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I suppose Portland, Oregon-based Johnny Keener could do worse than taking the path Elizabeth Mitchell has blazed before him -- one part covers of old tunes, one part covers of new tunes, add a pinch of original stuff, stir gently. With a mix of rockabilly, blues, and modern pop, Keener further refines the gentle formula above, originally outlined on his debut Elephants Over the Fence (review).

What's new is the presence of a kids chorus on several tracks. At its best, the chorus enlivens old tunes, even giving Apples in Stereo's already-awesome "Energy" a tweaking that makes it a great kids' song. Keener's call-and-response with the kids on the title track shows off the chops he's honed at the Portland Children's Museum -- Ella Jenkins would be proud. (I also like the kids on Keener's original "Run Around.") The sound is perhaps a little fuller than the first CD, but there's nothing particularly fancy.

Which gets back to how things haven't changed. There's still some nifty guitar work (check out Keener's bluesy take on "The Cat Came Back") and covers that seem odd but make perfect sense (Cat Stevens' "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out.") The album isn't perfect -- Keener's cover of John Fogerty's "Down on the Corner" doesn't add much to the CCR original, and I'd like to officially put a moratorium on covers of "Three Little Birds" -- but it gets the job done. Oh, and the album packaging is one of the niftiest of the year, a simple yet elegant cardboard envelope.

Kids aged 2 through 6 will most appreciate the 25-minute disk, from which you can hear samples at its CDBaby page. Long John shows an artist maturing in his kids music vision, and it's a well-done collection of Americana-influenced tracks young and old. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Smithsonian Folkways is best known in kids music for releasing classic albums more than a half-century old from Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, and others. Aside from the still-recording legend Ella Jenkins and Elizabeth Mitchell, most of their kids music lineup features musicians who don't have webpages of their own, and must rely on, say, Wikipedia pages. Tom Glazer is no exception.

But just because there's no Facebook fan page doesn't mean that a musician's recorded output isn't worth keeping in print. Last week's release of Tom Glazer Sings Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGGG and Other Favorites, consisting of live tracks from three previously released and out-of-print albums, makes the case for Glazer to be considered alongside his more famous Folkways counterparts as a key early figure in the kids music genre.

Which makes it sound like a dry historical recording, which it isn't. From the very first track, "Come Down the Aisle," on which Glazer makes up verses as families arrive at the concert that's just started, Glazer is constantly inventive in his interpretations of familiar classics. "The Bus Song," better known now as "Wheels on the Bus," features the money on the bus going "clink, clink, clink, dunk - dollar bill." Glazer's introduction to "Jennie Jenkins," which features some especially silly banter, keeps the kids in stitches.

Really, you can hear how much Glazer has the kids' attention throughout the entire disk. Listen to the kids sing along -- shout, really -- on "Haul Away Joe" (they shout "JOE!"), and tell me there isn't one child in that audience who isn't having a great time. As much as the album is for kids (and it's really more of an album for kids than one which will constantly engage the adults), kids musicians ignore this album at their peril -- it's almost a master class on how to play to kids. And Glazer's voice is in fine form, too -- it's no surprise that he was asked to sing on some famous "Singing Science" albums.

This album will be most appealing to kids ages 2 through 7. You can hear samples and download the typically awesome Folkways liner notes (written by Glazer's children) here.

Tom Glazer might be best known for writing "On Top of Spaghetti" (yes, that's here, too), but on this album, he runs through a series of kids tunes with consummate child professionalism and enthusiasm. This'll probably be the only Tom Glazer album your family will ever need, but it's a good 'un. Maybe there'll be a Facebook fan page for him yet. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been waiting a long time to review this album, longer than I should. I'd been waiting for Austin, Texas artist Laura Freeman to release the follow-up to her 2005 album Color Wheel Cartwheel, thinking I'd include that album in a review of the new album.

Well, forget the new album (which will come out someday, just not today), because Color Wheel Cartwheel is pretty special; to wait any longer would just be wrong.

The album is, as you'd expect from its title, a concept album, dealing with colors. Down through the rainbow the songs move, from "Red" to "Orange," on through "Yellow," "Green," "Blue," and "Indigo and Violet." ("Purple" is thrown in there for good measure.) It'd be pretty easy to make color songs just by listing things that are of that particular color, but the what makes this album so much better are the differing stylistic approaches for each song. "Red" is loud and brassy, "Orange" is sassy ("You take a little yellow / you take a little red / Mix 'em up together and voila! / Orange, oh orange / Orange makes me wanna cha-cha-cha"). "Yellow" is a mellow, bluesy little tune, while "Green" is set to classic country music.

Certainly listing different items of particular colors help drive home the point for each song, but Freeman is also using the colors for jumping off into other stories (a philosophical discussion on blue jeans in "Indigo and Violet," for example). The differing approaches, the use of color to, well, color the songs, they give all the songs life. Interspersed between the songs are friends and musicians reciting the colors of the rainbow in various languages. I don't think there's any thought that kids will actually learn colors in a foreign language, they just subtly drive home the point about colors being all around us in the world. Freeman went to New Orleans to record the album, and she's pulled in contributions from a whole bunch of musicians.

Kids ages 2 through 7 will most derive educational value from the songs. You can hear samples of the songs at the under-30-minute album's CDBaby page.

I mentioned to Laura Freeman recently that Color Wheel Carthweel was a fun little album and she replied, "Well, we had a lot of fun making it." That fun is evident on this excellent little disk. I hesitate to call it an "educational" album, because every album is educational, but also because it unfairly narrows down the prospective audience. This is one of the rare "educational" CDs your family will listen to long after they've mastered the concepts inside. Definitely recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been nearly 7 months since I first watched (and wrote about) David Tobocman's fabulous video for his song "Home." (If you haven't watched it, stop reading this, click on the link, and see you back here in about 3 minutes. Really. Go now.)

Clearly I liked the video, so you might be wondering, why in the world haven't I review the rest of Tobocman's debut, I Count To Ten and other Very Helpful Songs? And the answer is... well, I have no good reason. I can't blame this on the dog eating the CD or a snowstorm -- sometimes good CDs just don't get reviewed on the site in a timely manner.

In any case, many CDs attempt to impart lessons to kids -- I know, I've heard a lot of them -- but very few do so in a totally appealing musical manner. This CD easily makes that small but distinguished list. I think there are a couple reasons for it. The first is that the songs are, for the most part, solid. The jazzy title track and "Brush Your Teeth," the pop of "My Rainbow," the country, banjo-inflected "Buttons and Bows" -- they're great melodies back up by well-crafted instrumentation. And more than half a year after I first heard it, I'm still moved by "Home," easily one of the top kids music tracks of the year.

