Beethoven's 2nd

Beethoven's back and this time he has puppies to drive George crazy. The sequel to the successeful Sint Bernard movie proved to be another success, though it appeared to be the last considering the original cast dropped out after the second. 6 more Beethoven's were made after that, though none featured the music of Randy Edelman. The second proves to deliver even more new themes, though not all of the original ones return. New however is the love theme, a schmaltzy over the top romantic theme that kinda overdoes it once you realize it's actually written for the dogs and not for instance Ryce. Another theme is the song theme, and even though you only hear it once, it's grand appearance in "The Facts of Life" will make you remember it. But I still favor the 3rd theme, the 'taking care of the puppies' theme in "Feeding Time", a typical sweet Edelman melody that combines its charm with the neighborhood / beethoven theme. Actually, even though there are new themes, it's important to remember that the old themes don't all return, or aren't used as much as in the first. The diversity in sound is however quite more profound, and the sound in general is much warmer and a lot more orchestral. You can't deny Mark McKenzie's own sound comes through gloriously in the opening of "Over the Cliff". All in all, Beethoven's 2nd sounds much warmer, but I miss a bit the emotion and playfulness of it. Here's its more playful through its diversity, not through its themes and melody. But you can't deny that the typical charm of a sequel comes through wonderfully. After all, several themes of the original return and are greeted by little St. Bernards and a bunch of new themes.

Several new themes, including my favourite of "Feeding Time".
The sound is a lot fuller and a hell of a lot warmer. Mark McKenzie's influence anyone?
I miss the many themes of the original one.

Track Listing

1. The Day I Fall in Love: Dolly Parton & James Ingram (4.08)
2. Opening (Snoozing with Beethoven) (3.32)
3. Chance Meeting at the Park (3.48)
4. Burger Binge (1.52)
5. First Kiss (1.48)
6. Feeding Time (3.15) Excellent track
7. Discovering the Pups (3.00)
8. Two-Dog Walk (2.44)
9. The Facts of Life (3.38)
10. A New Day (1.56)
11. Rhyce And Seth (1.13)
12. Finding Missy (1.14)
13. Over the Cliff (2.54)
14. In the Moonlight (2.28)
15. Going up the Mountain (2.08)
16. Raging Water / Home Again (1.22)
17. Finale (1.12)

Total Length: 42.12