Apple+ TV’s musical adult animated series Central Park just returned to the streaming service for season 2. The series from the creator Bob’s Burgers follows Owen Tillerman (Leslie Odom Jr.), a nerdy park ranger who vows to stop the greedy businesswoman Bitsy Brendanham (Stanley Tucci) from turning New York’s famed Central Park into an upscale shopping center and condominium lot.
Along with his wife Paige (Kathryn Hahn) and children Molly (Kristen Bell and Emmy Raver-Lampman) and Cole (Tituss Burgess), Owen expresses himself through a series of catchy songs, most of which are written by some of the biggest names in the music industry.
Do It While We Can
While an honorable mention is in order for Season 1’s show-stopping opening number, “Central in My Heart,” which soars with giant operatic themes, the song “Do it While You Can” is a bit more of an uplifting toe-tapper.
Written by Brent Knopf, the vibrational tune combines the voices of Hamilton stars Odom Jr. and Christopher Jackson with Frozen alums Kristen Bell and Josh Gad for a jazzy upbeat tune that celebrates the various dance routines that the roller skaters in the park perform.
Show Up!
With a message that promotes female empowerment, “Show Up!” is an undeniably hooky song performed by Paige, Molly, and Anya following the latter getting cold feet before her wedding. To inspire her to overcome her fear of commitment, Paige bursts into a song written by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson.
In addition to the mid-tempo hip-hop beat and harmonized background vocals, the song has a message worth celebrating as Anya changes her mind and meets the future with hope and excitement.
Imperfectly Perfect
Another Anderson & Samsel ditty with a great sonic appeal on the show includes “Imperfectly Perfect,” a metaphorical song that embraces the notion of self-acceptance no matter how the circumstances. The song is performed by Owen, Paige, Cole, Molly, and Brendan.
The upbeat piano number begins with Leslie Odom Jr.’s mellifluous voice as Owen starts singing about poorly constructed pizza, which gives way to Kristen Bell taking over in the middle and ends with a slowed-down two-part harmony between them that is sure to appeal with anyone with two ears.
Rats
Written by the legendary Cyndi Lauper along with Teddy Sinclair, “Rats” is a song that despite its unappealing title, is one of the most memorable of the lot. The song comes when Paige and Cole begin hallucinating and seeing rats in their house after falling ill.
With a driving electrical guitar riff and a snappy backbeat that adds melody as it goes, Kathryn Hahn performs the song like a true rockstar until Eugene Cordero breaks in with a fragile high-pitched backup vocal. The 1:50-minute song is one of the most repeatable on the soundtrack.
Weehawken/If There’s A Will
The talented Daveed Diggs is currently one of the best mainstream emcees in the game, and he proves why multiple times on Central Park. As the abused assistant Helen, the character expresses all the disrespect her boss Bitsy shows her with flowing acrobatic rhyme schemes.
In “Weehawken,” Helen reps the city she hails from in a fire 32-bar rap and demonstrative hook that even references Diggs’ Hamilton role. In “If There’s A Way,” Helen starts off with a large operatic number that turns into a baroque piano tune that she raps over with impressive expertise.
I’m In A Perfect Relationship
Written by Meghan Trainor, “I’m in a Perfect Relationship” is an aching duet between Molly and Brendan that expresses the universal nature of adolescent love. As one of the slower and simpler piano arrangements, the dreamy background vocals make it hard to forget.
While Kristen Bell has proven her singing chops time and time again, the revelation in this song is what a terrific singing voice Eugene Cordero has, especially given his limited background as a musical performer.
First Class Hands
The first two songs featured in Episode 6 reunite The Book of Mormon stars Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells. While “Too Close” is also worthy, “First Class Hands” written by Glee star Darren Criss has slightly more appeal.
The acoustic guitar riff adds a lower tone that differs from most of the other songs and offers a pleasant sonic variation. At over three minutes, it’s also one of the longer tunes on the show, which has several musical progressions as it goes on. The vocal chemistry among Gad and Rannells is second to none.
Own It
With his superior singing range and melodious vocal tone, Leslie Odom Jr. belts out one of the most inspirational songs on the Central Park soundtrack with “Own It,” a rousing call for self-actualization.
The breezy, jazzy, summery song is impossible to dislike, especially when the supporting cast joins in during the second and third verses. Written by Anderson and Samsel, “Own It” is the longest song on the soundtrack at 3:43, giving it enough time to change tempos, musical arrangements, vocalists, and more.
Weirdos Make Great Superheroes
Written by Sarah Bareilles, no single song in Central Park has a more positive message than “Weirdos Make Great Superheroes,” an anthemic motto held by Molly on the show.
In addition to the theme of staying true to oneself no matter what anyone thinks, the song begins as a Frozen-like musical number before erupting into a guitar-laden melody. Molly begins crooning the song as she wanders through her school, leading to a fantastic comic book montage where she envisions becoming a superhero with giant weaponized hair.
Die Trying
As the closing number of Season 1, “Die Trying” is a literal show-stopper. Serving as an emotional summary of what transpired over the course of the first 10 episodes, the song reinforces Owen’s determined spirit to save the park no matter the cost.
The number starts slow and gains momentum through added instrumentation and layered vocal backups, allowing nearly all of the main characters to get a final word in before the season concludes. What starts small becomes a big, sweeping operatic celebration. The song comes courtesy of Anderson and Samsel, who wrote more songs than anyone else in Season 1.
