Review: Dance for the Sun (Yoga Songs for Kids) - Kira Willey

You think kids' music has taken off (again) in the past few years? Think about yoga. Seems like whatever available retail space isn't being taken up by a pharmacy is being occupied by a yoga studio. The idea of "yoga songs for kids," therefore, could very easily be one exploited for a quick buck, resulting in a horrible-sounding, goopy mess. Imagine my surprise, then, when I found Kira Willey's Dance for the Sun (Yoga Songs for Kids), released in late 2006 to be, well, not horrible-sounding at all. In fact, it's kinda fun. Even if you (or your kids) don't do yoga. (I should note for the record here that I'm in the "we have yoga DVDs at home that we still use on a mostly regular basis" camp, which means I like practicing it but have no deep and abiding need to take classes.) Musically, the CD definitely exceeded my expectations. Willey did some performing in nightclubs (no, not of her yoga music) in New York City before becoming a certified yoga instructor and writing songs to use in her classes there. So rather than feeling like the songs were rushed together, they feel organic, like these were actually the best of the bunch. In particular, "Surfer Mama" is a great little doo-wop influenced surfing pop tune that would sound great on any album. You would never know it was a yoga-related song if there weren't yoga moves illustrated in the colorful liner notes. Willey's brother Tom Shields, who sings bass on "Surfer Mama" also sings on "Caterpillar Caterpillar," turning the song's title into a neat little counterpoint to the lyrics. The instrumentation is fairly simple on the mostly folk-rock tracks throughout, which draws attention to Willey's clear voice, though some tracks bring in a few more instruments (Willey plays the fiddle and is accompanied on clarinet and saxophone on the poppy "Midnight Moonlight," for example). If you're looking for reference points, think of a slightly folkier, more abstract Frances England. Very few songs actually have a direct yoga reference in the lyrics -- the title track, for example, goes through the "Sun Salutation" series of poses. Willey could have called this album Movement Songs for Kids or just some other random title. I'm a visual learner, so the 40-minute-or-so "live" yoga class that follows the half-hour of studio tracks didn't really do much for me other than to think that a yoga class with Willey would be lots of fun -- she interacts quite well with the kids. The CD is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear samples of most of the tracks here. Whether or not Dance for the Sun is a good album for helping your kids learn yoga depends on what kind of learner your kids (and you) are. But this album stands up on its own merits -- pleasant, occasionally poppy songs that encourage movement, even if it's just swaying along. Recommended.

Review: Tabletop People Vol. 1 & 2 - Session Americana

Lost amid all the talk of hootenannies lately is this crucial point: They're not always all that interesting for the audience. Sure, it can be a blast playing music with friends, challenging one another, exploring new music. Sometimes magic happens for musician and listener alike. But sometimes all you're left with is "Jazz Odyssey," of little interest to the people listening. Tabletop People Vol. 1 & 2 (2005) is an album that grew out of a hootenanny and became a CD that many readers and families out there will absolutely love. The core of Session Americana consists of six Boston-area musicians with many other gigs; the band itself is known for their roots-rock jams in increasingly large local venues. They recorded the album in the same way they play their shows -- gathered in a circle, with guests joining in. The band's long experience playing live shines through on the CD -- the music is accomplished but with a looseness that makes the joy (and, occasionally, sadness) stand out. The album starts off with with an invigorating bluegrass take on "Boats Up the River," so propulsive that one of the band members shouts "Don't stop now!" midway through. And they don't, from a rootsy take on Jonathan Richman's "Party in the Woods" (led by former Richman bandmate Asa Brebner) to a gently swinging "Merzidotes" to the best version of "Froggy Went A-Courtin'" on record (emphasizing the "uh-HUH" part gives it a great singalong feel). And that's just the first CD. Yes, in the spirit of Wilco's great Being There album, this 59-minute album is split into two CDs. The second CD is listed as more introspective, a distinction that is somewhat hard to hear (there are introspective tracks on the first CD, too), but the split does make it easier to take just a 30-minute CD break. The second CD includes the languid indie-pop "Floppy Tulips," a rockin' alt-country' "Mr. Rabbit" (which, well, would have fit perfectly on Being There or A.M., musically at least), and the final two songs "Point of No Return" and "Trouble Wheel." These last two are not kids' songs by any stretch of the imagination -- they're the songs you hear at the end of the night when the kids, exhausted from dancing and playing around, are asleep in your lap just before you head home. The album's appropriate for listeners age 2 and up, although there are going to be certain songs that the youngsters won't get -- not inappropriate, just not really geared for 'em. You can hear samples of all the tracks at the album's CD Baby page, but I'd recommend going to both their Myspace page as well as their own album page. Each have the same three (full tracks), but the former also includes "Mr. Rabbit" and the latter also includes "Boats in the River." Fans of Dan Zanes, Dog on Fleas, and Elizabeth Mitchell will especially hold this album dear, but so will a bunch of other listeners. Sometimes hootenannies leave the listener a little flat, but at times they can be graced by magic. Tabletop People Vol. 1 & 2 falls in the latter category. Highly recommended.