The second reason for the album's appeal I think is that instead of conveying its lessons as a direct "you should do X" or "everybody feel Y," the lyrics are sometimes sung from a first-person perspective, telling the listener how the singer reacts. So the singer counts to ten and doesn't feel so angry ("I Count to Ten"), or the singer keeps his pajamas on through the night ("Jammies Song," based on a real-life problem Tobocman encountered with his daughter). It's not always the case, but there's very little sense of "should" here, and that makes the lessons easier for everyone to take.

The songs are most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 7. You can hear lengthy clips from the 33-minute album here and here. David Tobocman's I Count to Ten and other Very Helpful Songs is a solid little album. I can't guarantee your kids won't blow their top as much or brush their teeth more willingly with repeated listens, but I'm pretty sure you or your kids won't blow your tops if you listen to this a lot. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With their latest album, Massachusetts' The Nields joins the company of the Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam.

Really.

That's right, because on their new 2-CD family album, Rock All Day, Rock All Night, the Nields sisters join those two alternative rock heavyweights in putting out an album with both an uptempo and a downtempo disk. (Those two albums, in case you're wondering -- the Foo Fighters' In Your Honor and Pearl Jam's best-of rearviewmirror.) Now, I can't say that the Nields rock quite as hard as those bands do, but I'm also not sure there's anything quite as giddy on those disks as on the sisters' banter on the brass-band-accented "Muffin Man." (Did you know there was a whole neighborhood on Drury Lane? Well, you do now.)

The first disk is a mixture of folk songs and originals (some old, some new). The sisters have run a HooteNanny program for families with young kids, and many of the songs sound like they are come from that program. Unlike a lot of CD collections from kids and family music programs, however, the collection actually holds together as a decent listening experience even if you've never taken a class with them. It's probably mostly due to the fact that there are some really good songs here. The traditional "Going To Boston" kicks off the disk, and like many of the tracks, there's a life to the recording that encourages you to sing along. The brass band sounds great on "When The Saints Go Marching In," as it does on "Muffin Man" (as noted above). The new tracks are no slouches either, with "Who Are You Not To Shine" -- a shimmery folk-rock song and worthy successor to "Anna Kick A Hole in the Sky" from the last disk -- and "Superhero Soup," actually one of the oldest songs in the Nields' songbook, but re-purposed here. Not all of the tracks are great, but, like I said, as a whole, it holds together well.

The second, slower disk is, unsurprisingly, less focused on singalongs and more focused on great, slower songs. I hesitate to call it a classic lullaby disk as there isn't quite a hush-ness that I associate with lullaby disks. Instead, it's more like a warm nook on a cold day, encouraging you to stay put and contemplate the day and maybe drift off for a tiny nap. (Or, if you're a kid, play with your Legos or read a book.) One of my all-time favorite ballads, "Wild Mountain Thyme," makes an appearance, with the Nields' dad, John Nields singing along (as on the first album, he sings on several tracks). The Nields also engage in some re-purposing here, as "Easy People," one of their most famous songs, gets a simple treatment. I think I like this disk slightly better than the "day" disk, but that's just a personal preference for the more classic songs.

The first disk is probably most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 7; the second disk is essentially all-ages. Right now, the disk only available through the Nields themselves (go here to order), though national distribution will start shortly). For samples, you're best off checking out the YouTube clips I've compiled here.

The Nields continue to make vital family folk music with humor and tenderness. Rock All Day, Rock All Night is an all-purpose collection of songs that will serve your family well in times both of play and rest. Definitely recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, really, if you're pressed for time, you don't have to read this review of Alphabutt, the first kids' album from Kimya Dawson.

You can just look over at that album cover to the left and decide for yourself.

If you (or your kids) think that cutesy hand-drawn animals pretending to talk letters out of their rear ends are funny or cute or whimsical, you're going to like this album. If you think it's incredibly stupid, you're not.

For those of you needing a little more detail, or if you're not sure where your family stands on the important issue of speech and the mammalian gluteus maximus, read on.

Prior to this year, Dawson was probably best known as half of the duo the Moldy Peaches. Her kids music bona fides were pretty slim, limited to singing on the book version of They Might Be Giants' "Bed Bed Bed." (Though that's more than a lot of people who go on to release a kids album.) She sold an EP of 9 kids songs at her shows in spring 2007 (it was also called Alphabutt), but it was after the stunning popular success of the Juno soundtrack earlier this year (to which she contributed many songs) that she decided to go back into the studio and record more songs with her friends and family. The resulting album (including songs released on the EP) comes out this Tuesday.

Dawson's music at times has been called anti-folk, eschewing the polished craft of a lot of folk music, and that approach certainly is heard here. Toy pianos, choruses with many voices, the occasional indifference to pitch -- if you're looking for the smooth, everything's perfect sound of some kids music, you won't find it here. But to ask Dawson to make everything sound pretty would be like asking Madonna to play acoustic. Sure, it might be a worthwhile musical experience, but it'd be taking away everything that made the artist special to begin with.

The songs here are geared more towards a younger crowd, say, not yet in kindergarten. (It's not surprising to find out that Dawson's daughter just turned 2.) The title track is a little too precious (if you ever wanted to hear the word "butt" and "fart" a dozen times in a kids' song in the span of about a minute, here's your chance), but there are other tracks worth repeated spins. "I Like Bears" is a goofy song with a chorus that goes "I like bears / I like bears / I like bears a lot." It's a lot more catchy than you'd think from reading that chorus, and there are a lot of songs on here that very much sound like Dawson wrote them for her own daughter and purposefully kept them simple on record, sounding a lot like they probably sound in her own household. "Seven Hungry Tigers" is a somewhat more elaborate kids song with fun lyrics ("There are seven hungry tigers in my underwear drawer...") while "Happy Home (Keep On Writing)" matches a dreamy sound to a great chorus ("If you're breathing / you're still living / and if you're living / you are learning... just make sure your life's exciting." And on "Sunbeams and Some Beans," Dawson gets ever-so-slightly political, encouraging a character to "share beans" with others that don't have beans.

As I said, I think the album -- just shy of 30 minutes in length -- is targeted mostly to kids ages 5 and under. You can hear song samples at many internet locations (like here), but it's also possible that Dawson's label, K Records, will post songs for streaming soon.

As you may have surmised, Alphabutt is likely to be one of those love-it-or-hate-it albums. You'll either get it, or you'll think that it's a mess. I personally found it most enjoyable when Dawson reined in the goofiness just a tad -- at times, it's a beautiful album. More importantly, when I gave up trying to listen at a distance and instead joined in with the ears of a 2- or 3-year-old, singing along, maybe even out of tune, I enjoyed it more. I'm recommending the album, but take a look at that album cover one more time before you decide...

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I get lots of CDs, of course, and just like sometimes you'll see a whole of TV shows suddenly appear with the same theme, earlier this year I got a raft of lullaby/sleeptime CDs. I've collected some of the more interesting ones from that rush, plus a few slightly older ones that got overlooked the first time around.

