Review: Napper's Delight - Dean Jones

Though this is the best kids music album title (or at least most amusing to parents) since the Sippy Cups' "Electric Storyland," people who expect Dean Jones' Napper's Delight to be a traditional lullaby album or a goofy riff on a traditional lullaby album will be disappointed. Surprise and, not infrequently, delight are more likely feelings here. Jones is one of the ringleaders of the fabulous New York band Dog on Fleas. While it sells both this album and the band short, to call Napper's Delight a Dog on Fleas lullaby album is a good place to start in describing the CD. One of the chief attributes of a Dog on Fleas CD is its spirit of adventurousness, of lack of calculation in song selection and instrumentation. Such is the case here as well. There probably aren't many CDs that include both drum machines and traditional African instruments such as mbiras or the balafon, but they all appear here and neither of them really sound out of place. I think it takes a few tracks to get into the CD -- the drum machine on the third track "Wheelin' and Dealin'" might not be everyone's cup of tea -- but by the time fellow New York musician Elizabeth Mitchell takes over the vocals on the fifth track, "Grow Little Flower," the CD has really started to establish a relaxed but not sleepy mood. The next track, "Bygones," struck me as a long-lost Vince Guaraldi Trio track, while the reworked 18th century folk song "Turtle Dove" gets a nice assist from fellow Dog on Fleas bandmate Debbie Lan and a couple fiddlers. By the time you get to "Hush Little Baby," which sounds like it's got a tiny calliope helping to provide musical accompaniment, you're sold. (I also adore "Filly and Dilly," a duet with Amy Poux which is a reworking of the traditional "Lavender's Blue.") The overall effect is definitely not one of a lullaby album, if only because many of the songs don't deal with unconditional love as many lullabies do. Rather, the CD creates a mellow mood that will work well as the soundtrack to many a lazy afternoon reading with the kids. The 42-minute CD is fine for all ages, of course, but I think kids ages 2 through 8 will respond to it more. You can hear samples at the album's CDBaby page. Napper's Delight isn't a traditional lullaby album -- it sounds nothing like it. Although it has echoes of Dog on Fleas, Elizabeth Mitchell, and the Innocence Mission, it doesn't really sound much like those, either. It is, as I said above, filled with surprises and delights. I'm not sure kids will necessarily run to pull this off the shelves. But I think a lot of parents (especially those who are regular readers here) will find this a soothing balm for family listening and, given five or six spins, will find this working its way into their brain. It did mine. Definitely recommended.

Review: Jump in the Jumpy House - Mr. David

How to describe Jump in the Jumpy House, the recently-released third CD for kids from San Jose, California-based artist Mr. David?.... How about... "this album sounds like nothing else you've heard all year." Well, yes, but that's what I said about his last album, The Great Adventures of Mr. David, so perhaps I need to find different words, because it doesn't sound like that CD, either. Whereas the previous album had a strong folk and folk-rock influence, the new album has more diversity of sound -- the garage rock of the title track, aided by the propulsive guitar work of Greg Lisher from Camper Van Beethoven; the gentle Spanish guitar on "Miss Pila"; the early New Wave sounds of "Hey! It's Lunchtime!" Mr. David (real name: David Alexandrou) does a passable Johnny Cash impression on "Them Devils," or at least is obviously inspired by him there. I also love the brief "Ragtime Honey," a sweet little ragtime instrumental that's a nice palate-cleansing (or aural-cleansing) at the center of this 31-minute album before plunging into the second side. In an interview here last year, Mr. David said he was proud of "putting out a kind of children’s music that really is different." There's no doubt he's doing that. There are times on this CD when I wonder if it really isn't a little too different. "Cabin Blues" is pretty abstract for a kids' song, about passing the days in a (vacation) cabin. The leadoff "Crocodiles Are Hungry" is almost stream-of-consciousness, barely touching on crocodiles and ending with a tribute to "John, Paul, George, and Ringo." (Favorite line: "People always ask me, 'How can you spend so much time up in your hammock?' / I say, 'Because man, I got pink lemonade!'") I think this is one of those albums that will probably divide listeners. Some families will absolutely adore this album for its adventurousness while others might think that "Jump in the Jumpy House" rocks and "Little Girl" is a sweet little song and the rest is just a little too weird. The album is probably most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. You can hear (and download) "Hey! It's Lunchtime" and "Jump in the Jumpy House" at Mr. David's Myspace page or hear samples of all the tracks here. Jump in the Jumpy House is another wildly imaginative album from Mr. David. It's got some fun beats and lyrical pictures. Even if the album isn't quite your family's cup of lemonade, though, you have to hand it to Mr. David for indeed stretching the boundaries of what kids music can be. Recommended.

