Review: Electric Storyland - The Sippy Cups

Sad about the closure of CBGB's? Have no fear, The Sippy Cups are here with Electric Storyland. On their first album, 2005's Kids Rock For Peas, the San Francisco-based band took a bunch of '60s and '70s-era tunes (some famous, some less so), tweaked them as necessary to make them kid-friendly, and played them live in front of an appreciative audience of preschoolers, grade-schoolers, and their parents. Making the album and band more than just a one-off joke ("I Wanna Be Elated," get it? Ha!) was the band's energy, enthusiasm, and sense of humor (pitched at both kids and adults). What could have become very old very quickly was given fresh life. Electric Storyland takes a slightly different approach, eschewing cover songs for a set of 14 original songs. But the album has every bit of the debut's energy, enthusiasm, and humor, with songs that draw inspiration from the '60s and '70s, but are definitely original. Take "Use Your Words," one of very few tracks that have anything remotely resembling a "message," about how articulating feelings rather than simply acting on them is a preferred way of dealing with frustration ("The world will be greater / If you use your words"). It's a fun, uptempo song that has the faintest echoes of, say, Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride." But most songs are content to paint pictures, such as the Jimi Hendrix-esque sounds of "Drinking From the Sky" or what I'm assuming is an early Floyd tribute (as indicated by the "Money"-esque clinking of change at song's start) in "How To Build A Dog." And lest you think the Cups are stuck in the music of 30 years ago, a couple songs (the excellent "Springtime Fantastic" and "Flower Tower") have hints of the Replacements and the Gin Blossoms and guitar power-pop less than 30 years old. I can't think of too many downsides. The album did feel a bit long at 51 minutes, but that's a minor quibble -- the songs are all pretty good. I'm one of those people who doesn't like skits with my music, but the characters here (familiar to those who've heard the band's first two CDs, plus a new one, "Major Minor") are amusing and their skits brief. The album is pitched at a slightly older crowd perhaps than the first CD, think ages 4 through 10. You can listen to sound clips and buy the album at its CDBaby page or at its iTunes page. Electric Storyland is a strong step forward for The Sippy Cups -- it's a winning album retaining the spirit of music from 30 years ago or more but giving it its own youthful energy. Instead of bemoaning CBGB's demise, listen to the Sippy Cups. Definitely recommended.

Review: New Orleans Playground (Putumayo) - Various Artists

It's safe to say that the fine folks at Putumayo Kids aren't putting together a collection called, say, "Phoenix Playground," or even "Chicago Playground." Phoenix has a decent musical history for a city so young, and Chicago's musical history is tremendous, but New Orleans is probably the only American city with a musical background robust enough to provide so many songs to choose from while offering a distinct-enough sound to make the mix-tape at which Putumayo excels sound good. While touching on many strains in New Orleans music, New Orleans Playground (to be released on Tuesday) relies most heavily on the side of rhythm and blues. With a number of classic songs on the collection (most notably Lee Dorsey's "Ya Ya" and Fats Domino's "Whole Lotta Lovin'"), the adults may be forgiven for thinking that they've accidentally turned on the radio and "KOOL 97, Classic Oldies!" (See also Dr. John's bouncy-yet-mellow "Row Row Row Your Boat" and Buckwheat Zydeco's massive reworking of "Skip To My Lou" into "Skip To My Blues" for familiar voices.) But there are enough much less familiar artists and songs to make the collection not feel stale. I particularly liked Charmaine Neville's "Second Line," a fun tribute about New Orleans' brass band tradition. Credit goes to Putumayo for not always picking an obvious artist -- it was nice not to hear a more-famous Neville brother on the collection, and they chose the unknown-to-me Hack Bartholomew for a rendition of "When The Saints Go Marching In." It's too bad, however, that the collection mostly ignores New Orleans' strong jazz tradition -- while it's hinted at on some of the more brassy tracks, this collection needed a jazz track from the birthplace of jazz. If you didn't have the familiar Putumayo illustrations, you wouldn't necessarily know that this collection was targeted at kids (only one or two tracks are really kid-focused), but let's say that kids ages 3 through 9 are most likely to enjoy it. You can hear some samples at Putumayo's album page. This collection is a gentle if incomplete introduction to New Orleans music. Expertly compiled and arranged, both parents and kids will enjoy it. Recommended.

Review: Songs For Family, Friends & Frogs - Mr. "S"

I've received a lot more kids' music this year than I have time to review here on the site. There are many reasons why I don't review something -- it's absolutely awful, it's too far past its expiration date, it's not really kids' music -- all reasons that I'm willing to throw out the window at any time, I should note. But what about those albums that I'm, well, only lukewarm about? Case in point: this album. New York-based Mr. "S" (aka Ed Stankewick) recorded for several indie rock labels before becoming a schoolteacher and, eventually, releasing Songs For Family, Friends & Frogs, his 2006 kids' music debut. I really wanted to like the CD, but being a hopeful person I really want to like just about every CD I listen to. And there are components of the album that I did like, especially the solid musicianship of Stankewick and his Burnt Bottom Cookie Band. When they grab ahold of a good song, like the "everybody's a hero" pop-rocker "Superhero," the resulting energy is fun to listen to, as it is also in the gently insistent "Frankie the French Fry." The bluesy cuts ("Itchy Little Toe," for example) tend to be the strongest songs. But for the most part the songs just weren't that memorable to me. Some went on too long ("Take Your Medicine"), some were just a little too cheesy ("My Dog Sings the ABC Song"), and some... It's not that the songs were bad -- believe me, I've heard plenty of bad kids' songs, and these weren't it -- but they just left little impression on me, no compelling desire to go back and hear it again (even though I did so several times for the purpose of this review). The songs have a slightly goofy lyrical sense that would be most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9. You can hear several cuts at the Mr. "S" website. Which I recommend doing, because maybe I just ate something bad, or I haven't been getting enough sleep, or something. And that's why I will sometimes review albums that just don't speak to me, especially if there's something worthwhile in there that could serve as the core for someone else's serious enjoyment. Whatever the case, while I could appreciate the musicianship on Songs For Family, Friends & Frogs and look forward to hearing what else Mr. "S" comes up with in the future, this album didn't speak to me.