That's right, folks, seven CDs. At least one of them's gonna put you (or your kid) to sleep but in, like, a good way. The list starts after the jump.

Continue reading "Seven Sleepy CDs: A Whole Bunch of Lullaby Reviews" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In this era when kids are supposedly growing up too fast, it isn't necessarily easy being Laurie Berkner. Even if they're not growing up any faster than their parents did, some kids born after her last release, 2002's Under a Shady Tree are already pretty much too old for Berkner.

So after a lengthy layoff reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's after Pulp Fiction, here comes Laurie Berkner with her fifth album for kids, Rocketship Run. In many respects, the album bears the marks of someone successful -- check out the lovely album packaging, for example -- lots of major-label releases albums aren't produced with this level of care. And there are many layers to the production; suffice it to say, there are several songs with strings and orchestration in the mix.

Unlike the packaging, which looks far better than that on Berkner's first couple albums, the production doesn't always serves her well. "Walk Along the River," which Berkner first recorded for a CD accompanying her We Are the Laurie Berkner Band DVD, gets a children's chorus added to it. It's a beautiful, tiny little pop song, and the chorus just sort drags it down. There were times throughout the disk -- not always, just sometimes -- when I wished it was just Laurie and Susie and Brian (or, now, Adam) without everything else.

And while I'm kvetching, I might as well say that the album's traveling concept doesn't work all that well. It's a bit too loose to have much of an effect, and it doesn't help that the "Going on a Hunt" song -- probably the weakest song on the album -- is played 5 different times (albeit in different musical forms).

But those downsides are outweighed by Berkner's strengths -- the overall songwriting and her voice, which are undiminished here. "Mouse In My Toolbox" has got a driving chorus -- "There's a paw on my saw / and an eye on my drill / And her little tail is wrapped around my pliers" -- that will stay lodged in your brain for some time. "Five Days Old" is an obvious and worthy homage to Woody Guthrie's "One Day Old." "Candy Cane Jane" is a sweet tune that with its name alliteration and rhymes is almost as catchy as "Victor Vito." Berkner continues to write songs that are targeted to kids without so much as a wink or a nod to the parents, but still without driving those parents away.

I've also long felt that Berkner has one of the great voices in kids music, and she sounds fabulous here, especially on songs like "All Around My Room" or her cover of "Fly Me to the Moon" where it's basically her voice and guitar. She very much needs to continue to explore those kid-friendly covers of classic songs.

Credit is also due to Berkner for more fully integrating longtime collaborators Susie Lampert and Adam Bernstein into the album, most notably by including 5 of their songs on the disk. If none of them are quite as catchy as, say, "Walk Along the River," they're all good, particularly Lampert's "Pigbasket" and Bernstein's "Jump and Fly." You do feel like crediting the album to "The Laurie Berkner Band" (rather than just Berkner herself) is the right choice.

Kids ages 3 through 6 will most appreciate the music here. You can listen to a couple of the new songs at the band's Myspace page.

If there isn't a song as enduring as "We Are the Dinosaurs" or "Victor Vito" on this album, that's probably too high of a bar to set. Rocketship Run is Laurie Berkner's most consistent and ambitious album to date and should attract a whole new set of fans to her music. Here's hoping it's not another six years before her next release. Definitely recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the course of four albums, the Seattle trio Recess Monkey have gone from nice little side project to full-fledged rock stars to the Seattle-area kid-set. Take three guys with elementary education experience, mix in a healthy dose of songwriting chops, and add a bit of humor, and it's not too surprising they've built up such a devoted fanbase.

Their latest CD Tabby Road, officially released this week, gives no indication that their star will wane anytime soon. As you might expect from the album title, the band are big fans of the Beatles. (Longtime fans will not be surprised, given that Aminal House featured a Sgt. Pepper's homage cover, and the 2-CD set Wonderstuff was nicknamed the "Yellow Album" for its all-yellow cover.) There's definitely a '60s-era vibe throughout the CD, especially on tracks like "Robin (Sugar Goblin)" and "Kitty Sister" -- the former is probably an unrecorded Beatles track the band found and decided to pass off as its own, the latter also recalls the Beatles in a melody with some harmonizing and a gymnastic vocal line that's completely infectious.

Unlike Wonderstuff, which moved into the '80s even with its influences, Tabby Road stays much more in '60s-inspired sounds, hewing more closely to a pure pop sound. A totally engrossing pure pop sound, to be sure, but there's less power-poppy crunch here. Topically, the band continues its fascination with pets (including the tender "KC in the Clouds," about a pet that's passed away), friendship ("S-L-Double-E-P-Over"), and kids' rites of passage ("Birthday Bite"). They also mimic the second side of Abbey Road with a whole "Monster Medley" that's, well, insanely catchy (check out the album's "Boogie Monster" with its "whoop-whoop" singalong -- you and your kids will find it impossible to put your hands in the air or move side to side) and totally not scary. The medley doesn't blend quite as well as the Beatles' version, but I did like the repetition of the bridge line from the medley's start in "Under My Bed" in "Monster Truck," the last song (before the quiet "Wolfman," which isn't quite as short as "Her Majesty," but oh well).

If you're wondering what's changed from the prior albums, well, it's probably the tightest of the band's albums and, because it wasn't recorded as part of the "camp weeks" that the two prior versions grew out of, with slightly fewer kids' voices (though they still show up). Those of you who thought Wonderstuff was all a bit too much at 80 minutes long or who thought Aminal House was just a bit too all over the place will appreciate the 40-minute brevity. I missed some of the goofiness that marked those earlier albums (more Mayor Monkey, please!), but what's sacrificed here is replaced by a focus that serves the band well. Every track is solid. (And, yes, there's a John Vanderslice reference. I will be disappointed if the next album doesn't feature John Vanderslice himself as the John Vanderslice reference.)

Kids ages 3 through 8 will most appreciate the songs here -- you can listen to four full tracks (including "Boogie Monster") at the band's Myspace page or sample all tracks at the album's CDBaby page.

Over the course of four albums, Recess Monkey has slowly staked its claim to being the best kids music band in the business. Tabby Road is jam-packed with first-rate songwriting, matched by strong musicianship and kid-focused subject matter. These guys are great, and so's the album. If you're not familiar with the band yet, you should be and you may as well start here. Highly recommended.

[Ed. note: Just to get the potential-conflict-of-interest statements out there, I'll note here that I'm presenting them in concert next month here in Phoenix (which means that my take is, uh, $0). I wouldn't present 'em if I didn't think they were really good. But just so you know.]

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Egg is the creation of LA-based audio engineer Jeff Fuller who wrote some songs with his young daughter Annabella, wrote some more songs himself, and recruited some other moms and dads to record the songs for an album.