Review: LMNO Music (Green) - Enzo Garcia

Over the course of just a few years, San Francisco-based Enzo Garcia has released nine albums of original and occasionally quirky folk reworkings of traditional and original kids' songs. The recently re-released Green is a good example of Garcia's work. One of the primary things I find so appealing about the series is the fact that electronic keyboards, which in many artists' hands is the great bane of children's music, are long absent. Instead, on tracks such as "What Do You Do?," Garcia employs a toy piano. I'm not necessarily a huge toy piano fan, but Garcia's fondness for using instruments you don't typically hear (on albums of any kind) means getting to hear familiar songs in unfamiliar ways. And so on "This Old Man," Garcia is joined by Tom Waits' occasional side man (and budding kids' musician in his own right) Ralph Carney on slide clarinet. Garcia and Carney also team up on a rousing "Drunken Sailor," which spares no lyrics in the tale of the punishments for the inebriated crewmate, Garcia's rolling of the "r's" on "rusty razor" echoing Carney's tenor sax. There's no track on here that's quite as engrossing as "Hold My Hand" on his Pink CD, but the round on the traditional "My Paddle's Keen and Bright" comes close. (I also liked Garcia's "Dee Dee.") Even more than Pink, Green will be most enjoyed if you participate along with the music. The disks were created to accompany Garcia's weekly music classes, and so if you move around (or accompany with shakers and tambourines) the music here, you'll get the most out of the album. The songs here are most appropriate for kids ages 1 through 6. You can hear samples at the album's CD Baby page. Enzo Garcia is right in the middle of the great folk music tradition that encourages music-makers to take traditional tunes and make them their own. On Green, Garcia continues to help families hear old tunes in new ways (and maybe even start to make them their own). It's as good as any Garcia album to introduce you to his music. Recommended. [Note: Bryan at The Pokey Pup notes that they're currently running a special offer where if you buy Green you can get LMNO (Red) for free. Easy-peasy. Click here for more...]

Review: My Green Kite - Peter Himmelman

It is probably accurate, though way too simple, to characterize Peter Himmelman as a "singer-songwriter." Meaning, I've always thought of "person with a guitar singing very personal songs" when I think of "singer-songwriter," and while Himmelman does sing some very personal songs, "person with a guitar" is not at all a fair description of what Himmelman does musically. One listen to My Green Kite, Himmelman's fourth album for kids and families, and his first for Rounder Records, will make that abundantly clear. The album, released tomorrow, continues Himmelman's wildly creative approach to both music and lyrics. But unlike, say, My Fabulous Plum, which had some strong songs, but was so all over the map that it was hard to get into the album, on Kite Himmelman has dialed back that anything-goes approach just enough to create an album of slightly-more-accessible songs. The result is fabulous. More so than most kids' lyricists, Himmelman has a gift for putting a new frame on an old picture. On the opening track "Feet", for example, Himmelman creates a Sgt. Pepper's-like ode to, well, feet, encouraging the listener to consider their own feet. (In the liner notes, Himmelman says, "Sometimes people forget about their feet. They are so used to thinking about their eyes, or their ears, or their hair.") Himmelman asks the '80s-synth-pop question "Have You Every Really Looked At An Egg?" and, well, I probably haven't. (So thank you, Peter.) Himmelman also tells fantastical and imaginative stories, such as on the great pop-rocker title track, about a kite that just keeps flying higher and higher. "Another Bite of Hay" is the best kids' song about that didn't make it on to Bruce Springsteen's early albums. (That it happens to feature a bull, a cow, and a mule seems incidental in nature.) But Himmelman doesn't ignore realistic lyrics either, nailing parental indecisiveness on the Van Morrison-like "Maybe Is A Bad Word" and penning a sweet tribute to his father on "My Father's An Accountant." (And the slow rap "Nothin' To Say" is just fun wordplay.) I think kids ages 5-9 are most likely to respond to the song subjects and lyrics here. You can hear samples at any major internet retailer (it's good to have Rounder's distribution network!) This is a fantastic album, chock-full of great tunes and production, with lyrics that sometimes speak directly to kids' daily lives and other times fire their imaginations. It'll make you smile and make you think. I know it's early in the year, but with My Green Kite Peter Himmelman has recorded an album on my short list of favorite albums for 2007. Highly recommended.

