I was late to this musical party. Got around to it in my early 20’s and it was love at first listen. The affair continues…just that now it’s a love triangle. My 6 year old son has also joined in and the party has become merrier. ‘The Jungle Book’ is still the best soundtrack from Walt Disney’s vault of numerous memorable soundtracks. Actually, forget Disney…it is one of the best soundtrack in the history of cinema.

The overall score was composed by George Burns with songs written by Terry Gilkyson and the Sherman Brothers. Terry was the first choice for the songs, but Walt Disney felt his compositions were too grim and true to the Rudyard Kipling’s book version. He wanted some playful music for his playful version. He got in the Sherman’s with the instruction to make music without reading the original book. The result is a joyride that is evergreen and age agnostic. One Gilkyson composition, an upbeat tune, The Bare Necessities was kept. The songs were sung by stalwarts like Louis Prima and Phil Harris. A big achievement for an animation movie of those times.

Musically speaking, the songs are largely based on the Swing/Dixieland Jazz style and lyrically, they take the narrative forward. The standout tracks are The Bare Necessities, wherein Baloo the bear teaches the fundamentals of life to Mowgli, the hissy Trust In Me, sung by the snake Kaa, the barbershop quartet, We’re Your Friends from the vultures and the remarkably foot-tapping duet between Louis Prima and Phil Harris I Wan’na Be Like You. You just can’t stop moving when you hear this Dixieland tune. Even Baloo couldn’t.

Even though I got around to listening to this album as an adult, it seems that it’s been a part of my childhood as I am reliving my childhood with these songs through my son. Recently I gifted the picture LP of this soundtrack to him. It’s his prized possession, as it should be…after all; it is the bare necessity of life.

Happy Children’s Day.

Year: 1967

Label: Walt Disney

Genre: Soundtrack / Jazz

Producer: Larry Blakeley

Rating: 5/5

Reviewed by Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai / Hyderabad based communication professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 31 year old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic rock, Classical, Blues and Jazz (amongst others) are his prized possessions.