Reading over that description might not necessarily fill you with hope for the album -- good intentions and enthusiasm being a poor substitute for, you know, musical talent and songwriting skills -- but luckily their debut album Sunny Side Up has enough of that musical talent and songwriting skills to make it a fun listen.

The band mentions Cake as one of their musical reference points, and I can hear that, at least in the somewhat spare arrangements that rely a lot on drums and, on a couple tracks, trumpet. But I hear more of a West Coast Brady Rymer. It's roots-rock mixed with a little country and with a more sunny (album title pun unintended), wide-open feel. The album has a loosey-goosey sound (I mean that as a compliment here) and it serves as an appealing musical background for lyrics that are squarely aimed at the preschool set. In part this probably partially reflects the influence of Fuller's daughter, but it's nice to hear songs about shuffling down the hall (the angular "Flip Flops") or summer ("Summer Today") that retain that kid's perspective. "Hiccups" is a goofy, make-the-kids-laugh song, while the last two songs ("Airplane" and "Goodnight") are tender ballads.

Kids ages 3 through 7 are most likely to enjoy the songs here. You can hear sound clips from the 26-minute album at its CD Baby page. Egg's Sunny Side Up will have no small appeal to families who prefer their kids music (if not their eggs) a little bit scrambled. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let me start this review by suggesting that, for all its sins real or imagined, Disney Music purveys more original music for kids and families than any other label. It is possible to avoid a fair amount of that if you don't actually watch cable TV on a regular basis, but they put out a lot of music on a regular basis, and for all age ranges. Not to mention a back catalog the envy of just about anybody. How much you actually enjoy it all depends in part on your age, but I've got three recent Disney releases here, and at least one of them is worth your time.

I admit it. I'm old. Not, like, Social Security old, but old enough that if I use the phrase "OMG" I mean it ironically. I am old enough, however, to have a kid who, though she isn't quite out of the "kids music" phase yet, will start listening to music I haven't introduced her to.

So I understand quite clearly that the soundtrack to Camp Rock, the latest Disney Channel original movie, premiering on a gazillion different channels this week, is Not For Me. It is for kids just a little older than my daughter. They'll spend their own allowances on it, or maybe their parents will get it for them. And what they'll get is an attempt to duplicate the High School Musical magic, except this time in a slightly more rock-oriented retelling of Cinderella. The album features some tracks with Joe Jonas solo (he's got a leading role in the movie) as well as a Jonas Brothers track. There are some songs by 16-year-old Demi Lovato, who has the lead female role and seems to be Disney's leading contender for a Miley Cyrus with a less pop and more rock edge.

The songs are fine enough, and most of the songs won't drive you to change the station if you hear them on Radio Disney (OK, maybe "Hasta La Vista," ugh), but you're not going to remember them 15 minutes after they're over. There's nothing as memorable as "Breaking Free" or "Fabulous" or "You Are the Music In Me," all of which are decent pop songs. In the end, it's not really for me, but it never really was.

Continue reading "Review: OMG or LOL? Three Disney Disks" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A number of months ago, someone e-mailed me and suggested I check out the kids music of Boston-area musician Wayne Potash. She said that he was (and I'm quoting here), "completely lacking in hip-ness... His band is called 'The Music Fun Band' which is one of the stupidest names I’ve ever heard of, and Wayne looks like a hippie freak wearing a fish hat.

However, if you can get past that, he’s an amazing musician for little kids."

Well, those of you who have read me for any length of time know that those are exactly the kinds of things I can get past. (I don't think I ever had a fish hat, but did have a bag that looked like a trout, so there you go.)

And if you can get past those things (and the not-terribly-inspiring album cover, too), his 2005 album Don't Forget the Donut! might just be up your alley. From goofy little songs like "Stunt Car" and "Wiggly Tooth" to breezy reworkings of classics like "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along" and "The Frim Fram Sauce," Potash has a relaxed attitude that serves the music well. He's not trying to remake children's music, he's just having some fun.

Not that the music isn't well-played. Potash mixes some jazz (the classic tracks above) with some bluegrass ("Hot Corn, Cold Corn", "Cindy") along with some poppier originals like the groovy "Lobster Dance." His duet with Suzanne Clark on "Down in the Valley" is -- dare I say it? -- better than Dan Zanes. I liked Potash most in his quieter, folkier moments, such as on "Street Sweeper," as opposed to the more '70s guitar-oriented stuff at the end of the album (it's about 8-10 minutes too long), but it's all done without pretension. (Proof of that is the ended-by-laughter version of "Haul Away Joe.")

Kids ages 3 through 7 will enjoy these songs the most. You can hear samples of all the tracks at the 48-minute album's CDBaby page. Yes, the album is 3 years old at this point, but he's also working on a new CD.

Wayne Potash isn't trying to set the kids music world on fire, he's just covering some good traditional and classic songs and writing decent original music. Don't Forget the Donut! might not become your family's most favorite album, but I can see it lasting in the CD player long after other CDs have worn out their welcome. As my original e-mail tipster said, "he doesn’t rock, exactly. He’s extremely uncool. And yet, he’s pretty amazing, either despite those things or perhaps because of them." I think those of you out there know if that applies to your family. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Andy Blackman Hurwitz, mastermind of the ever-expanding Baby Loves Music empire, recently released the first CD from his Baby Loves Hip-Hop brand, Baby Loves Hip-Hop Presents The Dino-5. With hip-hop producing legend Prince Paul on board, along with a whole host of well-known names from the hip-hop world telling the story of five hip-hop dinosaurs, the expectations for the project were pretty high.

The end result? Well, it's a mixed bag. To be sure, the music is first-rate. I don't listen to a great deal of hip-hop, but the funky music and beats heard here are right down my alley. "Yea Me Too" has fantastic interplay between MC T-Rex (Chali 2na from Jurassic 5, who is essentially the lead rapper here and does a fine job) and Billy Brontosaurus (Wordsworth), while "Tell Me More" is a funky song with a sinewy melodic line. And "Jump," which features Pos and Dave from De La Soul will, indeed, encourage jumping. The songs, all 9 or 10 here, are lots of fun to listen to.

And if the CD had stopped at that, it would've been an excellent little CD clocking in at just under a half-hour. But interspersed between the songs are a story about how the "Dino-5" came to be. The story itself is OK, your fairly standard "don't judge a book by its cover" story (T-Rex is, shock, a nice guy!). But rather than using poet Ursula Rucker to tell the story in a unique way, creating characters or dramatizing the story in her own words, the recording uses her in the role of a mother reading a story to her child, just setting up the scenes. According to the press materials, the story may be heading for Broadway or a cartoon series; I can see those settings being much better for this source material than the way it's presented here, which is a little boring.

The music will appeal most to kids ages 3 through 6. You can hear tracks and samples here or here or at one of the Dino-5 Myspace pages (like MC T-Rex) -- who knew dinosaurs had myspace pages?

