This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Talk about a pyramid scheme.
It’s no secret that the real inspiration for this new Disney-backed collaboration between Elton John and Tim Rice wasn’t Verdi’s operatic Egyptian romance — heck, you wouldn’t even know the old boy wrote it from the hubris-packed title. No, as Rice pretty much admits in the liner notes, in typical Mickey Mouse fashion, the motive wasn’t music, it was money. Even Goofy could follow the logic: The Prince Of Egypt raked in mucho dinero. The Lion King raked in mucho more dinero. So, get Lion King tunesmiths John and Rice to rock like an Egyptian, put it up on Broadway, slap it on a CD, and wait for the ka-ching! And to leave no demographic stone unturned, the Mouse shelled out some bucks of its own for a lineup of cross-generational stars, from old-guard faves like Tina Turner, James Taylor, Sting and Elton himself to kid-friendly MuchMusic raves like The Spice Girls, Dru Hill and Boyz II Men.
Like most Disney fare, it’s art by committee — the marketing committee. And it shows. With few exceptions, Aida is an hour-long mish-mash (the tunes don’t even appear in the proper order), full of bland, lowest-common-denominator treacle: Breast-beating, how-do-I-love-thee orchestral ballads, pointless superstar duets (Elton & LeAnn! Elton & Janet! Elton & Lulu!?) and ersatz reggae from Sting (who manages to make Sly and Robbie sound white). The exceptions are Lenny Kravitz, whose soulful Like Father Like Son recalls John’s flute-fuelled Philadelphia Freedom, and The Spice Girls, whose poppy My Strongest Suit is the only hummable song here.
As for the rest, well, it sphinx.
