Roughly a decade ago the archivists at Disney put out a comprehensive 2CD ‘Legacy Collection’ of this soundtrack that captures not only the cute flick’s complete score for the first time but also extras from the studio’s legendary songwriting Sherman Brothers that were cut from the finished film, the last to be greenlit by Walt himself.
Best of all from that batch: ‘Le Jazz Hot,’ a swingin’ ditty excised in favor of ‘Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat,’ the slinky strutter that finds jolly ol’ Phil Harris (as Thomas O’Malley) trading licks with Scatman Crothers (as, who else, Scat Cat). Do I wish that tune had been squeezed onto this picture disc instead of two versions of the piece that replaced it? Sure. Same goes for the double dip of Maurice Chevalier, lured out of retirement to sing the title chanson as only he could. And they could’ve made room for another deleted nugget, ‘Pourqouis?’ There’s definitely space for it next to Eva Gabor’s ballad ‘She Never Felt Alone.’ But as this is principally a collectible to be looked at more than spun, I don’t really mind what’s missing. Plenty of other ways to hear ‘em.
#SoundtrackSunday 026
‘The Aristocats’
Walt Disney, 1970
d: Wolfgang Reitherman