The list of good kids' hip-hop albums is pretty short, and even with the narrative tracks slowing it down, Baby Loves Disco Presents the Dino-5 should make that list, because the music is solid. Here's hoping that it's not the last appearance of the Dino-5 and the next time around, the integration between story and song is a little better.

Posted by SAShepherd at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Southern California-based singer-songwriter Tom Freund released Hug Trees in late 2007, and I'm sort of surprised it's gone under everyone's radar (including mine) until just recently. In many ways, the album, inspired by his preschool-aged daughter, is a typical "kids' music" CD -- it's got a "freeze dance" song, there's a rendition of "The Cat Came Back," there's a song about baking a cake.

But there's a relaxed and playful attitude to the whole affair that makes it more compelling than you would think from the description above. Take "Freezedance," for example, which has a very funky '70s sound (Freund mentions James Brown as a particular inspiration for the track) and doesn't just involve Freund occasionally yelling "Freeze!" but also has him encouraging listeners to emulate animals and throwing out musical adlibs. "The Cat Came Back" is an admittedly hard song to screw up, but I quite liked his mellow approach on the song. "Party in the Yard" was actually written by Brett Dennen (who appears on this and one other track), and it's a soulful, funky tune (think Jack Johnson) about playing outside. (If you get a bit of a Ben Harper vibe, too, well, Freund's played with him quite a bit.)

Freund's roots-rock vibe on some tracks ("Hug Trees" or "Bump Bump Bump") will remind listeners of Brady Rymer, while on the closing "Go To Sleep (Fais Do-Do)" or "Seashells" (the former with Abra Moore, the latter with Victoria Williams), Freund sounds a little bit like a West Coast Elizabeth Mitchell. (And on "I Walk the Dog," Freund just sounds like a tired guy who knows how important it is to walk your dog, if you've got one.)

The 33-minute album will appeal mostly to listeners ages 3 through 6. You can hear four tracks at the album's Myspace page, or hear selections from more tracks at its CDBaby page.

The biggest strength of Hug Trees is its overall vibe, which turns what might have been a collection of typical kids songs into a fun little disk, something beyond ordinary. Fans of Brady Rymer or Elizabeth Mitchell I think will respond well to the musicianship and playfulness from Freund and friends here. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's nothing terribly fancy about Ditties for Kiddies, a benefit CD for the Little Kids Rock organization, which brings free musical instruments and music instruction to public schools. The CD comes in a small slipcase with nothing but the cover art on the front and song titles and artists on the back.

But, you know, so long as the music's good, I'm OK, and the music's good here. There's a wide variety of songs here, but a lot of them would fall in the "jamband" category. Compilation producers Deep Fried Pickle Project contribute their jug-band original "Picklejuice," while Hot Buttered Rum turn in a sprightly and bluegrass-y "Firefly." Other tracks, such as Greensky Bluegrass' take on "Boom Boom" (which Raffi's done) and ALO's "Mashed Potatoes" mine similar veins. Deadwood Revival's "Daisy" is a sweet Americana tune.

It's not entirely on the Americana side of roots music -- one of the most fun tracks is "Who Stole the Hot Sauce" by Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, a rollicking zydeco-influnced tune. And there's the electronica dance tune "Milk Man" by Zilla. But if you're not keen on roots music, you'll probably want to look elsewhere. (And if you're looking for a CD with a sound more directly targeted at kids, look elsewhere, too. It by no means is kid-unfriendly, but aside from a Melanie Dill track and a couple other tracks, it's really kid-friendly, not focused.)

The songs may be most interesting to kids ages 3 through 8, but, as noted above, the appeal is probably pretty broad. You can listen to track at the album's CDBaby page. In Ditties for Kiddies, the Deep Fried Pickle Project have put together a sweet little compilation CD that will appeal to a number of listeners, particularly those families who like the jamband/roots music sound. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maybe it's been a long and sleepy week, but I'm very taken by this CD.

Songs For Sleepy Beings is the creation of Michigan's Gretchen Eichberger-Kudlack, who put together Half Moon, an old-timey string band which here plays a set of quiet-time folk music on the first half of this CD. Traditional lullabyes ("Pretty Little Horses") mingle with ever-so-slightly more current lullabyes ("Goodnight Little Gwen," attributed to Woody Guthrie).

The musicianship here is first-rate, with the Half Moon musicians hitting just the right balance of technical expertise and tenderness, saving the album from the mushiness which afflicts many lullaby CDs. The band rightly plays second fiddle (if you'll pardon the pun) to Eichberger-Kudlack, who has a clear, bright voice. Initially her voice seems too bright for a quiet-time CD, but the secret genius behind the CD's appeal is the tracking, as the music and arrangements grow ever-so-slightly dimmer with each track. By the time the CD hits track 7, "Baby's Bed's A Silver Moon," 20 minutes in, her vocals are much more appropriate for a sleepy baby. Following that is another 15 minutes of Eichberger-Kudlack playing familiar lullabyes unaccompanied (mostly) on piano (there's a couple tracks with vocals). By this time your child (or you) will probably be fast asleep.

The album is most appropriate for kids ages birth through 6. You can hear clips at the album's CDBaby page, or listen to some complete songs at the Half Moon music page. The packaging (featuring artwork by Jamey Barnard), I should note, is simple but very pretty.

I hear few lullaby CDs I can recommend whole-heartedly. Songs for Sleepy Beings is the exception -- it meets that high standard. Besides being a lovely gift for new parents, you might want to consider it for your own family. Definitely recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I hesitate to use the phrase "the most unusual kids' album you'll hear all year," because, I assure you, no matter how unusual a particular kids music album, I've heard odder ones (don't get me started). So let me describe Ladybug One, the second kids' CD from the Seattle-area Harmonica Pocket thusly: It's the most unusual good kids' album you'll hear all year.

I hope that doesn't sound like damning with faint praise, because the album is quite good. But it's definitely not a collection of straightforward kids' pop, folk, rock, jazz, or anything else. Oh, sure, there are a few elements of that here -- the indie-pop "Spiders In My Breakfast," re-appropriated from the band's first album (for adults), and the soulful and jazzy take on "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," for example, are fun tracks that don't sound too unfamiliar. "One Tree Said" sounds like a track from a future Decemberists kids' CD. But many of the other tracks veer into more challenging territory -- the psychedelic "I Love the ABCs" or the number of songs on which band mastermind Keeth Apgar explores Indian music. You might not think that "O Susanna" and sitar and tabla percussion would make a good fit, but it does, actually helping to hear the song fresh.

In fact, one of the most successful things about the album is how the wide variety of instruments here (including didgeridoo, mbira, and saw, and quite possibly my favorite, hula hoop) serve the songs, not the other way round. The instruments aren't being used to show off -- they genuinely make sense within the context of the songs. And kids will enjoy the variety of songwriting approaches -- story, metaphor, humorous, counting. It makes "Mere Bacche Ke Liye Lori," a Hindi lullaby, which could potentially come off as pretentious, sound part of a whole.

