Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida.

An all-star cast preview's the songs for Elton John and Disney's next musical

Considering the scarcity of pop hits springing from the theatrical stage since rock swallowed up popular music in the mid 1960s, it's understandable why we have long assumed that Broadway and rock and roll don't mix, Contemporary pop is driven more by rhythm than melody, and the predominance of production tricks and digitized arrangements is anathema to Broadway's traditional pit-band orchestrations.

But times are changing, and both Disney and Elton John are banking on it.

Item: The late '90s have seen the return of the tunesmith, as hot-shot songwriters such as Diane Warren (LeAnn Rimes's "How Do I Live") and Max Martin (Britney Spears's "... Baby One More Time") carry Tin Pan Alley's mantle to churn out radio-friendly hits for country, R&B, teen pop, and even classic rockers (Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" is a typical Warren tune). Item: Hollywood dominates the pop world with blockbuster sound tracks (songs from City of Angels remain on the charts a year later). Item: Rock-inspired musicals, from Tommy to Rent to Hedwig and the Angry Inch, toss aside the traditional pit orchestra. Item: One of the biggest recent rap records--Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life"--sports a big fat sample from Annie.

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida takes this trend to its logical conclusion: The superstar songwriting team responsible for both a smash hit movie sound track and Broadway's biggest current success (The Lion King) doles out the tunes they have penned for an in-the-works stage musical and doles them out to every genre of pop performer.

Based on Leontyne Price's adaptation of Verdi's classic opera, this Disney-produced Aida (titled Elaborate Lives during a test run in Atlanta last fall) has more than 20 new John-Rice songs. Fourteen tunes are covered on the all-star CD, serving in part as a trailer for what is scheduled to return to the stage in Chicago this fall and reach Broadway next year.

Rather than presenting an original cast album and waiting for the inevitable pop cover versions, John has masterminded a majestic tribute album to pave the way for his musical. The record takes on nearly as many styles as it has songs. Sting starts things off unpredictably with the Sly and Robbie-produced reggae of "Another Pyramid." Tina Turner brings the high trip-hop drama on "Easy as Life," with Angelique Kidjo providing unearthly African background vocals. Spice Girls celebrate the glory of good outfits while doing their neo-Motown thing to "My Strongest Suit." And Boyz II Men, Shania Twain, Lenny Kravitz, James Taylor, Kelly Price, and Dru Hill each provide the flavors for which they are famous.

John doesn't take a backseat to his handpicked interpreters, however. He sings with LeAnn Rimes on the symphonic ballad smash "Written in the Stars," teams up with Janet Jackson for the likely follow-up "I Know the Truth," adds his marquee might to Aida cast members Heather Headley and Sherie Scott's "A Step Too Far," and trades lines with Lulu on "The Messenger."

While recalling the classic Elton catalog, Aida radiates grand ambitions, and although his duets clearly have radio in mind, tracks such as Price's gospel showstopper "The Gods Love Nubia" are a testament to the man's unstoppable melodic gifts. With a film score (Albert Brooks's upcoming Sharon Stone vehicle The Muse), the sound track to another animated film (The Road to El Dorado from DreamWorks), and his next studio album with longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin on the way, the world's most famous gay person continues to prove that he is also among the world's most accomplished. Or at least the world's busiest.

Walters is a pop-music critic for The Advocate.

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