Johnny Cash's most famous songs are his most tormented -- "I shot a man in Reno / Just to watch him die," sings the prisoner in his "Folsom Prison Blues" -- which means he's not exactly at the top of the list of artists who scream out "children's music" to the public. (We're still waiting for the Metallica and Smashing Pumpkins kids' CDs, too.) But contrary to the legend that surrounded the Man in Black, Cash never actually served time in prison and in 1975 Cash released the Johnny Cash Children's Album, a motley collection of kids-accessible tunes recorded in the early '70s. In 2006 Sony re-released the album for the first time on CD, with liner notes from Cash's son John Carter Cash and 4 bonus tracks. The 37-minute album, while retaining some of the trademark Cash sound (Cash's powerful voice is still there, the shuffling "freight train" instrumentals make occasional appearances), doesn't have a single track that a Johnny Cash fan would consider essential. In fact, one of the best tracks on the disk, "Little Green Fountain," is a brief and snappy a cappella duet with June Carter Cash that doesn't sound anything like his more famous work. "One and One Makes Two" is a sweet song about sharing one's time and love, while his cover of "Grandfather's Clock" is quite good. But for every decent track there's another track that's just plain weird. The odd bear-raising philosophy outlined in "Tiger Whitehead," the overly maudlin "Old Shep" (clearly "Old Yeller" didn't scan as well), the jokey spoken-word "Why Is A Fire Engine Red" -- none of them are worth more than a couple spins. Kids ages 3 through 7 will probably appreciate this album the most. But if you're a Johnny Cash fan and you want your kids to appreciate Cash, you're probably better off putting in your own "adult" disks. Whether or not you fast-forward past "Ring of Fire" is up to you.
Review: Kid Pan Alley (Nashville) - Various Artists
I'm not usually one to be swayed by the cause behind an album, but when the first sentence of an album's press release includes a statement that "kids need to know they can be creators and not just consumers," that can exert a strong pull on me. With his Kid Pan Alley program, Musician Paul Reisler has gone into schools around the country to create songs with more than 10,000 schoolchildren. The album in question, Kid Pan Alley (originally released in 2004 and rereleased next Tuesday on Compass Records) and was the result of collaboration between Nashville schoolkids and the city's songwriting community. Nashville is arguably the most vibrant songwriting community in the country (where is its Brill Building, one wonders), and so there were some exciting possibilities from combining that talent and experience with the viewpoint of youth.
Produced in combination with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, the album is a rich collection of styles, from R&B to power-pop to bluegrass to, yes, country. The strongest tracks are those where the artist was well-known enough to allow the songwriters to craft it in the artist's particular style. Kix Brooks' "Cartoons" is a great song in the slick country-pop vein while the strutting "Freaky Friday" is given a fun rendition by Delbert McClinton (it's a great kids' Halloween song out there, one that begs a "Thriller"-style video). "Whispering in Spanish" is given a '60s string-laden ballad treatment, one that Raul Malo is familiar with. And there are less familiar artists (to me, at least) who turn in some performances -- the power-pop "No Fair" performed by Will Hoge will probably ring true to a lot of 6-year-olds. Other tracks ("Little Drop of Water," for example) take a much less direct lyrical approach, showing the influence of the professional songwriters.
There are other good songs, but the sheer diversity of musical styles works against the album as an album. I understand the desire to get as many of the tracks recorded and onto the CD, but at 18 tracks and 58 minutes in length, there are some tracks that could probably have been cut. ("Extra Hand," for example, while a nice little bluegrass tune, sounds out of place amongst the poppy and often orchestrally-enhanced pieces.)
The album will probably be of most interest to kids ages 5 through 10. You can listen to clips at Amazon or at the original release's CDBaby page.
This is not the most cohesive of albums. But as a collection of always intriguing and sometimes amazing songs, with the knowledge that kids helped make this album, Kid Pan Alley commands the listener's attention. Recommended.Review: Dreamers of Dreams - Erin Flynn with the Co-Op Band
It’s hard work reinterpreting classic kids’ tunes -- it takes imagination and a little bit of brazenness. Originally released in 2004, Erin Flynn’s debut Dreamers of Dreamshas enough of both. Flynn, who now teaches at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago (and appeared on their Wiggleworms Love You album), recorded the album in Philadelphia with a large and talented Co-Op Band, giving her freedom to take musical chances. My favorite reinterpretation is their version of the classic “Mary Mack,” which starts off slowly and gradually picks up speed before becoming a full-on punk version. In “Twinkle,” Flynn uses “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” as a jumping-off point for original music (reminiscent of Guster) and sky-centric lyrics. The original songs, while decent, collectively may be too earnest for the adults and too abstract in places for younger kids. (I tried but couldn’t resist, however, the best song the Partridge Family never sang, “Join In With a Song.”) The 40-minute album employs many musical styles -- the punky “Mary Mack,” for example, or country and bluegrass on the “Train” medley -- but most commonly has a folky, jam-band feel, thanks especially to the adept percussion work. The album is best for kids age 3 through 7, with sound clips (and the album) available at the album's CDBaby page. Fans of Elizabeth Mitchell, Brady Rymer, and Frances England will find much to like on this collection, particularly the fabulous reinterpretations. Recommended.Review: Here We Go - Melissa
