Review in Brief: Hawaiian Playground - Various Artists (Putumayo)

Another month, another breezy mix CD from Putumayo Kids. This time it's Hawaiian Playground, which will be released tomorrow, January 22nd. As with other Putumayo Kids collections, the strength of this CD lies in its well-considered blend of modern and traditional sounds, silly and serious songs. I'm not sure too many other collections of Hawaiian music would have the nerve to kick things off with a song from a New York City band, but the Moonlighters play expert Hawaiian steel guitar music, and their jazzy cover of Sam Koki's "Right On" is lots of fun. Joe McDermott's well-produced Hawaiian pastiche "Come to Hawaii" is the most accessible song for kids here, all about using one's imagination about visiting the far-off state. The other artists here are from the islands, and the songs show how diverse the state's musical culture has become. With a number of traditional-sounding albums in my own collection, I preferred the more traditional sounds of Raiatea's "Po La'ila'i" or Keali'i Reichel's "Toad Song." But Hawaiian music today also includes styles such as "Jawaiian" (a mixture of traditional Hawaiian music and Jamaican reggae, as heard on Robi Kahakalau's "Pi'i Mai Ka Nalu"). The collection is typically all-ages, but I think kids ages 3 through 7 might enjoy talking about Hawaii via these songs (and liner notes) the most. You can hear samples of the half-hour disk at most internet shops. Hawaiian Playground isn't an introduction to the history of Hawaiian music; it is, for the most part, a sampling of what Hawaiian kids and families might listen to today. For those families looking for a brief audio vacation to the islands, this album will be the ticket. Recommended.

Review: Let's Go Everywhere - Medeski Martin & Wood

Despite the fact that jazz is one of the great American art forms, its current popularity among the population is not exactly mass-market. As a result, I'm hesitant to call Let's Go Everywhere, the first kids music CD from the popular modern jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood, a good kids' jazz CD. Because if I did so, I'm afraid that a lot of people that would otherwise enjoy the CD would just tune me out. Take the insanely catchy title track, which, unlike MMW's previous discography, features vocals (by Tim Ingham) and lyrics that beg for singalongs. The track, which echoes Johnny Cash's "I've Been Everywhere," features throwaway lines like "Tijuana, Grand Bahama, don't forget to call your mama." It's propulsive, hand-clappy, and a poppy hit -- it certainly won't sound like jazz to most people. Or one of the better songs begging for kid-interaction I've heard, "Where's the Music?," a funky jam that breaks down every now and then only to be started up by gleeful kids begging, nay, shouting, "Where's the music?!?" That's not all. "Pat a Cake," a punky rap featuring a number of kids -- a quick track which, judging by the number of e-mails about it I received after my recent NPR chat, will be heard in a lot of households this spring. John Lurie's spoken-word piece "The Squalb" features gentle musical accompaniment and manages to be mysterious and reassuring all at once -- if you need 3 minutes and 17 seconds of silence via rapt attention in the car, play this track. I don't mean to give the tracks which do sound more jazzy short shrift, because those are excellent, too. "The Cat Creeps" has a funky, slinky bass line and tinkly piano that absolutely sounds like a cat creeping. "Let's Go" sounds like it could've been recorded 45 years ago in some West Coast studio (except for the kids occasionally shouting "Let's go!" in the background). And for those of you looking for a little deconstruction of classic tunes, "Old Paint" (on which the trio channels the Vince Guaraldi Trio) and a nearly unrecognizable (but fun in its own way) "All Around the Kitchen" will fit the bill. Out tomorrow, the 40-minute album will appeal mostly to kids ages 4 through 9, but if you're not listening to this and having fun, I don't know what to say. You can listen to four tracks at the album's Myspace page and a couple here. In the liner notes, both the band and Tim Ingham sound almost surprised at how well the album turned out. The band says "the best part was collaborating, improvising and making new friends. Who this was going to be one of our favorite records." Mine too. That sense of fun and wonder comes through loud and clear on every track. So rather than calling Let's Go Everywhere a good kids' jazz CD, let's call it what it really is -- a great CD. Period. Saying this when the year is barely a week old sounds like damning with faint praise, but it's true -- Let's Go Everywhere is the first great kids' CD of 2008. Highly recommended.

