''Almost Alice: Music Inspired by the Motion Picture'' is a 2010

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

of various artists' music inspired by

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

's film, ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''. The album is also notable for featuring songs that were inspired from quotes directly from

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's original 1865 novel ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...

''. For example, both "

The Lobster Quadrille "The Mock Turtle's Song", also known as the "Lobster Quadrille", is a song recited by the Mock Turtle in Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', accompanied by a dance. It was taught to him at school by his teacher called ...

" (by

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

) and " You Are Old, Father William" (by

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

) are both word-for-word performances of poems from the original ''Alice'' as quoted by the

Mock Turtle The Mock Turtle is a fictional character devised by Lewis Carroll from his popular 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. Its name is taken from a dish that was popular in the Victorian period, mock turtle soup. ''Alice's Adventures in ...

(the former) and Alice herself to the

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

(the latter). Furthermore, "Very Good Advice" by Robert Smith is a cover of

Kathryn Beaumont Kathryn Beaumont Levine (born 27 June 1938) is a British-American former actress, singer and school teacher. She is best known for voicing Alice in ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1951) and Wendy Darling in ''Peter Pan'' (1953), for which she was nam ...

's "Very Good Advice" from

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's 1951 animated adaptation of ''Alice in Wonderland''. The album was released by

Buena Vista Records Disney Music Group (DMG) is the music recording arm of Disney Platform Distribution, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It is located at the studio's headquarters in Burbank, California. The division's subsidiaries consist of two owned record ...

on March 2, 2010. It debuted at No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' 200 US albums chart. On June 1, 2010,

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

released a deluxe edition of the album. The

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

, " Alice" by

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

is played during the end credits of ''Alice in Wonderland'' and is the only song of the album featured in the film. It premiered on January 27, 2010, on the radio program ''

On Air with Ryan Seacrest ''On Air with Ryan Seacrest'' is a weekday syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. It was launched in 2004 as a drive time show at the same time on Los Angeles Top 40 station 102.7 KIIS-FM as the television show with the same name, ...

''. The second single was the song "

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

" by Estonian pop singer

Kerli Kerli Kõiv (; born 7 February 1987), better known mononymously as Kerli, is an Estonian singer and songwriter. Born in Elva, Kerli entered multiple singing competitions before being signed to Island Records in 2006 by LA Reid. In 2007, she rel ...

. A special edition of the album with three extra songs is exclusive to

Hot Topic Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, ...

, though it was also sold online in Mexico by the Mixup Music Store. On June 1, 2010, the special edition was released on

Reception

William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

focused part of his review on Lavigne's track, "Alice", describing it as "a typical piece of self-assertive adolescent pop/rock", noting that it was "ideally suited for heavy rotation on

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

". Singling out "White Rabbit" and "Very Good Advice" as the album "oddities", Ruhlmann otherwise decided the album was more appealing for children, with nearly all of the songs being "schoolyard chants".

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2010 compilation albums Alternative rock compilation albums Covers albums Music based on Alice in Wonderland Psychedelic rock compilation albums Pop rock compilation albums Buena Vista Records compilation albums Concept albums Alice in Wonderland (franchise)

Reception

Track listing

Charts

See also

References