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The Prince of Egypt (soundtrack)

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The Prince of Egypt
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedNovember 17, 1998
Genre
Length76:00
LabelDreamWorks Records
ProducerJimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Babyface, Michael Omartian, Hans Zimmer
The Prince of Egypt chronology
The Prince of Egypt (Nashville)
(1998) 		The Prince of Egypt
(1998)
Singles from The Prince of Egypt
  1. "When You Believe"
    Released: November 2, 1998
  2. "I Will Get There"
    Released: December 29, 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link
Filmtracks[1]

The official soundtrack for The Prince of Egypt was released on November 17, 1998. It features songs and scoring from the film, as well as songs not used in the film. The album peaked at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Top Contemporary Christian chart, and No. 25 on the Billboard 200 chart.

In addition to this album, tie-in albums were also released; a collector's edition, a country edition, and an inspirational edition. These other albums contained music that was not featured in the film but rather inspired by the Biblical story of Exodus.

The album also spawned a pair of hit singles. The first track, "When You Believe", was a duet performed by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, while the sixteenth track, "Through Heaven's Eyes", was performed by R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo, and the album's final track, "I Will Get There", was performed a cappella by R&B quartet Boyz II Men.

Songs

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"Deliver Us" is the film's opening number, serving to show the violence and hardships endured by the Hebrew slaves, and the despair of Moses's mother.[2] The song alternates dramatically between male slave voices over heavy drum beats, and women's voices singing a gentle lullaby to the baby Moses.[3]

The lullaby portion of "Deliver Us" was performed by Israeli singer Ofra Haza and Disney actress Eden Riegel, while the music was composed by Hans Zimmer.[4] Christopher Coleman explained that "'Deliver Us' features the powerful vocals I was hoping for... This track concludes with an abruptness which is very similar to the opening track of Zimmer's Oscar-winning score for The Lion King".[5] Stephen Schwartz explained his use of the word "Elohim" in the song: "I wanted an authentic sounding Hebrew reference to God to help set the time and place. My first choice was "Adonai", but I was told by the religious consultants on the film that it would have been sacrilegious to use that term in that way in those days. So I selected "Elohim" instead, partly because it was slightly archaic, and partly because the scansion of the word fit the music!"[6]

"All I Ever Wanted" is sung by Amick Byram as Moses, after Moses discovers he is adopted, which results in him questioning his Egyptian identity and his Hebrew heritage. It is reprised shortly after by Linda Dee Shayne playing the role of Queen of Egypt, who reassures Moses of his place in their family. The song was written by Stephen Schwartz, who visited an Egyptian temple for inspiration: "There was something about walking through those beautiful white columns reflected in the moonlight and seeing the hieroglyphs that triggered the tune which became, 'All I Ever Wanted'".[7] Filmtracks wrote that "the uplifting and buoyant 'All I Ever Wanted' is the closest Schwartz comes to emulating the hero's song of aspiration that Alan Menken made famous throughout the decade. The determination in this short song is convincing and the queen's reprise is elegantly merged with the river melody from 'Deliver Us' at its conclusion".[1] However, Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Even on repeat listenings, Moses' requisite I-want song – called, lamely, 'All I Ever Wanted'– simply isn't memorable, no matter that the star-crossed royal helpfully whistles snatches of it in another scene".[8] LA Weekly described it as "one of Stephen Schwartz's awful songs".[9]

"Through Heaven's Eyes" is performed in the film by Brian Stokes Mitchell, while the pop single version is performed by R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo. Stokes Mitchell provides the singing voice for Danny Glover's Jethro character, Tzipporah's father and Moses's future father-in-law. Music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz, who said the song was his "favorite" of the film: "...one of the directors, Steven Hickner, came in with a poem called 'The Measure of a Man', and I based the lyric for the song on the philosophy in the poem..." Filmtracks said the song is a listener favorite but the voice of Stokes Mitchell overwhelmed the folk music background. Filmtracks wrote that "the K-Ci & Jo Jo version of 'Through Heaven's Eyes', will be intolerable for most film score collectors".[1] Entertainment Weekly described the song as "the 'Hava Nagila'–style campfire rave".[8]

Filmtracks notes: "'The Plagues'...challenges the lyrical nature of the film's early songs with deliberately harsh chanting..."[1]

Critical reception

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At the 71st Academy Awards, the film won Best Original Song for "When You Believe" and a nomination for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Stephen Schwartz, except where noted. All scores composed by Hans Zimmer.

No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."When You Believe (from The Prince of Egypt)" (produced by Babyface)Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston5:04
2."Deliver Us" (produced/arranged by Zimmer)Ofra Haza and Eden Riegel7:15
3."The Reprimand" 4:05
4."Following Tzipporah" 1:00
5."All I Ever Wanted (with Queen's Reprise)" (produced/arranged by Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams)Amick Byram and Linda Dee Shayne2:51
6."Goodbye Brother"Ofra Haza5:33
7."Through Heaven's Eyes" (produced/arranged by Gavin Greenaway)Brian Stokes Mitchell3:41
8."The Burning Bush" 7:17
9."Playing with the Big Boys" (produced/arranged by John Powell)Steve Martin and Martin Short2:52
10."Cry" 3:50
11."Rally" 0:42
12."The Plagues" (produced/arranged by Gavin Greenaway)Ralph Fiennes and Amick Byram2:40
13."Death of the First Born" 1:07
14."When You Believe" (produced/arranged by Hans Zimmer)Michelle Pfeiffer and Sally Dworsky4:55
15."Red Sea" 5:14
16."Through Heaven's Eyes"K-Ci & JoJo5:05
17."River Lullaby"Amy Grant3:57
18."Humanity"Jessica Andrews, Clint Black, Shirley Caesar, Jesse Campbell, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Boyz II Men, Kevin Max4:32
19."I Will Get There" (writers: Diane Warren)Boyz II Men4:20
Total length:76:00
Collector's Edition Bonus Tracks
No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."It is Only Beginning..." 3:44
2."Freedom"Wynonna4:41
3."The River"CeCe Winans3:53
4."Humanity"Jessica Andrews, Clint Black, Shirley Caesar, Jesse Campbell, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Boyz II Men, Kevin Max4:33
5."Through Heaven's Eyes"Brian Stokes Mitchell3:37
6."Chariot Race" 6:27
Total length:26:55

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[16] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Filmtracks: The Prince of Egypt (Hans Zimmer)". Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  2. ^ "The Critical Eye | Prince of Egypt". Purpleplanetmedia.com. 1998-11-25. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  3. ^ "Advance Review of the PRINCE OF EGYPT score and song cd!!! – Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news". Aintitcool.com. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  4. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (1998-11-17). "The Prince of Egypt – Hans Zimmer | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  5. ^ "The Prince of Egypt". Tracksounds.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  6. ^ Stephen Schwartz (May 2017). "Stephen Schwartz Comments on the Movie The Prince of Egypt - The Songs" (PDF). www.stephenschwartz.com. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  7. ^ "Breathing Life Into The Prince of Egypt". Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  8. ^ a b "The Prince of Egypt Review - Movie Reviews and News - EW.com". EW.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Holy Moses! - Film - Los Angeles - Los Angeles News and Events - LA Weekly". LA Weekly. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – The Prince of Egypt" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack – The Prince of Egypt" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  12. ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  13. ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  14. ^ "자료제공:(사)한국음반산업협회/이 자료는당협회와 상의없이 가공,편집을금합니다.: 1999.01월 - POP 음반 판매량" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  15. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  16. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Var – Prince of Egypt OST". Music Canada.
  17. ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – The Prince of Egypt". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
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