Review in Brief: We Wanna Rock! - Thaddeus Rex

A former participant on the PBS show The Kids Zone, Illinois-based Thaddeus Rex now performs over 200 concerts each year, many of them for schools. On his second album for kids, We Wanna Rock!, released earlier this month, Thaddeus Rex tackles subjects of concern to elementary school students -- fear of moving, spending time with family, or getting dog poop stuck on the shoe (admittedly, probably not the most common concern of most people). The best songs speak straight to kids -- the palpable fear of moving to a new place in the pop-rock "I Don't Want to Go," or trying not to think about not going to sleep in "The Moon Is Rising." Unfortunately, there are relatively few compelling musical backgrounds to the lyrics. Occasionally some interesting musical motifs occur -- the sinewy melody and bass line on the folk-rocker "Slimy Green & Kind of Funny" (with words from fifth-grader Lauren Walton) -- but they're the exception, not the rule. Thaddeus has a slightly odd singing voice that makes me think he's trapped between a rocker's voice and a Broadway voice, and whatever the case, I don't think the songs showcase his voice well. The album's most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 8, and you can hear samples at Thaddeus Rex's website (click on "T-Rex's Jukebox"). There are lots of lesson plans available for T-Rex songs, and so your kids may find themselves enjoying the songs, should he perform in an assembly. But you, the parent, will probably take a pass on repeated spins.

Review: Alphabet Songs Vol. 3 (Rabbit Run) - Steve Weeks

Colorado-based musician Steve Weeks takes a decidedly different approach on his third kids' album, Rabbit Run, as he retells the classic 1960 novel by John Updike... for kids! Uh, no. Released earlier this month, Alphabet Songs Vol. 3 (Rabbit Run) is actually the final in Weeks' series of CDs drawing inspiration from the alphabet as its lyrical source. With 9 songs, one each for letters R through Z, Weeks adheres to the theme to varying degrees. The opening title track features Weeks' nifty bluegrass playing accompanying a story of how water flows from the smallest of tributaries (the "Rabbit Run") all the way to the ocean. The theme of interconnectedness is one that Weeks comes back to on other songs on the disk, such as Barenaked Ladies-styled-rap on "Someday" or the sweet mid-tempo folker "Yellowjacket," which had darn well better be on the next Putumayo Folk Playground collection, should one be in the works. (I also need to mention "Up!," another favorite of mind, a very positive slice of kids' folk-pop.) Not every song works well. At 6 1/2 minutes long, "Take the Tinkertown Trolley" goes on too long, which wouldn't be bad if the musical accompaniment didn't sound a little cheesy. (Weeks plays every instrument by himself on the disk -- this song shows the potential limitations of such an approach. I tended to prefer his slightly simpler, more bluegrass-y tunes.) And while I give Weeks credit for going whole hog on "Xavier Xerxes Xenophane X," and certainly setting a record for most words starting with the "x" sound on a single song, it doesn't really hold up to repeated listenings. It's as if he decided that was it for the alphabet theme, as "Yellowjacket" and the African-accented "Zed and Zoey" have very few "Y's" and "Z's" in them. The length and story-telling nature of many of the songs (what better way to get words starting with a desired letter than to create names?) makes the 42-minute CD most appropriate for kids ages 6 through 10. You can samples at the album's CD Baby page. With a few less-than-perfect tracks, I don't think this will be quite the classic Rabbit, Run was as a novel. Still, there are enough strong tracks on Alphabet Songs Vol. 3 to make it a CD worth your investigation. And now that Weeks has completed his alpha-odyssey, he's hopefully figured what works best for him and is free to go wherever his muse leads. As the narrator sings at the end of "Zed and Zoey," "this is not the end." I hope not. Recommended.

Review: Astrograss For Kids - Astrograss

This is not your father's bluegrass. I mean, I don't know whether or not your father listened to bluegrass -- mine didn't -- but I know for sure that this wasn't it. On its Astrograss For Kids EP (2006), the New York-based band Astrograss takes bluegrass as a jumping-off point for jazz-like improvisation. (It's safe to say that were they to record "Wabash Cannonball" it wouldn't sound like many versions committed to record.) Add to that the fact that they've decided to set their tunes to the lyrics of Shel Silverstein, and the EP is one of the more unusual kids' CDs released this year. I think the adventurous nature of the songs fits Silverstein's slightly skewed sensibilities, with poems about "Hungry Mungry," who's so hungry he ends up eating the entire universe, or "The Dirtiest Man in the World," about, well, you can figure it out. Probably the easiest song for kids to grasp is "Hurk," with a motley (in the best way) kids' chorus shouting lines such as "I'd rather play tennis than go to the dentist" -- it's a simple melody, with not-so-complex improvisation. I actually thought "Hungry Mungry" might be too long or too complex, but I can see the band live possibly keeping kids' attention throughout the entire story song. "The Generals" is gorgeously arranged, though perhaps a bit too slow to keep the kiddos' attention. (Again, live, it might be a different story.) I think Silverstein's poetry is targeted mostly at kids ages 5 and up, so that's what I'll peg the age range of the music. You can listen to "Hungry Mungry," which I should note might actually be my least favorite track, as well as their sprightly version of "Jump Up!" with Dan Zanes here. Astrograss For Kids is probably not the first album you'd think of to start a kids' music collection -- it's not quite as accessible, perhaps, as other albums. But if you're looking for something different for your family's collection, for acoustic music with a definite modern sensibility, this album may be up your alley.