Review: Educated Kid - The Hipwaders

Spend 2 minutes and 16 seconds, listening to "Educated Kid," the title track and leadoff single from the Bay Area trio The Hipwaders' latest CD, Educated Kid, and try not to move or sing along in some way. Go ahead, try. See, can't do it. It's a great example of a pure power-pop song retrofitted just enough to allow the kids to groove to it, even get something out of it lyrically ("pursue your passion / do what you love / perservere / you'll rise above"), while retaining enough musical flourishes (the "uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh" of the chorus, the handclaps) to make the older power-pop fan smile broadly. While the rest of the disk doesn't quite reach the sugary heights of the title track, there are a number of other good songs on the CD, which was released this week. "Little Baby Brother" has a snappy "ba-ba-bas," "whooooos" and a dead-on kids-eye view of a child's response to a little brother ("Please don't break my toys / And I'll love you forever"). "Aidan's Train" is a sweet Beatle-esque melody. A lot of the tracks have a very XTC vibe -- "The History of Declan Rae" sounds like something from XTC's later period while the angluar "Art Car" and "Speed of Love" have early XTC influences -- in other words, it sounds like a Futureheads kids CD. Guitarist and songwriter Tito Uquillas continues his fascination with sharing educational facts in some songs. It could drag the disk down but it usually doesn't -- the facts typically come off as "hey, here's this really cool fact!" rather than overly didactic and some songs ("History of Declan Rae," in particular) pull it off rather well. Kids ages 5 through 10 will most likely appreciate the songs and subject matter on the 39-minute CD. You can hear (and download) four of the tracks at the band's Myspace page or samples of all tracks at the album's CDBaby page. Educated Kid marks a big step forward for the band. In reviewing their previous, self-titled CD, I said "they're not at a Ralph's World level of polish and songcraft yet, but give The Hipwaders time. They may just get there. " Folks, they're getting pretty close. Definitely recommended.

Review: Mary Had A Little Amp - Various Artists

Mary Had A Little Amp was originally released waaaaaaay back in, er, October 2004. OK, it really wasn't that long ago in the cosmic scheme of things. But if it's not quite the paleozoic era to the current mesozoic era, it does seem like it comes from a different time. The big thing about the current wave of kid-comps (kids' music compilations) is that the CDs tend to be composed of songs recorded specifically for the CD. It's not a hard-and-fast rule, mind you, and some of the songs on those CDs aren't specifically "kids music," but, more often than not, when the artist or band went into the studio, they had a pretty good idea of who their audience was going to be. Or, at the very least, the track listing makes some sense. Not so with Mary Had A Little Amp. The songs here seem to have been compiled as much by the artists' affinity for for the album's benefactors (proceeds go to support preschool education projects) as by the appropriateness of the songs. "We Walk," for example, is a perfectly kid-safe song from R.E.M. (or at least as far one can tell in Michael Stipe's earlier, mumblier phase), but its appropriateness for a kids-music album is somewhat remote. You can count Moby's "Anchovie" and "Sing Along" (the Blue Man Group along with Dave Matthews) as songs whose lyrics are reasonably kid-safe, but probably not of much interest to kids. Which isn't to say there aren't some stellar tracks on here, they just tend to be the ones that are more suitable for a kids-comp. The Dixie Chicks' cover of "The Rainbow Connection" is almost worth the price of the CD by itself -- sweet, with sufficient banjo to make fans remember the original. Jack Johnson turns in an early, laid-back version of "The 3 R's," revved up later on the Curious George soundtrack. Madonna's "Little Star" is surprisingly good and Rosanne Cash's "How To Be Strong" is by far the best original. The album is probably best-suited for kids ages 3 through 9, though I doubt any kid will really get into the whole CD, there's such diversity in age-range here. You can hear snippets all over the internet and here. With an overall mellow mood and a collection of slightly older stars, this collection might make a good gift for your older sibling who had a child of their own a little after you did. While it's a decent lineup of artists, compared to some of the more kid-centered (and rockin') compliations that followed it, Mary Had A Little Amp is, well, a little unplugged.

