping that the work of Galavant gets recognised and Menken can finally become an EGOT member. 4 Link to comment
SmithW6079 January 11, 2015 Share January 11, 2015 I keep watching "Hero's Journey" on YouTube and the ending makes me laugh every time. I also like how Isabella and Sid are really enjoying themselves too. I think they're perfect in their roles. 1 Link to comment
Camera One January 12, 2015 Share January 12, 2015 I don't mind the lyrics since they're meant to be kinda dumb. The episodes tonight seemed to have more talky singing, which I'm not as much of a fan of. The Jester's singing voice was pretty weak. The title song is really sticking in my head, but nothing else yet. I haven't seen/heard the Little Mermaid stage adaptation. I did buy the Aladdin Broadway production recently and the lyrics from Menken's collaborator there (Chad Beguelin) were weak. Link to comment
HoodlumSheep January 12, 2015 Share January 12, 2015 The episodes tonight seemed to have more talky singing, which I'm not as much of a fan of. The Jester's singing voice was pretty weak. Comedy Gold was weak. I think the Jester's singing voice is good like in the theme song. He sound's better when he can belt out his lines rather than talk/sing them like he had to in this song. He sounded like he was struggling. It sounded like he was trying to reign it in. Link to comment
blackwing January 12, 2015 Share January 12, 2015 I think part of the issue is that the actor is Scottish. During some of the pre-show press tour when they were introducing the show, there was a clip of him with Alan Menken and one of the producers. He talked in his normal voice, which was a very thick Scottish accent. The producer said that at his audition, they loved him but they couldn't understand him, so they called him back and told him to audition again but to use a typical upper English accent. I've never fully understood why most English people don't sound English when they sing (they sound like Americans singing to me) but somewhere in there is probably why his "talking singing" voice in "Comedy Gold" sounds a little off. Link to comment
Trini January 14, 2015 Share January 14, 2015 ABC has a webpage which lists the songs in each episode: http://abc.go.com/music-lounge/news/shows/galavant 1 Link to comment
ParadoxLost January 15, 2015 Share January 15, 2015 I've never fully understood why most English people don't sound English when they sing (they sound like Americans singing to me) but somewhere in there is probably why his "talking singing" voice in "Comedy Gold" sounds a little off. Singing changes pacing and rhythm compared to speaking which makes the accent more neutral. Outside of areas with heavy accents, like strong Southern, New Yorker, etc. accents, American accents are more neutral which is why singers tend to sound more American. 1 Link to comment
legaleagle53 January 15, 2015 Share January 15, 2015 Of course, singers are also trained to overenunciate words in order to make them sound clearer and more distinct. That's why sometimes a trained American singer will almost sound British. Link to comment
SmithW6079 January 18, 2015 Share January 18, 2015 (edited) I listened to the original version of "Galavant." I'm not sure how "cleavage you could hold a whole parade in" is less risqué than "a touch of nymphomania" so I wonder why they changed the lyrics. And no matter how many times I watch "Hero's Journey" on YouTube or my DVR, I always laugh at "Oh shit, I'm out of shape. Oh, my tummy hurts. Woo, that was a long song." Edited January 18, 2015 by SmithW6079 Link to comment
kaygeeret January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 The music is a big part of what I love about the show! Maybe you're not the worst thing ever".... come live with me in the hovel...tonight's song with the cook and the handmaiden. Honestly I cannot listen to the songs w/o busting out in laughter and sheer pleasure at how the writers turned the 'love song' convention on it's head. Kudos to the song writers - not every one is a hit of course, but then Rogers and Hammerstein couldn't claim that either. Really creative funny stuff! 2 Link to comment
aradia22 January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 I did like the cook and handmaiden's song this episode and I thought Ricky Gervais' number worked because there was no expectation of him singing well. Those numbers should be sprinkled in. They should not be the majority of the songs. I expect the main cast to sing while the comic relief can either sing well or poorly. I was only half watching so I didn't really catch the songs in the dungeon. Link to comment
HoodlumSheep January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 I loved the Galabella ballad. It was unconventional, but it worked really well. I actually think I like it better than some of the love songs in the Disney movies. 2 Link to comment
blackwing January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 The soundtrack was released on iTunes today. Here is the track listing: 1. "Galavant" Ben Presley and the Cast of Galavant 2:212. "She'll Be Mine" Timothy Omundson, Vinnie Jones, and the Cast of Galavant 2:113. "Maybe You're Not the Worst Thing Ever" Timothy Omundson, Mallory Jansen, Karen David, and Joshua Sasse 1:424. "Oy! What a Knight" Faith Prince, Michael Brandon, Luke Youngblood, Karen David, and the Cast of Galavant 1:525. "Jackass in a Can" Joshua Sasse and the Cast of Galavant 1:446. "Togetherness" Joshua Sasse, Luke Youngblood, and Karen David 2:237. "Comedy Gold" Ben Presley and Timothy Omundson 2:218. "Lords of the Sea (feat.Hugh Bonneville)" Cast of Galavant 1:469. "No One But You" Mallory Jansen 2:0010. "Hey, Hey, We're the Monks (feat. "Weird Al" Yankovic)" Cast of Galavant 1:1611. "If I Could Share My Life With You" Darren Evans and Sophie McShera 2:2012. "A Day in Richard's Life (feat. Ricky Gervais)" Cast of Galavant 2:4713. "Love Is Strange" Karen David and Joshua Sasse 1:4314. "Goodnight My Friend" Timothy Omundson 2:20 Booooooo to the fact that "Hero's Journey" isn't included. This one is my favourite song, the way the three play off each other is great. The end is great too, with Joshua Sasse holding that note for about 15 seconds and then gasping "[bleep] I'm out of shape. My tummy hurts. That was a long song." Would have rather this song been included instead of the dreary and boring "No One But You". The physical CD gets released on February 17. No track listing yet, but I'm assuming it will be the same? 1 Link to comment