The album will be of most interest to kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear clips from the 55-minute album (many of which have been reworked from their first kids album) at the album's CDBaby page, or listen to four excellent tracks at the band's own music page.

The Harmonica Pocket's Labybug One is unusual, but a couple spins of this low-key but well-crafted album should make many listeners aware of its numerous charms. Definitely recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

They Might Be Giants are probably an inspiration for a number of musicians, having not only figured out how to make music for more than 25 years now, but also managing to open up new audiences for their music -- fans both 34 years old and 4 years old.

So it's not surprising that some kids musicians even sound a little bit like TMBG, or at least embrace their wide-ranging sound, and it's a couple of those musicians I'm going to talk about here.

The first, and most TMBG-like in sound, is Austin's Mr. Leebot, whose recently released debut Activate! sounds like all the tracks that were left off of TMBG's debut CD (or were heard on Dial-A-Song). Mr. Leebot (aka Lee Davila) has, as you might expect given the name, a very synthesized sound. "Good Bot" could have been part of Devo's kids' album, while "Brock Brock Chicky" is pretty much what I would expect a song about animals as created by a robot would sound like. But it's not totally synthesizer driven -- "I Want A Car" is early Green Day and "Dig Up the Roots" has an earthy, sun-tinged vibe. (Oh, and there's some Bob Wills-ian western swing in there, too.)

The 25-minute album improves as it goes along, with "Power Up!" and "Come On Along" a couple of highlights -- fun tracks that will get kids bouncing along. You can listen to samples of all the tracks here or full tracks for a few songs at his Myspace page.

Now if Mr. Leebot sounds like TMBG from 20+ years ago, on his debut Playground Fortune Teller, the Bay Area's Hank Hooper (aka Dren McDonald) sounds a little bit like the band maybe 15 or 10 years ago, a little more adventurous. The soulful cry/yodel of the chorus "That's My Chicken," the rap-for-wordplay's sake of "Raptor Cracker Rap," the country-tinged "Fly Away Pie" -- they don't really sound alike. Sometimes it al coalesces, such as on one of the better kids' baseball songs you'll ever hear, "Hey! Batter!," with its litany of different baseball phrases. Other tracks, like "How Lucky Can You Get" or "Robot Man," have more of a synthesizer, early TMBG-pop sound. (And still other tracks, like "Look Ridiculous" sound like Dial-A-Song experimentation that could have been left off the album.)

By comparing Hooper to TMBG, I'm emphasizing his willingness to try new styles of music, not in terms of, "OK, now I'm going to craft a perfect reggae song about brushing my teeth," but simply as avoiding being pigeonholed. The 41-minute album comes packaged with a short paperback picture book whose drawings and text can be seen here, or you can hear samples here or here, along with a few full tracks here.

I don't think either album is the type of album that will appeal to every family. I've tried to give a sense, though, of who I think would appreciate these disks, both of which have a number of strong tracks and are often fun, rarely boring. (The targeted age range, by the way, is probably ages 3 through 8.) Beyond the sense of fun on both Activate! and Playground Fortune Teller, the albums are recommended to listeners who, even if they don't like They Might Be Giants, are looking for disks that don't sound much like a lot of other kids' music out right now.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Meet The SqueeGees, the first full-length CD from the Los Angeles-area band The SqueeGees, could offer me a chance to be exceedingly lazy and simply copy the review from their debut EP, The SqueeGees. Well, maybe half the review. Because half of the CD was originally found on that debut EP.

Now, that's not a bad thing, perhaps, because that means the bubbly tiny nugget of a song, "Apples Oranges & Peaches," is back, as is "Nala the Chihuahua," with its snaky melodic line and harmonies. And "The Ol' WWW," which really isn't a kids song (though it's totally kid-safe) is back to amuse the parents.

Just as with the EP, the Squeegees are at their best when they're not as concerned with the point of the song, such as the dreamy "Bubbles." "I-D-E-A," a song encouraging more environmentally conscious thinking, almost overdoes it with the hitting-over-the-head. (More amusing is the Queen-esque breakdown that starts "So you think that you would like to drive a big car? / Have you seen the gas prices today?" and ends, of course, with "I like to ride my bicycle / I like to ride my bike...")

In fact, what struck me the most on listening to the full-length CD is how much care and craft has gone into these tunes, musically speaking. The SqueeGees generally play folk-rock, but there's a lot of interesting bits squeezed in here, like in the song above, or the harmonies in "Nala the Chihuahua." Along with Samantha Tobey's clear voice, they make the most of the songs here.

I'll peg the album as most appropriate for ages 2 through 7. You can hear some tracks from the CD at the band's Myspace page.

There's a lot to recommend in Meet the SqueeGees. I like the quirky ones more than the standard ones, but that might be personal taste. In either case, there's a high attention to sonic detail that kids musicians thinking of recording debuts could do well to emulate. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A while back, I wondered, "why are there not more great jazz albums for kids?" I could have substituted the word "good" for "great" and it still would have been a legitimate question. Still, the kids music jazz subgenre has picked up some steam since I wrote those words and with the recent appearance of a definitely great jazz album for kids, I thought it worthwhile to highlight some other new disks worth further exploration if you're looking to broaden the jazz section on your family's CD shelf (or whatever the iPod equivalent of that is).

Thirty Tigers' Jazz and Swing For Kids applies a big band (or at least one that approaches double digits) to 10 familiar kids' tunes. A glance at some of the titles, however, shows that they're mixing things up a little bit -- "Diddle Diddle Swing," for example, or the "Old MacDonald Jazz Remix" (a boogie-woogie which throws in a snippet of "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" for good measure). Strong vocals ("Here Comes the Rain Itsy" gets turned into a Little Richard rave-up) and a sense of playfulness are the strong points on this 33-minute CD.

The Doug Beavers Rovira Jazz Orchestra's Jazz, Baby! is, in many ways, a similar album. All 10 songs here are traditional ("Twinkle Twinkle," "Shortnin' Bread," "Working' On the Railroad"), and the vocals take center stage. If there is any difference it's that the arrangements are stronger, with strong versions of "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" that take full-advantage of a 20+ member big band being two highlights. "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" is done in a fun cha-cha style. It's a polished recording, and while it's not targeted at adult listeners, those listeners who listen with their kids certainly won't begrudge time spent in its company. (Listen to several tracks from the 33-minute album here.)

While those two CDs certainly have much to recommend them, by sticking to traditional and familiar early childhood songs, they don't necessarily lend themselves to repeated listening over a long period of time -- they're CDs you might dip into occasionally.

Are there CDs worth more than an occasional dip? Well...

