Music Review: How the Grinch Stole Christmas - 1966 TV Soundtrack

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" as sung by Thurl Ravenscroft

Cons: Who do you think I am, the Grinch?

The Bottom Line:

Short simple soundtrack

With songs I love at Christmas

One I'm thrilled to own

A CD I Bought for One Song

Awe, the dangers of the internet. Last Christmas, I was searching for an old record I had growing up. It had Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas on one side (just the book, nothing to do with the TV special) and Christmas folk songs from around the world on the other. I never did find that at the time (I did later), but I did discover that there was a soundtrack to the 1966 Grinch special. I immediately had to get it, mainly because of one particular song. And you know what? I'm glad I did.

Now before we get into the five tracks, there is one thing that needs to be cleared up. I've read that this isn't a note for note copy of the TV special. While I wouldn't swear to it, I thought I noticed some differences. Honestly, even having watched the special every year I've been alive, I couldn't state categorically how every second of the soundtrack goes. I will state, that this disc captures the music well. I hadn't notice any major changes, so if you want to get these songs, this disc will certainly do that for you.

Track 1 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This is by far the longest track on the disc, coming in at 21 minutes and change. Why so long? Because we get the entire story here. Just like in the TV special Boris Karloff narrates the story and does the voice of the Grinch. Everything from the special is here, although the songs are included in slightly different places then the TV show. And I'll confess I noticed other differences here. None of the sound effects are included, and the instrumental portions are cut. It does still include all the additional dialogue added to the story for the special, however. The biggest change is that Boris also does Cindy Lou Who's lines, which June Foray did in the original special. Maybe this track accounts for the changes I've heard about. Either way, Boris does a great job with the story.

Track 2 - Welcome Christmas

Now we get the individual songs themselves. This is the short song that the Whos sing several times through the special. The lyrics are simple, basically welcoming Christmas and throwing in some Dr. Seuss nonsense words to boot. It's sung by a choir, and includes lots of bells in the background. In fact, it has quite an instrumental opening before they start singing. As you'd imagine for a kid's TV show, it's got a catchy melody and is slightly upbeat.

Track 3 - Trim Up the Tree

This fun song about decorating for Christmas is just over a minute long. It's fast and fun. The choir sings this one, too, with lots of energy. And I guarantee you haven't heard of some of these decorations. Yep, Dr. Seuss's touch is evident in every song.

Track 4 - You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch

Now comes the entire reason I bought the disc. I absolutely love this song. While a few others have tried to do it, there is no topping Thurl Ravenscroft's wonderful vocals. He's got a deep base that makes it sound slightly menacing even while he accuses the Grinch of being pure evil. And the lyrics are such fun. "Your heart is full of unwashed socks/Your soul is full of gunk, Mr. Grinch/The three words that best describe you are as follows/And I quote/Stink. Stank. Stunk." And of course there is the comparison to a sea sick crocodile and garbage as well. I laugh every time I hear the song. In fact, I'll listen to this one two or three times in a row if no one else is around. If this had been a different version of the song, I would have been highly disappointed. Fortunately, it's what I wanted and I love it.

Track 5 - Welcome Christmas (Reprise)

Now comes the longest of the music tracks at just over three and a half minutes. This version of the song contains some addition lyrics I've never heard before and a rather long instrumental bridge. It's fine, but nothing to get too excited about. I prefer the shorter version from the special myself. Once again, we've got the orchestra that plays for all the tracks and the choir from all but "Mr Grinch."

At just over half an hour, this is a short disc. Obviously, it isn't for everyone. But if you love the TV version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas as much as I do, you need this soundtrack. I can't believe I missed it for so long. I may only pull it out for two or three listens a year, but I enjoy every one of them.