SCROOGE a new recording of the soundtrack from
the 1970 film version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, featuring original music by
Academy Award™-winner Leslie Bricusse. Robert Picardo (STAR TREK:
VOYAGER, CHINA BEACH) performs the role of Scrooge on this recording,
which was produced and arranged by Dominik Hauser.
One of the most enduring holiday stories,
Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL has been told in a multitude of
ways. In 1970, a musical adaptation, starring Albert Finney and
featuring music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse (DOCTOR DOLITTLE,
VICTOR/VICTORIA ), was released. It earned four Academy Award
nominations, including “Best Original Score and Best Original Song
“Thank You Very Much”.
Though SCROOGE proved to be a perennial
favorite and two decades later was launched as a musical, the soundtrack
has never been released on CD or digitally. BSX Records producer Ford
A. Thaxton turned to composer Dominik Hauser to reimagine the
soundtrack.
“We wanted to make it a little more
contemporary;” said Hauser since, “those songs had been written 40 years
ago. I took that theatrical style and reinterpreted the tunes
completely. My goal was to keep it orchestral and sparkly, and evoking a
Christmas spirit.”
Robert Picardo, best known as the
holographic Doctor on STAR TREK: VOYAGER was brought in to sing the role
of Scrooge. “I was unfamiliar with this movie and had never seen it,”
Picardo said. “I didn't know how beloved the movie was and indeed how
many people have been waiting for this music to come out on CD. When I
watched the film, I was very moved by it.”
In addition to Picardo, another performer
from the STAR TREK family, Chase Masterson (STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE)
appears opposite Brian “Hacksaw” Williams as Mrs. Fezziwig, and she has autographed the CD in GOLD paint pen, and Katie
Campbell performs the songs “Happiness” and Tiny Tim’s ballad “A
Beautiful Day”. The album features extensive liner notes by Randall
Larson.
Said Picardo, "The other wonderful thing
about being in anything that is Christmas-related is that you are an
evergreen. It becomes relevant again every 12 months. It's fun to be in
something that people can either punch up on their computer every year
or pull the desk out of their CD cabinet and enjoy it, year after year,
because the music is so great."