Continue reading "Review Four-Fer: Jazz Albums For Kids and Families" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Here it is, the most eagerly anticipated kids music release of the year. They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s, to be released this Tuesday, February 5. Almost exactly three years after the release of Here Come the ABCs, was this release worth the wait?

Most definitely.

Unlike many CDs, especially in the kids' field, the songs and videos here have had a decent airing thanks to the band's popular iTunes video podcast. So assiduous surfers have had the chance to hear and see more than a half-dozen songs. Those songs are a good guide to the rest of the CD/DVD set in a number of ways.

"One Dozen Monkeys," for example, features lead vocals of TMBG associate Dan Levine's nephew Hannah Levine, indicative of how in general kids' voices are heard much more than on the previous disks. John Linnell's son Henry has some spoken parts in the funky, horn-assisted and Dust Brothers-produced "Seven" (a highlight of the album). They serve as a counterpoint to the music and the absurd story about sevens crashing a party.

"Even Numbers" is the loveliest animation on the DVD, but there are several other beautiful or distinctive videos that haven't yet been seen. It's where TMBG's attraction to animators and Disney's deep pockets pay huge dividends. Matthew Canale's "One Everything" has the friendliest and most anthropomorphic planet Earth ever seen. Hine Mizushima's "The Secret Life of Six" uses stop-motion photography to animate a mid-tempo look into six's secret life (it's like a numerical version of "D and W"). The Brothers Chaps of Homestar Runner fame are responsible for the rocking "Figure Eight." David Cowles directs a number of videos here. In other words, this is probably the best collection of animation the general public is likely to see this year. It's like a Sesame Street best-of.

Finally, "Nonagon" and "Apartment 4" are two really good songs, but they're by far not the only good ones. My wife didn't think there was anything quite as instantaneously distinctive as "Alphabet of Nations," but I think there are a number of excellent very memorable songs here -- the aforementioned "Seven," for example, plus the very danceable "Nonagon" and swirly "Apartment 4." "Figure Eight" rocks and has the awesome line "If you take a zero in your hands / And twist it / That's an eight." John Flansburgh's giddy vocals on "I Can Add" mimic the exuberance kids feel when they master something. ("I don't even know Spanish," Flansburgh shouts between verses, "but I'm gonna sing it in Spanish!") As a whole, I think the songs are better here than on Here Come the ABCs. They won't teach your kids how to add, but they'll probably at least get your kids more familiar with numbers if they're not already. (And the songs dealing with concepts -- "Zeroes," "One Everything," "Nonagon," for example -- do so fairly well.)

Two other comments: I don't think the three Disney-related songs at the end of the CD and DVD really fit in very well (nor are they quite as good, though "Heart of the Band" is fun), but I'm also the parent of a girl who was obsessed with the Higglytown Heroes theme at the end of the last album, so I realize that many kids won't care. Also, the clunky and user-unfriendly DVD menu from the last DVD has been much improved so that you can watch individual songs, just the songs, or the whole thing, including the occasional interstitials featuring the knitted John and John puppets, whose bits are every bit as loopy and improvised as their podcast appearances (probably because they were clearly filmed at the same time).

Any band with a fan base as broad, age-wise, as TMBG sort of mocks the idea of an age range, but I'll peg the targeted age range at ages 2 through 7. This album (about 45 minutes in length) will be found just about everywhere, including Amazon, which features extra tracks. ("One Two Three Four" is an OK song and video, but not an essential addition to your collection if you're trying to decide where to order the album. I haven't heard the live tracks yet.)

In case it's not obvious, I think Here Come the 123s is an excellent collection. It's a worthy successor to Here Come the ABCs and in many ways even exceeds that fine album. Fans of They Might Be Giants in general or that album in particular will thoroughly enjoy Here Come the 123s. It's a strong batch of songs and the best set of videos you'll see all year. Highly recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Another month, another breezy mix CD from Putumayo Kids. This time it's Hawaiian Playground, which will be released tomorrow, January 22nd.

As with other Putumayo Kids collections, the strength of this CD lies in its well-considered blend of modern and traditional sounds, silly and serious songs. I'm not sure too many other collections of Hawaiian music would have the nerve to kick things off with a song from a New York City band, but the Moonlighters play expert Hawaiian steel guitar music, and their jazzy cover of Sam Koki's "Right On" is lots of fun. Joe McDermott's well-produced Hawaiian pastiche "Come to Hawaii" is the most accessible song for kids here, all about using one's imagination about visiting the far-off state. The other artists here are from the islands, and the songs show how diverse the state's musical culture has become. With a number of traditional-sounding albums in my own collection, I preferred the more traditional sounds of Raiatea's "Po La'ila'i" or Keali'i Reichel's "Toad Song." But Hawaiian music today also includes styles such as "Jawaiian" (a mixture of traditional Hawaiian music and Jamaican reggae, as heard on Robi Kahakalau's "Pi'i Mai Ka Nalu").

The collection is typically all-ages, but I think kids ages 3 through 7 might enjoy talking about Hawaii via these songs (and liner notes) the most. You can hear samples of the half-hour disk at most internet shops. Hawaiian Playground isn't an introduction to the history of Hawaiian music; it is, for the most part, a sampling of what Hawaiian kids and families might listen to today. For those families looking for a brief audio vacation to the islands, this album will be the ticket. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When you release as many albums on a regular basis as Putumayo Kids does, it makes it hard for the reviewer to come up with new things to say about the CDs. Celtic Dreamland, released in November 2007, continues Putumayo's run of artfully-produced disks. It's the third in its "Dreamland" series, and even the 4-year-old in your family could figure out that it's an album designed for sleepy-time. You may want to explain to your kids how Celtic music -- typically music with Irish or Scottish lineage -- is distinguished from other musical styles, but Putumayo's typically descriptive liner notes may help in that regard.

The music is definitely relaxing, although it may be a bit too sunny in parts for it to be a perfect lullaby album. (I actuallly prefer Ellipsis Arts' collections when it comes to pure lullaby CDs.) There are a number of traditional (Celtic) lullabies here, but as is the case with many Putumayo disks, the foreign language (in this case, Gaelic) in which a number of the songs are sung helps mask those cases where the song isn't really a lullaby. If I had to pick a favorite (or most lullaby-ish) song in the collection, it'd be Susan McKeown's rendition of the traditional Irish lullaby "A Phluirin Mhilis," McKeown's voice and acoustic guitar a lovely combination. (The last 3 tracks, led off by McKeown, are probably the best here.)

As a putative lullaby album, I'd put the age range here at ages 0 through 5, though as with most Putumayo Kids disks, there really isn't an age range. You can hear samples of the 32-minute disk at the album's webpage. Putumayo's still working its way toward an excellent album of pure lullabies, but Celtic Dreamland is a good collection that serves its purpose as a mellow-time introduction to the genre of Celtic music. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Laurie Berkner might just be the biggest superstar in kids' music. Plenty of artists can claim the hipster cred, a number of artists (or at least characters) certainly have the merchandising going on, but Berkner's the closest thing to a superstar (who's a real person) the genre has.