Review: Welcome to Nelsonville - The Hollow Trees

The second album from LA's The Hollow Trees is called Welcome to Nelsonville, but I could've sworn it was called Hootenanny. Even if it isn't, it darn well should be, and here's why: 1) There's a song on the album entitled "Hootenanny," so that's, like, a primo reason right there. And if that's not a good enough reason, then 2) It rocks like a hootenanny. Lead Hollow Trees Gregory Hollow Tree (aka McIlvaine) and Laura Hollow Tree (aka Steenberge) are unashamed fans of old-time folk music and play it with gusto and joy. This is no retro affectation here, this is real, vibrant music for families. The album leads off with a tremendous 1-2 punch, the zippy traditional "Ain't Gonna Rain," with the band trading the verses in rhyme followed by the shuffling "Hootenanny," a McIlvaine original that's an ode to getting together and singing songs -- "We'll sing a slow song that is sweet and sentimental / A boogie-woogie song about a Lincoln Continental / We're gonna have a hootenanny tonight." The two songs set the mood for the rest of the 38-minute set so well, casting a good-natured glow on the rest of the songs. From there the album moves into old kids' music ("Animal Alphabet Song," written and recorded by Alan Mills for Smithsonian Folkways 35 years ago), silliness ("To Morrow," taking the "silly song" slot that has been worn out by "I'm My Own Grandpa"), and blues (the snappy "Skoodle Um Skoo"). And, frankly, if the chorus of "Hallelujah's" on the traditional "George Washington" ("George Washington's a nice young man / A lie he'd never tell / But when he chopped the cherry tree / His father gave him / Hallelujah...") don't set your toes (or heels) a-tappin' and your voice to sing along, then I don't know what to do with you. Interspersed with nifty little instrumental breaks, it's my favorite song on the album. If the rest of the album doesn't quite reach the heights of the five or six tracks, that's no knock -- it'd be hard to keep up that much momentum. As with any hootenanny, eventually the energy level is (deliberately) scaled back a bit, which perhaps will make it a little easier for the wee ones to understand the occasional references to the Hollow Tree world -- listen to "The Nelsonville American Historical Band" for McIlvaine's attempt to create his own Sgt. Pepper's-meets-a-much-less-dysfunctional-Yoknapatawpha-County. While the mythmaking doesn't really add much to the CD (I suspect it's probably better live), they certainly don't detract from it, either. The songs here are going to be of most interest to kids ages 3 through 7, though it's an all-ages album in the best tradition of folk music. Listen to three full tracks here or hear samples at the album's CDBaby page. Welcome to Nelsonville is a tremendously entertaining hootenanny. It's on my shortlist of best kids' folk albums of 2008 (yes, it's early, and, no, I don't envision many being any better than this), but I think a lot of listeners would find this a, well, hoot and a half. Definitely recommended.

Review in Brief: Polka Dot Puzzle - Mr. Richard

I can't say that I've been the biggest Mr. Richard fan in the past. On his first couple CDs, while they were enjoyable enough, I just couldn't quite hear what it was that attracted Florida-based Richard Peeples one of the most devoted fanbases in the genre. It might have been me, but more likely it was that Peeples' live show didn't translate perfectly to disk. But with his most recent disk, Polka Dot Puzzle, I think Mr. Richard finally has a CD that will play well with those who won't get to hear his live show. Musically, the album covers a broad stylistic range, from the sunny pop-rock of "Treehouse" to the lo-fi "Woo Woo Truck" to the Italian pastiche of the jokey "Cheese." Such stylistic diversity is not rare anymore in the genre (if it ever was), but at least it's well-done. Check out the horns on "Bubble Bath" -- it's little well-thought-out additions such as those that elevate songs from pedestrian to something kinda special. I also need to commend "Butterfly Day," on which Lunch Money's Molly Ledford sweet voice harmonizes nicely with Peeples' gruff one. Lyrically, Mr. Richard is definitely in tune with his inner 7-year-old, such as on "Treehouse." "Sorry, there's no girls allowed / But it's OK since you brought your dog / It's way cooler than the Honeycomb Hideout." (OK, perhaps that last line really shows he's in tune with his own inner 7-year-old.) I can hear how, even without his backing musicians, the songs here (even the ones I didn't enjoy as much) would really communicate kids ages 3 through 8. Right now you can hear "Treehouse" at his Myspace page or sample all the tracks at the album's CDBaby page. At barely 24 minutes in length (with 2 1/2 minutes of that a "hello" song and a "goodbye" song), Polka Dot Puzzle is barely more than an EP. But it's a fun EP, and one showcases Mr. Richard's strengths, even to those who probably won't be hearing him live any time soon. Recommended.

