Now I know that this may sound like a very left-handed compliment. But — as I was reading Tim Hollis & Greg Ehrbar’s excellent “Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records” (University Press of Mississippi, May 2006) — I kept putting their book down so that I could then go downstairs & rummage around in the basement.
You see, the basement is where Nancy and I keep all of our old albums. And what with us being baby boomers and all, we’ve actually got a number of the old Disneyland LPs that Tim & Greg mention in this 222 page paperback.
And given that “Mouse Tracks” is written with such obvious affection for these old recordings … Well, as I sat reading the thing, I kept thinking: “Oooh, it’s been years since I heard that.” So I’d set their book back down again and off to the basement I’d go. To search for that particular LP.
Of course, now that I had the benefit of Hollis & Ehrbar’s thorough research, I could listen to these old recordings with brand-new ears. Now I had a true sense of all the effort & artistry that went into their creation.
No longer were these LPs just recreations of some of the more memorable moments from my favorite Disney films. Now I actually know the names of the talented people who actually worked on these recordings, the colorful careers that they had had … Which really deepened my appreciation for these LPs.
Now please don’t mis-understand. “Mouse Tracks” isn’t some dry catalog that attempts to list every single performer who ever made an appearance on a Disney recording over the past 60+ years.
No, Tim & Greg actually have something much more ambitious in mind. Within the pages of this attractive volume, they attempt to tell the real story of this division of the Walt Disney Company.
And I mean the real story. The truth behind the tunes, as it were. The over-sized personalities that helped shape Walt Disney Records during its formative years. The behind-the-scenes conflicts. The triumphs. The failures. It’s all here, folks …
You wouldn’t think that a book that details the history of a division of the Walt Disney Company that made childrens records would be a page turner. But “Mouse Tracks” really is. There isn’t a chapter in this paperback that doesn’t feature some great showbiz-related story that I had never heard before.
So do yourself a favor. If you love Disney music, go pick yourself up a copy of Tim Hollis & Greg Ehrbar’s “Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records.”
Which I’m now putting down again. So that I can then go back down into the basement to see if I can locate our copy of “Little Toot.”
Your thoughts?