Review: Fins and Grins - Johnette Downing

I appreciate artists like Johnette Downing who have carved out careers making kids' music in genres other than the dominant rock and pop genres. Based in New Orleans, Downing understandably draws upon the rich musical gumbo of the region, using Cajun, Creole and Zydeco as her musical inspiration. Released nationally this week, Downing's sixth kids album, Fins and Grins, is a fine example of Downing's musical approach. For subject matter, Downing looks to the sea, singing songs about penguins, stingrays, and (naturally) l'ecrevisse, more commonly known as the crawfish. Musically, the album is a great collection of melodies, supported by Downing's sweet voice and strong band. But the album has a strong interactive and educational component, and how you feel about the CD will depend in large part on how interactive and educational you like your CDs. Many preschoolers will like songs like the gently boogie-ing "Clamshell Clap," which encourages lots of clapping, natch, or the "Amazon ABC's," which lists Amazon animals well-known and not. If you're not looking for educational songs, you might appreciate the Zydeco of "L'ecrevisse" while not caring much for the lesson about the crawfish in the lyrics. Some songs do stand well on their own, the traditional folk song (with rewritten lyrics) "The Circle of Life" and the album closer (with a sweet fiddle accompaniment) "Turtles" being two prime examples. I think kids ages 4 through 8 will most appreciate the lyrical content here (the musical content is definitely all-ages). You can hear samples at the album's CD Baby page or hear a couple tracks at Downing's music page. In the end, despite the solid musical composition, the somewhat narrow lyrical focus and approach of Fins and Grins probably keeps it from being everyone's cup of tea. If, however, you are looking for a kid-friendly collection of New Orleans-flavored music or are a librarian or preschool/elementary school teacher looking for some aquatic-themed music as part of (or to lead) a lesson, then this album will make an excellent addition to your collection.

Review: Get Up & Dance! - Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang

Talk about double lives -- Los Angeles-area-based Gwendolyn Sanford spends some of her time scoring the second season of the Showtime series Weeds, while simultaneously performing music for preschoolers as the uni-monikered Gwendolyn in Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang. It is very much to Gwendolyn's credit that her second album for kids, Get Up and Dance!, released late last month, is entirely irony-free. Somehow, though, the songs are eager without turning off the parents. For example, kids will enjoy her exhortation to "bounce and bounce and bounce" (ad nauseam) "around" on the leadoff title track, while parents will smile wanly at the recognition of the fact that this, yes, is exactly how their child moves. But somewhere in the course of the song, the music opens up, adding handclaps and becoming sonically interesting (without losing the kids). The rest of the album is like that, too -- the super funky "Eensy Weensy Spider," the disco freeze-dance of "Red Means Stop," and the best song never recorded for Grammar Rock!, "I Can Read." The listing of vegetables "Out in My Garden" is reminiscent -- in a good way -- of their debut album's "My Anatomy." I also appreciate the fact that the album doesn't end with a typical kids-album-closer slow song, but instead with the peppy "Sunny Day." It fits perfectly here. She's having fun performing her songs, which are targeted right at 3- and 4-year-olds, and it shows here (you can almost hear the laughter on a couple of tracks). The band's sound has expanded since their self-titled debut album, and, like their Northern California counterparts The Sippy Cups, are especially mining the sounds of 30 to 40 years ago for inspiration. The band (which includes her Weeds scoring partner Brandon Jay) sounds great. Nowhere to be found are the "characters" from the first CD (which is A-OK by me), though Gwendolyn's high-pitched voice and occasional spoken-word intros may turn off a few exceedingly finicky listeners. The 27-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 6. You can hear samples either at Gwendolyn's Listen page or at the album's CDBaby page. Save for a track or two, this is probably not an album you would listen to by yourself. But Get Up & Dance! will be one of those albums you'll be happy to pull out at your kids' request. They'll think it's great, and the energy and enthusiasm on the album will pull you in, too. Definitely recommended.