Beauty and the Beast 2017 Soundtrack Review

I am an avid fan of Beauty and the Beast music and have been listening to both the Broadway and animated versions for years since I was a kid. I have seen both versions of the movies and the Broadway play. I was so excited to listen to the new soundtrack from the 2017 live action Beauty and the Beast adaptation. All the soundtracks were written by Alan Menken and have similar sounds. The Broadway version was his debut Broadway composition.

What did I think? Will my kids like it? There were some songs and changes I loved, and other songs where I preferred the original.  It is hard to have three unique soundtracks for the same story, but Alan pulled it off. Alan threw in different instruments, for example a harpsichord was used and changed the beats and climaxes enough to make it different. The words of the original songs changed slightly to adapt the more developed storyline. I liked this album enough to give it a few listens, and my kids love it too.  Read the rest to find out why.

The original animated movie was 1 hour and 24 minutes long featured 15 songs, the new movie is 2 hours and 9 minutes and features 19 songs. I have not seen the movie yet, but listening to the songs there is added depth to the characters. For example the song "How Does A Moment Last Forever (Montmartre)" we find out about Belle's youth especially the time with her mother.  She says,

    "This is the Paris of my childhood
    These were the borders of my life
    In this crumbling, dusty attic
    Where an artist loved his wife
    Easy to remember, harder to move on
    Knowing the Paris of my childhood is gone"

Belle calls this the Paris of her childhood, signifying it was the happy time of her childhood. From this we learn that Belle had a mother, they put some of her things in the attic, her father loved her mother, and that Belle had a hard time moving on.

The new movie keeps the original songs; "Overture" and "The Prologue", "Belle", "Gaston", "Be Our Guest", "Something There", "The Mob Song", and "Beauty and the Beast". The biggest changes I heard wjile listening were the adaptions from the play.  It gets rid of the songs, "If I Can't Love Her, Human Again", "A Change In Me" and "Home". The 2017 soundtrack adds the new songs; "How Does a Moment Last Forever (Music Box)" and "(Montmartre)", "Days In the Sun", "Aria", and "Evermore".

"Evermore" replaces "If I Can't Love Her" from the Broadway version.  It conveys an entirely different message. The most poignant lines of the song are "Now I know she'll never leave me/She will still torment me, calm me, hurt me/She will still inspire me, be a part of/Move me, come what may/Waiting here for evermore!"  The Beast realized she changed him and is happy for it.  He realizes the impact she had on his life. In the Broadway version of "If I Can't Love Her" he says, "Hopeless/As my dream dies/If I can't love her/Let the world be done with me."  In the Broadway version he does not want to go on, in the live action version he does and is inspired to keep living. I love the message of the new song "Evermore" though you can not belt it like you can "If I Can't Love her".

The other big change was "Days In the Sun" from " Human Again" and "Home".  This is another favorite change from the play.  I absolutely adore the new song "Days In the Sun".  Many people did not like "Human Again" and the original VHS that does not feature that song sells for a lot more.  It was trying to be like "Be Our Guest" but missed the mark and sounded too fluffy and happy. The staff are sad because they are not human, but the song is a happy song. "Home" made Belle sound very unhappy in the castle.  "Days In the Sun" is more melancholy and evokes regret of time past. It starts with an amazing opening by Chip recalling his short "days in the sun" and the whole cast remembering their days in the sun wanting to "relive just one".  Belle sings in it too, saying being at the castle has made her stronger, but she still longs to be "free".

How do the old songs compare?  It really depends for me.

• Emma Watston as Belle- I loved her take on Belle, she sounded excellent. I think there was a little bit of autotune in her voice, but that is okay because she is an actress not a singer.
• Dan Stevens as Beast-His voice was lower and more proper than I expected.  I prefer the old Beasts songs.
• Luke Evans as Gaston-He was okay, did not prefer either one.
• Josh Gad as LeFou-I am afraid to say this, but I can not get Olaf disassociated with Olaf.  I prefer the animated Lefou.  It is hard to imagine his voice being a villain.
• Kevin Kline as Maurice-I did not like Maurice's song I'm sad to say.  It was a little boring.
• Ewan McGregor as Lumiere-I loved his take on Lumiere and prefer his version of "Be Our Guest".
• Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts-I loved her take on Mrs. Potts. Angela Lansbury will always have a place in my heart. Emma did a great job and I preferred her vocals to Audra McDonald's.
• Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe-Her voice was to operatic for me. I did not like her singing in the Beauty and the Beast Finale song. It just did not fit. Her voice reminded me of Carlotta from Phantom of the Opera.

Let us talk about the end credit songs, there are three of them, "Evermore" by Josh Groban, "How Does a Moment Last Forever" by Céline Deon and "Beauty and the Beast" by Ariana Grande and John Legend. I love Josh's and Céline Deon's songs.  Maybe it was because their songs are new and different and they sound amazing.  What did I think of Ariana Grande and John Legend's version of Beauty and the Beast?  If it was the first time this song was released, I would have loved it, but it is not and it was too similar to other versions.  And Céline Deon's version was amazing, and the fact she was also featured in this soundtrack with a new beautiful song really overshadowed their version.  It was almost not necessary to this soundtrack, or it could have been sung by Céline again or not even added to this movie.

Here are the new soundtrack list of songs and which with ones I prefer and like.

1. Prefer the same-"Overture" (Score) Alan Menken
2. Prefer the same-"Main Title: Prologue Pt. 1" Hattie Morahan (narration)
3. Not impressed-"Aria" Audra McDonald
4. Prefer the same-"Main Title: Prologue Pt. 2" Hattie Morahan (narration)
5. Prefer the same, but love this version "Belle" Emma Watson, Luke Evans, Ensemble
6. Not impressed-"How Does a Moment Last Forever (Music Box)" Kevin Kline
7. Prefer the same but, love this version"Belle (Reprise)" Watson
8. Prefer the same-"Gaston" Evans, Josh Gad, Ensemble
9. 2 thumbs up and prefer this version-"Be Our Guest" Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw & Ian McKellen
10. 2 thumbs up-"Days in the Sun" Adam Mitchell, Stanley Tucci, McGregor, McKellen, Thompson, Watson, McDonald, Clive Rowe
11. Prefer the Same, but love this version-"Something There" Watson, Dan Stevens, Thompson, Nathan Mack, McKellen, McGregor, Mbatha-Raw
12. 2 thumbs up-"How Does a Moment Last Forever (Montmartre)" Watson
13. Prefer the same but love this version "Beauty and the Beast" Thompson
14. 2 thumbs up for song message, okay for vocals-"Evermore" Stevens
15. Prefer the same-"The Mob Song" Evans, Gad, Ensemble, Thompson, McKellen, Tucci, Mack, Mbatha-Raw, McGregor
16. 2 thumbs up except Audra's vocals-"Beauty and the Beast (Finale)" McDonald, Thompson, Ensemble
17. 2 thumbs up-"How Does a Moment Last Forever" Céline Dion
18. Prefer the original "Beauty and the Beast" Ariana Grande & John Legend
19. 4 thumbs up-"Evermore" Josh Groban

I definitely recommend everyone give this soundtrack a listen, there are enough differences to make it new and amazing.  Your kids and you will love it for years to come.