The Polar Express

Overview

Devised by pop producer Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette, Christina Aguilera) and composer Alan Silvestri (Forest Gump, Back to the Future), the cheerful soundtrack for The Polar Express beckons listeners to sip some cider and sit back in their comfiest seats for a smooth ride. Tom Hanks -- or rather his digitally animated double -- stars in Robert Zemekis' glowing adaptation of the beloved Chris Van Allsburg book about a little boy who doubts the existence of Santa Claus. Hanks makes his motion-picture singing debut by performing the title track and a jazzy '40s-style number, "Hot Chocolate," while vocal sensation Josh Groban croons the inspirational "Believe" (thankfully, not the Cher megahit). Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler (in a star turn as an elf) scats out the rollicking "Rockin' on Top of the World," sounding a lot like David Lee Roth at his most jaunty. Also showcased are such seasonal favorites as the Andrews Sisters' "Winter Wonderland" and Perry Como's "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas," as well as heartwarming chestnuts by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Despite its Arctic title, The Polar Express is full of holiday warmth.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/02/2004
Label:	Reprise / Wea
UPC:	0093624889724
catalogNumber:	48897
Rank:	15539

Tracks

1. The Polar Express
2. When Christmas Comes to Town
3. Rockin' on Top of the World
4. Believe
5. Hot Chocolate
6. Spirit of the Season
7. Seeing Is Believing
8. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
9. White Christmas
10. Winter Wonderland
11. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
12. Silver Bells
13. Here Comes Santa Claus
14. Suite from The Polar Express

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alan Silvestri   Conductor
Tim Davis   Choir, Chorus

Technical Credits

Gene Autry   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Jeffrey Aldrich   Executive Producer
Glen Ballard   Composer,Producer,Audio Production
Felix Bernard   Composer
David Bifano   Producer,Scoring Coordinator
J. Fred Coots   Composer
Ray Evans   Composer
Haven Gillespie   Composer
Jerry Hey   Arranger
Jay Livingston   Composer
Dennis Sands   Engineer
Alan Silvestri   Composer,Producer,Audio Production
Meredith Willson   Composer
Dick Smith   Composer
Tom Whalley   Executive Producer
Jeri Heiden   Art Direction
William Ross   Orchestration
Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff   Executive Producer,Art Direction
Conrad Pope   Orchestration
Oakley Haldeman   Composer
Stephanie Kubiak   Production Director
Diarmuid Quinn   Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

The soundtrack to Robert Zemeckis' groundbreaking film adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book The Polar Express celebrates the season with both classic and contemporary holiday flair. Composers Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri provide the latter, relying on swelling choral arrangements, tender ballads, and polarizing yuletide offerings from Stephen Tyler and Josh Groban. Tyler struts his stuff on the amiable but derivative "Rockin' on Top of the World," a three-chord rave-up that finds the Aerosmith mouthpiece channeling a pack of howler monkeys, but it's Groban's syrupy, future American Idol favorite "Believe" that serves as the soundtrack's commercial centerpiece. Tom Hanks does his best Gene Wilder on the whimsical and strangely unnerving title track, a wonderfully unhinged performance that will have Willy Wonka fans clamoring for more, and the winsome vocals of preteens Matthew Hall and Meagan Moore give the ballad "When Christmas Comes to Town" a real sense of wonder. Silvestri's orchestral pieces are effective in tone, yet ape Danny Elfman's Edward Scissorhands theme so shamelessly that lawyers on both sides must have had words early on in the production. The Polar Express is ambitious for sure, but the fact that its most sincere pieces are the six classics that make up its caboose is telling. [The Polar Express

All Music Guide