Review: My Fabulous Plum - Peter Himmelman

There are albums (in all genres) that you can drop in and out of, where your attention can wander without ruining the overall effect. And then there are albums whose enjoyment depend upon a sustained mood, whose parts are greater than the whole. Peter Himmelman's 2004 album My Fabulous Plum is the latter. Heard in bits and pieces in the car -- the minivan is the parental 9:30 Club, dontcha know -- the album doesn't come off that great. Elaborately produced rock songs with a hint of Broadway stylings, with vastly different song palettes from track to track, it's hard to pin down. Not that the songs are bad -- "Sherm the Worm" is a fun, driving rock track with horns, but it's squeezed between the mid-tempo Shel Silverstein-esque fable "A World Where You Only Eat Candy" and the Caribbean-tinged self-empowerment ode "Ain't Nothing To It." But Himmelman, who's been creating music for adults for more than 20 years, is an excellent songrwriter, and it's only once you've listened to the album in full that you appreciate the world Himmelman's created. Your kids will enjoy the silliness in songs like "Herman the Big Oily Moose" and "Cindy and the Octopus," and they might even hear the message in "Ain't Nothing To It," and "I Don't Like To Share." You might even come to enjoy the pure weirdness that is "Waffles," a spoken-word track. In no case does Himmelman ever talk down to his audience. I think kids ages 4 through 9 will most appreciate the 36-minute album, which is the second of Himmelman's three kids' albums. You can check out samples at Himmelman's website for the album. My Fabulous Plum has some strong songs, but it will probably take a few spins before you'll get the cumulative effect of the album -- a book of musical short stories and poems for kids. Recommended.

Review: Whoever Shall Have Some Good Peanuts - Sam Hinton

Originally released in 1961, Sam Hinton's Whoever Shall Have Some Good Peanuts is a classic beloved by many families. In August, Smithsonian Folkways re-released the album (for the first time on CD) so that a new generation of families could hear these stories in songs. If the only thing Sam Hinton did in his life was direct the Scripps Oceanographic Institution in southern California for about 20 years, that by itself would be a full life. The fact that he's also an accomplished musician (reportedly knowing 5,000 songs) and artist (doing the drawings for the reknowned Rise Up Singing collection) makes me feel, well, that perhaps I could perhaps do a little bit more on the side. Or in my full-time job. Anyway, the 20 tracks showcase Hinton's clear voice -- he nimbly navigates fast songs like "Michael Finnegan" while giving character to somewhat more midtempo tunes like the gently bouncing "Mr. Rabbit" or sweet songs like "The Eagle's Lullaby." And his talent for vocal mimickry is adeptly shown on tracks such as "The Barnyard Song," on which he, yes, imitates many barnyard animals. (Given Hinton's "daytime" job, it's not surprising that many of songs deal with animals and the natural world.) Hinton accompanies himself on guitar; it's unobtrusive, but it's the lyrics and melody that are the stars here. I think kids ages 2 through 7, along with their associated adults, will appreciate these stories in songs the most. You can hear samples of the tracks at the album's Folkways page. I also should note Folkways' typically excellent album package, which in this case features Hinton's excellent notes on the songs along with an introductory essay from Bess Lomax Hawes. Whoeve Shall Have Some Good Peanuts is reminiscent of a Pete Seeger album, sharing a fine voice and a strong folksinging tradition. There is a looseness, however, to the interpretations that also reminds me of Woody Guthrie's kids' albums. If you have any affinity for the albums of those two artists, you will certainly enjoy this album. Recommended.

Review in Brief: Sing Along With Sam - Hullabaloo

Hullabaloo is a two-man band based in the San Diego area, but their sound on their 2006 album Sing Along With Sam made me think they live a bit too far south. I can't shake the idea that these guys have a great album reminiscent of the Bakersfield country sound made famous by Buck Owens and, later, Dwight Yoakam. I wouldn't extend the comparison too far, of course, but their willingness to mix a lot of country in with their folk and rock sounds makes Hullabaloo a bit different from many of the kids and family musicians out there. The album includes a lot of songs about animals, some silly ("Diamonds and Dogs") and some not much so ("Run Bunny Run," the best kids' rocker never written in the late 1950s). The 27-minute album is laced with the band's good humor, with the opening track "Mama Llama" and closing track, the oft-covered "Mama Don't Allow," doing a good job of highlighting that good humor. The downside of the album is that although band members Steve Denyes and Brendan Kremer are talented musicians, it's hard to generate a lot of musical variety with just two musicians, so there's not much to interest the listener on weaker tracks such as "Mary Ann." The album's songs are targeted mostly at kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear samples of some of the songs at the band's music page. With its good-natured attitude and West Coast feel, Sing Along With Sam will especially appeal to families looking for something different from run-of-the-mill kids' pop or folk. As for me, I think Hullabaloo should head north to Bakersfield and see if Buck Owens' backing band is interested in helping out on a track or two on their next CD.