Top 8 Mannheim Steamroller Songs From Your "Other" Albums

Mannheim Steamroller’s “other” albums are considered to be anything but his Christmas and Fresh Aire CDs. Mannheim Steamroller is a pioneer of the new age music genre, and has been continuously producing original and arranged music for the past few decades. I’m a big fan and have chosen, in my opinion, the top 8 Mannheim Steamroller songs from their other albums, plus the Christmas and Fresh Aire series.

Here are my top 8 picks, in chronological order …

1. Tigers and Lions: Saving Wildlife, 1986

I have been listening to this song for almost my entire life and it has always been one of my favorites. The ethnic sound makes you feel like you are in India surrounded by tigers. This song and several others were written for the soundtrack of a PBS special on saving wildlife. Wolves is another great song on the album, and if you’ve never seen Wolfgang Amadeus Penguin’s music video, it’s hilarious.

2. Fugue- Impressions, 1993

When Chip Davis first met his very good friend Arnie Roth (violinist from Mannheim), he thought he was a really classic guy. But later he found out that when he was in college he played bad heavy metal. So Chip wrote this song for Arnie, which is why it’s on the Impressions album (an album made up entirely of gifts that Chip Davis wrote for various friends and family). He describes this song as a “Gothic Concert that sounds like Dooda Something or Other”, and it is an excellent piece.

3. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious- Mannheim Meets the Mouse, 1999

I hope I wrote it right! I love most of the songs on this album, and I was especially pleased with this arrangement of my favorite Mary Poppin song, which recently had a successful Broadway run. This album is an excellent collection of arranged Disney songs and should be in your collection along with your Christmas albums.

4. You have a friend in me: Mannheim Meets the Mouse, 1999

I love the synth bass line on this song! Not only is it a classic Disney movie and a great Randy Newman song, but it’s a brilliant Mannheim Steamroller arrangement. When this album was released, I drove to the music store during lunch break to get it. I first heard it when they played Under the Sea at their live show during the Christmas in the Aire tour.

5. Just Dancin ‘in the Living Room: Romantic Tunes, 2001

This song is quite different from all the others that I have chosen. For me, it just paints a very picturesque little story about a loving married couple who spend a few minutes out of their busy day to be romantic and dance together in the living room. Most likely there are screaming children and food burning on the stove in the other room.

6. Mount McKinley-Spirit, 2003

The feel of this piece is very American, which is why it blends so well into Mannheim’s patriotic album Spirit. It is an original composition by Chip Davis and channels Aaron Copland and other great American composers. It’s short, but sweet. The Star-Spangled Banner is another wonderful arrangement from this album that also appears on the Impressions and To Russia With Love albums.

7. All Saints’ Eve – Halloween, 2003

This Halloween piece, an original composition by Chip Davis, fits the season perfectly. It is always well received at Halloween parties. I wish they had thought of making Halloween albums when they started. I wouldn’t mind if they released a few more. I always thought it was funny that they put “Deranged by Chip Davis” in the album credits.

8. Creatures of the Night – Halloween 2, 2006

This creation was designed for dance clubs, and it was the first time that Mannheim Steamroller did anything for the Dance / Techno genre. In the music video you can see Chip Davis playing the Theremin creating all kinds of spooky sounds. They even created a line dance specifically for this song for people to dance in clubs.

Whether you agree with my choices or not, there is no question that Mannheim Steamroller’s Chip Davis is the greatest contemporary composer / arranger of our time.