Review: Celebrate the Difference - Terri Hendrix

Let's get the song out of the way -- was there a better song this year that spoke to how kids and parents really interact than "Nerves?" The answer, in case you hadn't guessed, is no. And even though the hard-charging chorus is supposed to be the voice of the child narrator, most parents would probably admit they've felt that their children were getting on their nerves at some point during the week. (And the rest are lying.) While "Nerves" is the song that stands out the most on Celebrate the Difference, the first kids album from Texas-based singer-songwriter Terri Hendrix, there are definitely other songs worth hearing. One of my favorites is the sweet, Tejano-styled "Lluvia de Estrellas," sung in English and Spanish (natch). But as shown by "Nerves," the angular techno-pop of "Invisible Friend," or the brass-band-accompanied "Yeah Yeah Yeah," Hendrix is willing to try out all sorts of song styles. (Sometimes the array of styles is almost dizzying.) Well-known Texas musician Lloyd Maines (who co-wrote many of the songs) accompanies her throughout, along with a number of other musicians making occasional appearances. Lyrically, Hendrix's preaching of self-confidence in songs such as "Get Your Goat On," "First Place," and others tackles a subject that has been oddly left mostly untouched in kids' music. And as shown by "Nerves" and "I Want to be Your Friend" (a song about a new kid in the neighborhood), Hendrix can remember how kids think and feel. While appropriate for all ages, I think kids ages 5 through 10 will be most receptive to the lyrics. You can listen to sound clips here. Celebrate the Difference is at times almost too wide-ranging in its musical attack, so that as an album it's not as unified as others. But there are a number of great songs on here and the enthusiasm Hendrix brings to the material helps to underscore her messages of self-confidence. For that alone, the album is recommended.

Review: Play! - Milkshake

Over the course of its two previous albums, the Baltimore-based band Milkshake has been content to mine a poppier seam of kids' music. While I wouldn't call them sentimental, their songs are usually sunny and optimistic -- there's little mischieviousness in their songs (at least lyrically. On their third album Play!, released this week, Milkshake doesn't veer much from the approach on their previous albums, but does simultaneously broaden their musical palette while narrowing the topical scope a little bit. Play! is, loosely defined, a concept album about the different ways kids play. From the opening track "We've Got a Band" (playing musical instruments) to the '80s power-poppy title track, Mikel Gehl and Lisa Matthews sing about the fun of play. There are songs about make-believe play (the Beatlesque "Imagination Nation," "Pirates," "Home on the Rang") to go along with songs about playing sports ("Bowling with You," or "Baseball," with a Cal Ripkin cameo). What saves the lyrics from being cloying to adult ears is the specificity -- it's one thing to sing about how much fun it is to spend time with your family, it's another thing entirely to make that song about bowling. It grounds the song in a reality that, while it might not apply to your family, is certainly relatable. Musically, Milkshake adds a few nice touches to their pop-rock approach. The Bacharach horns on "Okay to be Different," for example, or the sea chanty of "Pirates." While Milkshake's version of going wild ("Go Wild") is, well, more mild than wild, they don't completely abandon the rock -- the closing cut "My Best Friend," is a snappy slice of power-pop that starts at about 60 miles an hour, never lets up, and wraps up in less than 2 minutes. (In fact, I really like the last 5 tracks.) I think the album's geared right at kids ages 4 through 8. You can hear samples of the tracks at the album's CD Baby page or hear full tracks at the band's homepage. Milkshake is not everyone's cup of tea -- they're writing happy pop songs for happy kids. But they do this better than most of the kids' bands out there and Play! is their best album yet. Recommended, especially if you've enjoyed their other CDs.

Review: First Time for Everything - John Carlin

OK, let's get the cover out of the way. Yes, it's bizarre. No, I can't explain it. And, yes, the album inside is better. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's get to the album itself. First Time for Everything is the debut kids' CD from the New York-based musician John Carlin. Carlin, like many kids' artists, had a career as a musician for adults, then started teaching music classes for kids. And, like many of those artists, his debut album is a very DIY affair, with Carlin playing every instrument. What distinguishes Everything from many other DIY albums are the flourishes of musical diversity within. The album starts off with the guitar-pop of "Eliza" and "Run Around," the latter song about how good it feels just to, well, run around. "Bein' a Dog" borrows some of melodic riff from "Time Warp, while the title track is a sauntering number featuring loose raspy vocals from Carlin. While I liked the original cuts, perhaps the nicest touches are the reworkings of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (featuring a musical interlude with acoustic guitar that's considerably different from, but very complimentary to, the original melody) and "This Little Light of Mine," which adds a small taste of a New Orleans brass band. The downside to the disk is that the production sometimes muddies the vocals (especially on Carlin's originals), making it difficult to understand them. It's something that certainly can be fixed on the next go-round. I'm gonna peg the 35-minute album as best for kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear clips of the songs here. By no means is First Time for Everything reinventing the kids' album. It's just an album with some nice new pop tunes with kid-appropriate lyrics and some old tunes presented with enough dash to make listening to the familiar melodies fresh. But if that's enough for you (and it's certainly enough for a lot of people), you could certainly do much worse. Recommended.