If I had a dollar for every time my name was spelled incorrectly, we'd have replaced the flooring in our house long ago. So I understand the decision by Los Angeles-based musician Melissa Szilagyi to drop her surname and perform simply as Melissa. It's also very pop-star-like. Her debut kids' music album Here We Go (2006), to be released next week, is 29 minutes of preschooler-friendly acoustic pop that sounds not a little like kids' music star Laurie Berkner. Whimsical stories ("Have You Ever Seen?"), interactive songs (the sea horses counting down from 5 to 1 on "The Seahorse Song"), and subjects of great concern to 3- and 4-year-olds ("Going on a Trip," "Chocolate Ice Cream.") Add to that Melissa's warm voice and sharp additional instrumentation (guitar, mandolin, harmonica, assorted percussion) from New York-based musician Beau Elliott, and the album is a perfectly good little collection of songs. The originals are well-crafted; the few traditional songs are innovatively arranged. It's not quite at Laurie's level, though, for a couple reasons. First, Berkner's songs have a river of good humor flowing through them; these songs, though by no means humorless, don't have enough of those moments of loopiness that keep parents sane while listening to Berkner's music. Second, you realize how important Berkner's band -- the bass and the piano -- are to her albums. Here We Go would have benefitted greatly from even a couple songs with a full band. The album is most appropriate for kids age 2 through 7. Listen to clips here or here. I'm recommending this -- it's a well-done and enjoyable album. (And I'm hoping Melissa finds even more talented musicians for her second album!)Review: The Great Adventures of Mr. David - Mr. David
Sometimes it's easy to review kids' music -- a little of bit of this, sounds like that, there are songs about food. Then an album like The Great Adventures of Mr. David (2006) comes along, making the task much more difficult. Whatever it is (and it's many things, sometimes all at once), this is not a typical kids' album.
The second album for kids from San Jose-based musician David Alexandrou, who performs as Mr. David, The Great Adventures has, as you'd expect from the title, a number of songs about adventures and travels. But these aren't typical adventures. The very first line of the album, on the winding Bob Dylan-esque track "Sea Song," is "Golden brown peanut butter fell from the sky." And then it gets odder. (Yes, the narrator quickly gets to the sea. The sea serves as the location for other songs -- "Surf's Up All Around the World," "In the Storm Fighting the Octopus," and the Beatlesque "I'm A Fish." There's a sense of wonder and absurdity in the lyrics that sets it apart from the concrete lyrics of many other artists. Not that one is necessarily better than the other, but this is definitely the road less-traveled lyrically.
The lyrics would just make the album slightly unusual if it weren't paired with a fabulous musical approach. Instrumentally, the album employs, among other things, horns, dulcimer, washboard, and ukelele. It's very Dan Zanes-ian in that regard. Mr. David also has a rough voice reminiscent of Zanes, but is also willing to use voice almost as an instrument, as at the end of the terrific "Surf's Up All Around the World," which sounds like the Beach Boys-meet-Laurie Anderson, or the instrumentals "Dream Away; Sail Away" or "Dancing with Peter Pan," which have a touch of Peter Gabriel in them. There's also the Jane's Addiction-goes-mariachi of "La Cucaracha" or the blues-rock of "Rock 'N' Roll." Even when something doesn't work (the medley of nursery rhymes), at least it's different.
The album probably would interest kids ages 3 through 9, though different songs would interest different kids. You can hear "I'm A Fish" here or samples of all the songs at the album's CDBaby page.
Even though I've made a lot of comparisons here, as a whole this album sounds like nothing else you've heard all year. It's got a sense of wonder and playfulness that will interest kids (and their adults) for a long time. Definitely recommended.Review: Great Big Sun - Justin Roberts
The great risk in going back and listening to an artist's early work is that you won't like it as much as the later work that drew you to the artist in the first place, thereby also diminishing your original enthusiasm. Thankfully, that didn't happen for me when I listened to Justin Roberts' 1997 kids' music debut, Great Big Sun. It is, however, a different animal from Roberts' later work.
Unlike Roberts' later work, especially his stellar 2006 Meltdown!, Great Big Sun is a stripped-down work musically. Mellow guitar, some bass, some drums, the occasional tuba -- "Our Imaginary Rhino," this ain't. Instead, folk-pop songs such as "Little Raindrop," "Great Big Sun," and "3 Lil Pigs" take center stage. "Apple Tree" is such a dead ringer for James Taylor's work that Taylor could sue for royalties (or ask Roberts for permission to cover it). Only on a couple songs does he break out of the mold of the rest of the album, "A B C D E," an original pop-reggae take on an alphabet song, and my favorite, the folk/punk-rocker "Do You Wanna Go?," which sounds a little out of place here amidst the mellower cuts.
Lyrically, the album also differs from Roberts' subsequent albums in that the targeted age range is definitely younger. This is a result, no doubt, of Roberts' previous work as a preschool teacher. The alphabet, numbers, body parts (OK, brain parts), the three little pigs -- these are of great interest to 3- and 4-year-olds and perhaps less to older kids. And the impish characters that populate many of Roberts' later songs only appear once here, sort of, in the sweet, tuba-accented "Everything Else Starts With 'E'."
Given the slightly less mature subject matter, I'll put the age range here at 3 to 7. You can hear samples at the usual online sampling places.
Make no mistake, Great Big Sun is a sweet and tuneful collection of songs. (Indeed, Roberts has commented how some people "still love the simplicity" of the album.) It's not the guitar-pop of his later work, but it stands proudly in its own right -- it's an important part of Roberts' work. Recommended.