Which explains why I still feel the need to review a CD of hers that is, oh, 9 years old at this point. Victor Vito, Berkner's third album, was released in 1999, just about the time that the genre really started to come back. For some reason, it never became a staple in our household the way her first two CDs did, and I as I complete my Laurie Berkner review work here (for the time being), I went back to see if I could figure out why.

It's certainly not because there aren't good songs here. The title track is a stone-cold, know-it-from-the-first-spin classic. An earwormy tune, silly (but understandable) rhymes, it's one of those songs that you could retire happy knowing you just wrote that one song. But it's joined by a number of other great originals -- the simply lullaby "Moon Moon Moon," the stomp-encouraging "Boots," the quietly hysterical "The Goldfish," with its classic line, "Wait a minute, we're FISH!" Berkner also focuses somewhat on kids' feelings, as on "The Story of My Feelings" (natch) and "I'm Not Perfect." It's not easy to write songs like that which take a necessarily direct approach for preschoolers and have it not sound incredibly dull to adults, but Berkner succeeds. And Berkner's renditions of traditional songs such as "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" and "Zodiac" -- where the fat man is not from Calgary as Raffi suggested long ago, but from Tennessee -- show off her fine voice and simple but organic musical arrangements. (This may be the album that most closely shows off her debt to Raffi's path -- she is indeed a worthy successor to his mantle.)

If there's a downside to the album, is that it's too long. The album is exactly 60 minutes long, and it seems about twice as long as it needs to be. There are two pretty good 30-minute CDs (or one incredible one and one decent one) to be found here, but at an hour, there just aren't quite enough great songs or musical variety to sustain interest over the entire time. I also don't think it's quite as goofy as her first two CDs, which was one thing I always appreciated about them, but that's probably a personal taste thing.

As with Berkner's other albums, this one is targeted at kids ages 2 through 6. Samples of the tracks are all over the web. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of families have made Victor Vito a common part of their family's musical rotation. And while our family might not be among those, I'd be a fool not to recognize how many excellent songs can be found here. Definitely recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The second album from LA's The Hollow Trees is called Welcome to Nelsonville, but I could've sworn it was called Hootenanny. Even if it isn't, it darn well should be, and here's why:

1) There's a song on the album entitled "Hootenanny," so that's, like, a primo reason right there. And if that's not a good enough reason, then
2) It rocks like a hootenanny.

Lead Hollow Trees Gregory Hollow Tree (aka McIlvaine) and Laura Hollow Tree (aka Steenberge) are unashamed fans of old-time folk music and play it with gusto and joy. This is no retro affectation here, this is real, vibrant music for families. The album leads off with a tremendous 1-2 punch, the zippy traditional "Ain't Gonna Rain," with the band trading the verses in rhyme followed by the shuffling "Hootenanny," a McIlvaine original that's an ode to getting together and singing songs -- "We'll sing a slow song that is sweet and sentimental / A boogie-woogie song about a Lincoln Continental / We're gonna have a hootenanny tonight." The two songs set the mood for the rest of the 38-minute set so well, casting a good-natured glow on the rest of the songs.

From there the album moves into old kids' music ("Animal Alphabet Song," written and recorded by Alan Mills for Smithsonian Folkways 35 years ago), silliness ("To Morrow," taking the "silly song" slot that has been worn out by "I'm My Own Grandpa"), and blues (the snappy "Skoodle Um Skoo"). And, frankly, if the chorus of "Hallelujah's" on the traditional "George Washington" ("George Washington's a nice young man / A lie he'd never tell / But when he chopped the cherry tree / His father gave him / Hallelujah...") don't set your toes (or heels) a-tappin' and your voice to sing along, then I don't know what to do with you. Interspersed with nifty little instrumental breaks, it's my favorite song on the album.

If the rest of the album doesn't quite reach the heights of the five or six tracks, that's no knock -- it'd be hard to keep up that much momentum. As with any hootenanny, eventually the energy level is (deliberately) scaled back a bit, which perhaps will make it a little easier for the wee ones to understand the occasional references to the Hollow Tree world -- listen to "The Nelsonville American Historical Band" for McIlvaine's attempt to create his own Sgt. Pepper's-meets-a-much-less-dysfunctional-Yoknapatawpha-County. While the mythmaking doesn't really add much to the CD (I suspect it's probably better live), they certainly don't detract from it, either.

The songs here are going to be of most interest to kids ages 3 through 7, though it's an all-ages album in the best tradition of folk music. Listen to three full tracks here or hear samples at the album's CDBaby page.

Welcome to Nelsonville is a tremendously entertaining hootenanny. It's on my shortlist of best kids' folk albums of 2008 (yes, it's early, and, no, I don't envision many being any better than this), but I think a lot of listeners would find this a, well, hoot and a half. Definitely recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 02:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I can't say that I've been the biggest Mr. Richard fan in the past. On his first couple CDs, while they were enjoyable enough, I just couldn't quite hear what it was that attracted Florida-based Richard Peeples one of the most devoted fanbases in the genre. It might have been me, but more likely it was that Peeples' live show didn't translate perfectly to disk.

But with his most recent disk, Polka Dot Puzzle, I think Mr. Richard finally has a CD that will play well with those who won't get to hear his live show. Musically, the album covers a broad stylistic range, from the sunny pop-rock of "Treehouse" to the lo-fi "Woo Woo Truck" to the Italian pastiche of the jokey "Cheese." Such stylistic diversity is not rare anymore in the genre (if it ever was), but at least it's well-done. Check out the horns on "Bubble Bath" -- it's little well-thought-out additions such as those that elevate songs from pedestrian to something kinda special. I also need to commend "Butterfly Day," on which Lunch Money's Molly Ledford sweet voice harmonizes nicely with Peeples' gruff one.

Lyrically, Mr. Richard is definitely in tune with his inner 7-year-old, such as on "Treehouse." "Sorry, there's no girls allowed / But it's OK since you brought your dog / It's way cooler than the Honeycomb Hideout." (OK, perhaps that last line really shows he's in tune with his own inner 7-year-old.) I can hear how, even without his backing musicians, the songs here (even the ones I didn't enjoy as much) would really communicate kids ages 3 through 8. Right now you can hear "Treehouse" at his Myspace page or sample all the tracks at the album's CDBaby page.

At barely 24 minutes in length (with 2 1/2 minutes of that a "hello" song and a "goodbye" song), Polka Dot Puzzle is barely more than an EP. But it's a fun EP, and one showcases Mr. Richard's strengths, even to those who probably won't be hearing him live any time soon. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)