Review: Elephants Over the Fence - Johnny Keener

The Portland-based artist Johnny Keener released Elephants Over the Fence, but there are strong echoes of South Carolina, Seattle, and Brooklyn in the CD. The South Carolina echo has to do with the musicians on the CD. Backed by Emily Vidal on bass and Jason Greene (their alter ego is Yoyodyne, an adult pop group), Keener generally plays guitar reminiscent of Buddy Holly or Johnny Cash records. Hmmm... a trio reconfiguring itself to play kids music? Where have I heard that before? But there's no complaint as the trio gets a lot of mileage out of the mixture of traditional kids, originals, and offbeat covers here. The Seattle echo is from the leadoff track, "Miss Mary Mack," which, just as on Johnny Bregar's Hootenanny! CD, starts with the voice of a young girl singing the song, though here young Zella sings for a full 30 seconds before the band and a chorus of preschool kids join in. And the Brooklyn echo? None other than Dan Zanes, an obvious inspiration for Keener. While Keener clearly doesn't have the star power of Zanes (there's no Sheryl Crow on this version of "Polly Wolly Doodle"), Keener likes singing with kids and integrates them nicely on a few tracks. The best cut here is the cover of Woody Guthrie's "Bling Blang," which features guitar work by Keener accompanying a swinging piano by Yascha Noonberg. The two originals aren't too bad (I liked "It's Too Hot!," all about going to the local swimming pool), but the two songs that are most intriguing are the covers of Jonathan Richman ("Here Come the Martian Martians") and They Might Be Giants ("Robot Parade"). The Richman cover is pretty good and just goes to show that a compilation of kids artists doing Jonathan Richman songs is long overdue. Keener also acquits himself nicely on the TMBG track, slowing the tempo a bit to a more stately parade-like pace, and adding some robot-like spoken-word interludes. The 25-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 7. Tracks may be available soon at Keener's website, but here, with Keener's permission, are two tracks for your immediate enjoyment: Johnny Keener - Polly Wolly Doodle Johnny Keener - It's Too Hot! There is no wheel-reinventing going on here, but Elephants Over the Fence is an enjoyable listen, a smart-sounding CD with a loose energy appealing to kids and parents alike. Recommended.

Review in Brief: Up the Wooden Hills EP - Saint Etienne

British dance/electronica band Saint Etienne released their album Tales from Turnpike House in 2005. Although Turnpike House was definitely an album for the adults, some English copies of the album also included a six-song EP called Up the Wooden Hills that was definitely for the kids. The basic question here is whether a 16-minute six-song EP is worth the $20 or more it'll cost you to import the album, especially an album that was essentially released as a teaser or preview of a full-length album whose release has been rumored almost since the EP's release. It's a tough call, which isn't to say it's not a good EP. Three uptempo songs -- "You Can Count on Me" (numbers, natch), "Let's Build a Zoo" (animals and alliteration), and the electronica blues of "Excitation" (nonsense) -- are great kids' tracks. The other three tracks are a mixed bag -- "Barnyard Brouhaha" is a silly electronic trifle that gets tiring before the end of its sub-minute runtime. "Bedfordshire" is a down-tempo piece with spoken-word interlude that's pleasant enough but depends on the listener really giving their attention to the piece for 4 minutes; "Night Owl" is a nice lullaby with a string quartet. The album is probably best for kids ages 3 through 7. You can find the album on major Internet retailers such as Amazon, though they don't have sound clips. In the end, I'd probably come down on the side of not recommending this except to all the most diehard (or affluent) of kids music families and aficianados -- $25 is a lot to spend for 3 or 4 pretty good songs. Still, based on what's on the Up the Wooden Hills EP, if and when the full-length ever does get released, it'll be well-worth the preorder.

Review: Aminal House - Recess Monkey

If you weren't convinced by the cover that Aminal House (yes, that's spelled correctly) had some Beatles influences, the liner notes, which thank, among others, Billy Shears, would seal the deal. So what about the album itself -- is it worthy of such blatant Beatles homages? Well, yes. Aminal House (late 2006) is the second album from Seattle-based band Recess Monkey and whereas The Sippy Cups sort of tap the psychedelic part of '60s and '70s rock for their sound, Recess Monkey sticks more closely to the Beatles for their sound and inspiration. Which isn't to say that they sound like the Beatles -- they often sound more like Beatles-inspired bands such as Crowded House. At they very least, they, like the Beatles, are willing to explore a wide range of rock sounds, from the funk of the opening, title track to the singalong chorus of "Aquarium" to the Elton John-like piano ballad "Grey Zebra." (They're fine with more direct homages, too, pulling out a very "Blackbird"-like acoustic guitar figure for "Butterfly," for example.) One of my favorite tracks is "Cookie," a '60s rocker with a hint of Motown about a very nervous pointer dog ("Cookie don't crumble now / Cookie don't fall apart"). Musically, the group is tight; singer Drew Holloway uses the occasional falsetto to good effect, too. Thematically, the songs are all animal-related, treating animals as characters with personality. The album also has a few sketches which are mostly amusing and very reminiscent in spirit (and somewhat in vocal characterizations) of SteveSongs' Marevlous Day! album. (And, hey, it's not every day you listen to a kids' album that makes a John Vanderslice reference, and a funny one at that.) At 54 minutes in length, it runs on a bit too long, but at least they're experimenting to the end. The album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9, which isn't surprising since the album includes kids voices on some tracks and their ideas from a summer camp led by the band in summer 2006. You can hear the album's first five tracks here and purchase the album here. Aminal House is an album that must have been a blast to make, chock-full of creativity. The album is never less than interesting, and always a melodious spin. Definitely recommended. (More details on the process of recording the album can be found here.)