Review in Brief: High Meadow Songs - Various Artists

High Meadow Songs is a collection of tracks from artists in New York's Hudson Valley to benefit High Meadow Arts, a local non-profit providing arts education for children and families. When getting a bunch of local musicians together for a benefit album, it doesn't hurt if your definition of "local musicians" includes Elizabeth Mitchell, Dog on Fleas, and Medeski, Martin & Wood. And if the CD just consisted of the tracks from those artists or collaborators, you'd have a pretty nifty 9-track album. Dog on Fleas turn in a very Fleas-ian (and local) "Buffalo Gals" and sound a bit like The Band on "Jenny Jenkins." Mitchell covers Jane Siberry's sweet "When Spring Comes," while MMW offer their reworking of "All Around the Kitchen" (accented with kids' voices) from their upcoming Let's Go Everywhere CD. Luckily there are a number of other tracks worth it for someone who's not from the area -- for example, Rebecca Coupe Franks & Her Groovemobile offer an original jazzy instrumental, "Ella Skye," and Abby Hollander and a whole bunch of High Meadow students perform Mark Morgenstern's story-in-song "Hudson River Girl." The album isn't so much an album of "kids music" as much as it is an album of kid-friendly folk music, "folk" defined rather broadly, as the album also includes a song from a musical comedy based on Beowulf ("True True Friend") and a couple of tracks from drummers Fode Sissoko and Toby Stover. As with any benefit album, especially a 65-minute one such as this one, the quality (or interest) of the tracks is not uniformly high, but the high points outweigh the rest. You can hear the first three tracks in their entirety here or listen to samples at the album's CDBaby page. It's probably most appropriate for kids ages 5 and up. High Meadow Songs will appeal most to fans of Dog on Fleas and Elizabeth Mitchell, but I think any listener (or family) who's a fan of folk music will find many pleasures here. It's a testament to one particular community's creative vibrancy. Recommended.

Review: Family Favorites - The Biscuit Brothers

Austin's Biscuit Brothers are best seen on TV or live. There's a definite theatrical sensibility in the episodes you can watch on selected PBS stations or on DVD, and they've been performing live even longer. (The live shows were the inspiration for the TV show, in fact.) As good as those shows are, though, trying to capture the essential Biscuit nature on CD is a little tougher. Their previous disk, Old MacDonald's EIEI Radio, sounded a little bit like a (long) TV episode, with a little emphasis on the educational component of the TV show. It usually worked OK, but there were points where it seemed like there were some visuals missing and it wasn't as entertaining as watching the show. Now, with their just-released Family Favorites, they're taking a slightly different approach, essentially forgoing attempts at direct education and an episodic structure, and putting together an album of fun songs, some of which were originally recorded for the TV show, some of which are new for this album. While the result is definitely not like the show in its overall structure, the album does a fine job of capturing the Biscuit Brothers spirit, energy, and humor. The album starts off with a great version of the "Wabash Cannonball" -- its soaring chorus is a high point of the album -- and proceeds to wander through some time-tested tunes. Irving Berlin ("Alexander's Ragtime Band) and George M. Cohan ("Grand Old Flag" and "Yankee Doodle Scarecrow" -- OK, that last one has been modified a bit from the original) help the 20th century make an appearance, while "Old Dan Tucker" gets a smooth, polished performance from the band. Indeed, one of the pleasures of the CD is listening to the Brothers' fine voices and Allen Robertson's musical arrangements in song after song. And while the Biscuit Brothers' primary musical approach is renditions of folk songs, they're talented enough to make the alphabet song sound a bit like the Fifth Dimension on "Alphabet!" And, yeah, Tiny Scarecrow, one of my favorite kids' show characters of all time (and one who gets high marks from my kids, too), gets his share of air time -- he's appropriately goofy on the "World's Shortest Dance Break," he negotiates the rapid-fire lyrics on "Tiger Rag" -- so that pleased me. In the let's-make-a-silly-rhyme "Schnitzelbank," he makes a Rene Magritte reference about floating apples -- high and low in the same song. These songs are really an all-ages setlist, but given a couple of the titles, let's put the target range at kids ages 2 through 9. You can hear clips from the 34-minute album at its CDBaby page. If you're already a Biscuit Brothers fan, you've probably picked up Family Favorites by now -- and if you haven't, you should. For those of you who aren't sure about the Brothers, I think this is a fun album you can enjoy even if you've never seen the show -- it's the best audio introduction to the Biscuit Brothers. Recommended.