allonsyalice January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 How was Hero's Journey not there? did they just forget the best song from the show or?? 1 Link to comment
SmithW6079 January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 No "Hero's Journey"? Seriously? That is the best song from the show. Maybe it will be on the physical CD as an incentive to buy the music twice. Link to comment
HoodlumSheep January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 Like everyone else, I'm also upset that they did not include "Hero's Journey" on the soundtrack. Link to comment
Camera One January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 (edited) How disappointing. Why not just release everything on Itunes, and then make choices on the physical CD? Isn't that what "Glee" did? Edited January 20, 2015 by Camera One Link to comment
Mockingbird January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 I'm echoing the disappointment for no Hero's Journey. Also, it's strange there's only one song from the last two episodes. Link to comment
blackwing January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 I still don't understand why they couldn't release ALL songs from the series. Many of the songs are only about 2 minutes long. The 14 tracks listed clock in at a total of 28 minutes. That's awfully skimpy for a physical CD they expect to release in stores at regular price. I really really hope the actual CD has more songs. Otherwise, I have no incentive to buy it, I'll just download the ones that I really like. 1 Link to comment
Snarkette January 22, 2015 Share January 22, 2015 What?! Track 14?!!!!! Say it ain't so! Link to comment
Morrigan2575 January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 I'm really bummed they didn't include A Heroes Journey it's my favorite. Link to comment
HoodlumSheep January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 Now that season 1 had officially ended: Top 5 Favorite Songs: 1. Hero's Journey 2-5 in no particular order: Galavant theme Love is Strange Secret Mission Good Night My Friend Honorable mention: A day in Richard's Life (I liked the chorus, and constantly find myself singing "shut up youuu!!!" Least Favorite: Comedy Gold Everything else was enjoyable but not memorable enough to find myself humming the tune. Link to comment
Bill1978 January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 (edited) Is the fact this series aired in January, likely to hinder Menken's chance of a nomination come Emmy time? Or is the original song category so obsure that he and Glenn can sneak in a nom or two. I really would love Alan to become an EGOT member. Edited January 26, 2015 by Bill1978 2 Link to comment
Bruinsfan January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 The theme song is as earworm-y as an ABBA standard, so I hope it does its magic on the judges if submitted for Oscar consideration. Link to comment
HoodlumSheep January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 If anyone hasn't seen this on twitter: https://twitter.com/slaterlyrics/status/559869679720996864 Hope for a Vol. 2! 2 Link to comment
Camera One February 1, 2015 Share February 1, 2015 1. "Galavant" Ben Presley and the Cast of Galavant 2:21 Too bad it won't include all the reprises from later in that episode. Link to comment
blackwing February 1, 2015 Share February 1, 2015 Well, that's disappointing. Amazon had previously indicated a CD would be released on Feb 17. I was hoping it would have more songs than the ones released digitally. Now the CD is gone and the only things listed are the full digital album and the individual tracks. Link to comment
Bill1978 February 2, 2015 Share February 2, 2015 I'm going to remain optimisitic and say they are waiting until Volume 2 is released digitally and then release a physical version of Volume 1 and 2 on the same disc. I have to admit I was looking forward to the physical release as the soundtrack isn't available digitally in my country at the moment. Link to comment
Camera One February 2, 2015 Share February 2, 2015 I was just thinking... if this show had been successful, they might have made a stage production of this. I can sort of imagine these 6 episodes strung together into a stage play. Link to comment
betsyboo February 3, 2015 Share February 3, 2015 When I know I watch too much TV: As I listened to my broadway Pandora station this weekend, I found myself singing: In short, there's simply notA more congenial spotFor happily-ever-aftering than hereIn Galavaaahhnt. 1 Link to comment
Camera One February 8, 2015 Share February 8, 2015 I was listening to the Beauty and the Beast broadway CD a few days ago for the first time in a long time, and part of the beginning of a song made me think the Galavant theme song was going to play. Link to comment
Bill1978 February 8, 2015 Share February 8, 2015 The Galavant theme is very similar to If I Can't Love Her from the Broadway version of Beauty and The Beast The physical CD is back up for pre-order http://www.amazon.com/Galavant-Soundtrack/dp/B00RWKNC0G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1423364741&sr=8-3&keywords=galavant No new songs or anything, just a later release date March 17. Link to comment
Recommended Posts