Review: Taxi - David Weinstone (Music for Aardvarks and Other Mammals)

Nearly ten years ago, New York City musician (and parent) David Weinstone, dissatisfied with assorted kids music programs, decides to start one of his own. The result, Music For Aardvarks and Other Mammals, became a popular program in its own right in New York City, even expanding beyond New York City. Over those nearly ten, Weinstone's put together 10 CDs of original material to accompany the classes. This week sees the release of Taxi, one of three compilations of material from the first 10 CDs. (It reflects favorites of both Weinstone and class attendees.) I decided deliberately to listen to Taxi without finding out more about how the songs were used in MFA classes because I think the purpose of these CDs is to introduce the music to a much wider audience -- people like me who've never stepped foot inside a MFA class. So the question becomes, how does this hold up as an album? And the answer is, pretty good. Weinstone is definitely willing to write directly to kids' interests -- getting candy at the end of a doctor's visit in "Lollipop Doc" or the eternal fascination of the belly button in "Belly Button Song". But that wouldn't mean much if he weren't able to wrap those topics in appealing lyrics and a diverse range of musical styles. "Dirt," for example, folds lines such as "I like dirt. / Dirt's what I dig. / I like pokin' around, / with a big old twig" into a loping, brass-band march. "Have You Seen My Nose?" mixes silly lyrics about discovering one's nose (and mouth) with a laid-back Brazilian melody. "Big Boom Whacker" is a nonsensical synth-heavy tune that survives an Ah-nuld reference. My favorite track, "Ruby's Friends," is a folky waltz about pretending. (And I haven't even mentioned the Santana riff.) This isn't to say you can't tell the album's music class origins. Songs such as "Big Old Tree" and "Tango" have class participation and movement written all over them. And the "Hello" and "Goodbye" songs -- required for any kids music class -- are here, too. (They're perfectly fine to listen to.) But they don't overwhelm the album -- you could listen to them having never attended an MFA class and not feel puzzled. I think the album's most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 7. You can hear snippets of all the songs at the album's CDBaby page. While there are no songs here that absolutely stand out as immediate kids' songs classics, Taxi is a strong collection of kid-appropriate and parent-friendly songs. Whether you're hearing these repeatedly between MFA classes or occasionally in the CD changer, you'll probably find them worth your family's time. Recommended.

Review in Brief: Stories from Duke Puddintown - Greg Loop

When I review a CD that I'm not enamored of, it's often because I hear something that somebody else might appreciate or because I think the artist shows promise. So let me begin by saying that I think Pittsburgh-based Greg Loop shows a gift for lyrics on his 2006 album, Stories from Duke Puddintown. Take this lyric in "Rhythm Time," for example: Spills and chills make for little thrills / In the pond live fish with gills / They double bubble, rubble bump / underneath a hickory stump That's some fun wordplay, and it's repeated often on this 27-minute disk. What's less compelling is the music. The music in general, garage-folk-rock, is OK -- a bit repetitive, perhaps, over the course of the disk, but it has an agreeable lo-fi sound. Loop's voice, however, is not supple and melodious. While it's too far off the mark to say that his melodies are writing checks that his voice can't cash, it is fair to say that his melodies range too far for his voice. (And perhaps I'm a vocal snob, but you should be used to that by now.) Given those comments, it's not surprising that my favorite track here is "Butterflies," a virtual instrumental showing off Loop's guitar work that sounds quite unlike the rest of the album. The album will be of most interest to kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear samples here. And while I'm not really a fan of Stories from Duke Puddintown, there are enough good things here to make me want to hear Loop's next attempt.

Review: Bullfrog Jumped (Children's Folksongs from the Byron Arnold Collection) - Various Artists

It's Alan Lomax for the kiddos. Released last year by the Alabama Folklife Association and given a new release this upcoming Tuesday, Bullfrog Jumped is a collection of folksongs sung by mothers, grandmothers, and other women in the summer of 1947, when they were recorded on front porchaes and in kitchens by Byron Arnold, a Professor of Music at the University of Alabama. There are some standards -- "Frog Went A-Counrting" and "Skip To My Lou," for example -- but many of these folksongs were new to me, or at least the melody or lyrics were. There are, for example, three different versions of "All The Pretty Little Horses," none of which quite sound like the wistful lullaby has become more than 50 years later. "Skip To My Lou" has about 10 verses, only 3 or 4 of which I'd heard before. There are some stellar voices on the disk. Vera Hall, whose recording of "Troubled So Hard" was sampled by Moby on Play (and who was definitely familiar to Alan Lomax), has a great song, "Little Lap Dog," here. The voice that made me snap to attention every time I heard it was that of 17-year-old Mozella Longmire, who has 4 tracks on the disk, including "Little Sally Walker" and "Two Little Gentlemen From the Spring." Sixty years later, Mrs. Longmire is still singing in the choir at Mt. Triumph Baptist Church, and it seems to me someone needs to record an album of her singing folksongs. I'd buy it. The songs are most appropriate for kids ages 0 through 6. You can hear four tracks here, two more here, and samples of all the tracks here. With 42 tracks in about 36 minutes, sometimes the snippets of songs are just to short to be of much listening interest heard straight through. The a cappella nature of the album can also become a bit repetitive for an entire disk. But as a sampler and recording of songs familiar and much less so, the recording (which sounds great for a recording 60 years old) and the liner notes (of Smithsonian Folkways quality), should be in every library and preschool.