Manufacturer: Polydor

An Oscar win might suggest a score would need a miracle to be bettered--but this colourful stage adaptation of Disney's The Lion King does so with flair. Composers Mark Mancina and Lebo M worked closely together to fuse the movie's many disparate elements. Where there was a veritable army exercising creative influences for the animated tale, this brings it all under the wings of a ...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney

Manufacturer: Sony

Hazel O'Connor's rebellious punk-styled singer is a talented timebomb ready to explode angrily at a cruel world. One night on stage she sees an audience member stabbed ("Calls the Tune"). Unable to get their face out of her mind, she slowly dissolves into a mental breakdown. The movie and album are both one-of-a-kind classics. Since O'Connor was involved so deeply with the production, the ...

Manufacturer: Spectrum

Manufacturer: Sonybmg

Manufacturer: Mercury Records Ltd (London)

Manufacturer: Polydor MCA Records

Because he's long been stereotyped by the rousing neo-romantic adventure scores for the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park franchises, it's easy to forget that composer John Williams is hardly idiomatically challenged. When Steven Spielberg gratifyingly used the clout of his enormous commercial success to produce and direct this brave Holocaust drama, his long-time musical ...

Manufacturer: MCA Records

Manufacturer: EMI

HBO's Mafia masterpiece The Sopranos is a remarkable television series--it's witty, creative, and truly unique. The same praises could be sung for a show's soundtrack, an odd but fun mix of beats, classic rock, and--what else?--Mafia-staple Sinatra. Alabama 3's theme "Woke Up This Morning (Chosen One Mix)" gets things off to a lively start, as does bluesman R.L. Burnside's "It's Bad You ...

Manufacturer: Play-Tone/Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax