It's about time.
I mean, why more artists don't hop on board the songbook bandwagon is surprising to me. Dan Zanes, Ralph Covert, and Laurie Berkner have dipped their toes in that water, but Peter Yarrow is diving in headfirst. In a couple weeks, he'll be releasing two books, Favorite Folk Songs and Sleepytime Songs, that each feature lyrics, guitar notations, and notes on 12 classic folk songs. In addition, they'll each include a CD of the book's songs featuring Peter, Bethany and Rufus, a trio featuring Yarrow, his daughter Bethany Yarrow, and cellist Rufus Cappadocia. He's not stopping there -- Songs to Sing Together will be released next year and Nursery Rhymes is currently on tap for 2010.
The beauty of these books (besides the, well, beauty of the illustrations) is that they're a great mix of tunes familiar and less so. So families looking to sing together -- and why shouldn't they? -- will have a few songs they can easily master along with some songs they can learn.
I'm not always a fan of CDs embedded in picture books -- where do we keep 'em, for one thing -- but I think for this purpose, it's great. While families could get many of these things in just a regular CD with liner notes, I think by putting it in book format, it encourages the singing rather than the listening. It's a concept a lot of other artists could consider.
Anyway, here are the track listings for the two CDs.
YAKMAFAA #253: Keller Williams
A couple years ago, I coined the acronym YAKMA -- "Yet Another Kids Music Article" -- to signify the wave of articles in the media (mainstream and otherwise) about the Kids New Wave. That wave (of articles not kids music) has receded somewhat, but I think it's time to coin a partially new phrase.
YAKMAFAA -- "Yet Another Kids Music Album From (An) Adult Artist"
Because the number of artists who normally make music for adults deciding to try their hands at the genre really is getting nuts.
So next up is Keller Williams, known for his laid-back vibe and awesome multi-instrumentalist and tape-looping skills. According to this article, Williams is now looking at the kids' music world...
Williams has a 4-year-old daughter and 6-month-old son, and one of his upcoming projects is an album for children. “My whole demeanor and performance style and writing style is very tongue in cheek in the positive vein, and I think it's very suitable for the kids' music industry,” he said. The songs, already written, speak to children in a “real way — maybe too real,” said Williams. “There will be a warning on the record that will clearly state: ‘Warning, not suitable for uptight parents over 45.'”I think, then, that qualifies me as interested.
Bob Dylan Does Kids'....
... literature. Not kids music.
Not new news, but Bob Dylan has got a kids' book coming out tomorrow titled Forever Young. It really seems to be illustrator Paul Rogers' bag, since the text seems to consist of nothing but the lyrics to Dylan's classic song.
Anyway, since trailers for kids books are all the rage now, here's the trailer for the book so you can decide if the illustrations are plunking down your hard-earned dollars for.
Oh, and just because I'm snarky...
Fids and Kamily 2008 Is On Its Way!
Amidst all this talk of Grammys and Cybils, I have failed to mention that kids' music's first poll, the Fids and Kamily Awards are coming back for a third straight year.
That's right, the same folks who named Justin Roberts' Meltdown! as 2006's kids music album of the year and Gustafer Yellowgold's Have You Never Been Yellow? as 2007's best album are back again to weigh in on 2008's bumper crop of great kids music.
More details are forthcoming, but you should circle November 15 on your calendar as the announcement date on Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child. Once again, Amy and Bill are my chief co-conspirators. And for those you on Facebook, please stop by F&K's Facebook page.
So Who Might Those 2008 Grammys Go To?
This is where my investigatory nature conflicts with my respect for intellectual property rights.
I have a number of the 51st Grammy Entry List ballot forms listing Grammy-eligible albums for the awards coming up in February 2009. But those ballot forms also have that tiny little copyright "C" at the bottom of the page, which makes me think that just printing the whole thing would probably not be a good idea. (Hey, I never said that this conflict would be a particularly exciting one that would make for a gripping and occasionally humorous movie starring George Clooney.)
So, after the jump I'm going to tell you about a few kids music albums that definitely won't be winning a Grammy next year.
Review: Color Wheel Cartwheel - Laura Freeman
I've been waiting a long time to review this album, longer than I should. I'd been waiting for Austin, Texas artist Laura Freeman to release the follow-up to her 2005 album Color Wheel Cartwheel, thinking I'd include that album in a review of the new album.
Well, forget the new album (which will come out someday, just not today), because Color Wheel Cartwheel is pretty special; to wait any longer would just be wrong.
The album is, as you'd expect from its title, a concept album, dealing with colors. Down through the rainbow the songs move, from "Red" to "Orange," on through "Yellow," "Green," "Blue," and "Indigo and Violet." ("Purple" is thrown in there for good measure.) It'd be pretty easy to make color songs just by listing things that are of that particular color, but the what makes this album so much better are the differing stylistic approaches for each song. "Red" is loud and brassy, "Orange" is sassy ("You take a little yellow / you take a little red / Mix 'em up together and voila! / Orange, oh orange / Orange makes me wanna cha-cha-cha"). "Yellow" is a mellow, bluesy little tune, while "Green" is set to classic country music.
Certainly listing different items of particular colors help drive home the point for each song, but Freeman is also using the colors for jumping off into other stories (a philosophical discussion on blue jeans in "Indigo and Violet," for example). The differing approaches, the use of color to, well, color the songs, they give all the songs life. Interspersed between the songs are friends and musicians reciting the colors of the rainbow in various languages. I don't think there's any thought that kids will actually learn colors in a foreign language, they just subtly drive home the point about colors being all around us in the world. Freeman went to New Orleans to record the album, and she's pulled in contributions from a whole bunch of musicians.
Kids ages 2 through 7 will most derive educational value from the songs. You can hear samples of the songs at the under-30-minute album's CDBaby page.
I mentioned to Laura Freeman recently that Color Wheel Carthweel was a fun little album and she replied, "Well, we had a lot of fun making it." That fun is evident on this excellent little disk. I hesitate to call it an "educational" album, because every album is educational, but also because it unfairly narrows down the prospective audience. This is one of the rare "educational" CDs your family will listen to long after they've mastered the concepts inside. Definitely recommended.