Review: Little Mo' McCoury - Little Mo' McCoury

I play the violin and not the fiddle, so my bluegrass bona fides are slim. But I'm familiar with Del McCoury, who's been making bluegrass music for a long time, and making music with his sons for a couple decades or more. No, Del does not have a son named "Little Mo'" -- that's just a fancy moniker for one of his sons, Ronnie McCoury, who essentially leads the Del McCoury Band through a kid-friendly bluegrass album. They're billing this self-titled Little Mo' McCoury album, released this week, as the first all-bluegrass album for kids, which it pretty much is, though there are other albums that come close to the mark (Phil Rosenthal's Folksongs & Bluegrass For Children collection, Grisman and Garcia's Not For Kids Only, which McCoury cites as an inspiration). The album could have been an excuse to run through traditional kids' songs in a bluegrass style -- think something like Pickin' On Raffi -- but thankfully McCoury and his band avoid the cliches and provide a nice introduction to bluegrass. In fact, the strongest tracks here are the ones most kids and many listeners, including this one, will be unfamiliar with. "Barefoot Nellie" is an instrumental showpiece, guaranteed to get all but the most somnolent kids hopping. "Mama's Blues" features some great banjo picking from Ronnie's brother Rob in which the instrument takes the place -- and the voice -- of a young child. Most of the rest of the album also works well. There are solid renditions of old standbys "The Fox" and "Teddy Bears' Picnic," which will be familiar to a number of listeners, and McCoury's original "My Friend, My Guitar," co-written with his wife Allison, is a decent song which also illustrates how to play a G-run guitar lick. I can't say that their takes on Randy Newman's Toy Story song "You've Got a Friend in Me" or the traditional "Big Rock Candy Newman" were revelatory -- I'm too used to other versions, perhaps -- and a few other songs left me with a similar "that's nice, what's next" feeling, but the playing throughout is expert. Given the songs covered here, kids ages 2 through 7 are most likely to enjoy the CD, though this is more of an all-ages set than many. You can hear clips from the 49-minute CD all over the internet, but you might want to check out their Myspace page for four cuts, or my most recent NPR appearance to play the energetic "Barefoot Nellie." There is nothing revolutionary about Little Mo' McCoury, it's simply a nice mixture of well-played kid-focused and kid-friendly bluegrass tunes that will serve as a decent introduction to the bluegrass genre. It's another sign that hopefully the kids music genre is maturing a little bit and expanding beyond the folk and pop-rock that has been its bread and butter up to now. Recommended.

Review: What Did You Do Today, Stephen Scott Lee? - Steve Lee

Despite the fact that everybody and their drummer is recording kids music these days, it still takes a certain amount of courage for an artist to release a kids' CD as their very first album. So kudos to Nashville-based Steve Lee, who chose the "release the kids' CD" page in the "Choose Your Own Adventure" book of his life and ended up producing something quite worthwhile. What Did You Do Today, Stephen Scott Lee?, released at the tail-end of 2006, weaves together some top-notch songwriting and playing around a story of an eventful day in Steve Lee's childhood. The 61-minute starts with a New Age-y "Good Morning," with Lee's voice gently urging the listener to wake up over some gentle piano. From there, Lee alternates between skits in which he plays a young Stephen Scott Lee and songs which provide some moral commentary on the action. Lee gets bullied around, rides the bus to the zoo, gets knocked out, goes to the doctor, watches a movie, and gets ready for bed. I don't think anybody would listen to the CD for the skits (except for those hooked into the Nashville music scene as some of the skits feature cameos by local artists), but they do provide a context for the songs. Make no mistake, it's the songs that make this CD so worthwhile. The dozen or so music tracks are solid. Some of the tracks ("Wake Up," "Sharing is Caring") sound a little bit like early Wilco. Lee's voice will remind you of one of the singers from Barenaked Ladies and the music does somewhat, too. Many of the tracks give off a very Polyphonic Spree vibe. My favorite track -- definitely on the album, and quite possibly of the year -- is "Grab A Balloon." It takes a minute or so for the track to pick up speed, but when it does, it's accompanied by a heart so big ("Life is your book, it's being written as we speak / But you should know no matter where you go, your heart is your home") that it's impossible to listen without smiling. Many of the songs have a definite lesson-teaching component -- share stuff ("Sharing is Caring"), be responsible ("Responsibility Song"), take a breath when you're mad ("Count 2 10"). Normally I tend to discount songs that take that sort of approach, but in this case, Lee and his fellow musicians (a whole bunch of Nashville-area artists) are having so much fun with the infectious melodies that my reservations were wiped out. (Besides, Lee isn't above having a little fun undercutting the moral tone, telling people in one of the zoo-related tracks to "watch out for the doo-doo.") Kids ages 5 through 9 will be most receptive to the lyrics here. You can listen to the entire album at Lee's Virb page. (You're gonna have to go to his Myspace page to buy the album, though.) With What Did You Do Today, Stephen Scott Lee?, Steve Lee has captured the highs and lows of being a kid, not only from the child's perspective, but also with some adult 20/20 hindsight. All that, and a tasty musical package, too. Definitely recommended.