CD Review: Brian Vogan and His Good Buddies, “Sing a Little Song”
Brian Vogan’s first CD, 2008′s Little Songs, has been one of my daughter’s favorites since it was released, so you can imagine the level of anticipation surrounding the arrival of his second album, Sing a Little Song. And taking the disc out of the envelope underscored one of the cool fringe benefits of this whole writing-about-kid’s-music thing — when Little Songs came out, Sophie was singing along to Vogan’s “Animal ABCs”; this time around, she read his name off the front cover. It was a special moment. How could the music help but be overshadowed?
Only by being awesome — and I’m happy to report that Sing a Little Song is just that. The album is credited to Brian Vogan and His Good Buddies, and the songs reflect that friendly, expansive spirit; where the first album was a low-key, homespun-sounding affair, this has more of a band feel. And you can hear why Vogan adjusted his approach this time out; he’s beefed up his arrangements, and the songs really benefit from the added layers.
What hasn’t changed is that Vogan’s songs are catchy as all get out — and unlike a lot of performers in the genre, he doesn’t do any annoying play-acting with his voice, displaying a refreshing level of trust in his music to speak for itself (and his audience to really listen). The album opens with the lovely “How to Fly,” a duet with Visqueen frontwoman Rachel Flotard, and from the opening bars to the closing chords, Sing a Little Song reflects Vogan’s quirky, down-to-earth perspective. He does touch on his share of oft-covered kids’ music topics (crossing the street, washing your hands, space, dinosaurs, trucks), but he puts his own unique spin on them, and he also makes room for stuff you’re not liable to hear anywhere else — like “27,” for instance. (It’s a song about counting to the number 27.)
My personal favorites are “How to Fly,” the instantly hummable title track, and the hard-rocking “Wash Your Hands,” but the whole album is impressively solid. This has been a really solid year for children’s music, and Sing a Little Song is one of my favorite 2010 releases so far. Listen to the samples at CD Baby and see if you don’t agree.
CD Review: Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band, “Play!”
What comes to mind when you think of the ukulele? If you’re a member of my generation (or older), you probably think of Don Ho or his many cheesy, Hawaiian-shirted imitators — but the uke is so much more than “Tiny Bubbles” on The Lawrence Welk Show, and Heidi Swedberg is doing her part to demonstrate just how family-friendly ukulele music can be.
Play! offers up 15 tracks, most of them from the public domain (examples include “Froggie Went a-Courtin’” and “Pop Goes the Weasel”), with few production frills and plenty of silly charm. It’s a conscious throwback to the days of family parlor music — as Swedberg writes in the liner notes, listeners should “Tune up and learn one, two or three chords. Play!” And if you’re a little intimidated by the prospect of sitting down and learning to play “Kookaburra” or “My Dog Has Fleas,” don’t worry — she’s included tabs in the booklet. Unlike the many albums engineered to make your kids beg for Backyardigans dolls or Dora backpacks, here’s a collection that challenges you to make your own joyful noise. How refreshing is that?
And okay, so you probably aren’t going to shut off the TV and start a family band right away. But even if listening to Play! doesn’t inspire you to buy a ukulele for every member of your family, it’s still an awful lot of fun — Heidi Swedberg is an immensely appealing performer, and she has a lot of fun with her song selections, whether she’s crooning the “Japanese Umbrella Song” or lending a little pineapple flair (and singing saw) to “Dream a Little Dream.” For mellow afternoons, dancing in the kitchen with your kids, or family band practice, Play! backs up the cheerful demand imposed by its title. More, please.
CD Review: Oran Etkin, “Wake Up, Clarinet!”
Toots Thielemans once joked that when you mix jazz with anything else, you often end up with nothing. He was defending his decision to mix jazz with Brazilian music for his first Brasil Project album, so his point was ultimately that good jazz doesn’t have to be pure, but you get the idea — and if you’ve ever listened to a Kenny G or Dave Koz record, you probably agree that jazz generally doesn’t benefit from being blended or watered down.
Rules are made for exceptions, however, and here’s a fine one: Oran Etkin’s Wake Up, Clarinet!, which offers a delightfully breezy 22-minute course in basic jazz for the younger set.
Dedicated to, in his own words, helping kids “develop a rich musical vocabulary and creativity,” Etkin teaches the Timbalooloo Method, using games and stories to help teach music theory. Judging from Wake Up, Clarinet!, it’s a class I’d like to join. Unlike a lot of “____ for kids” projects, it doesn’t waste time with cutesy sleight of hand; these nine tracks (three intros and six musical numbers, running from 2:24 to 4:29) are simple, but they brim with an obvious, infectious joy. Not to mention solid musicianship: the small combo Etkin leads here (on clarinet and sax, natch) includes Jason Marsalis on drums, Fabian Almazan on piano, Garth Stevenson on bass, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, and vocalist Charenee Wade, who serves as Etkin’s foil throughout. (You can watch Etkin perform three songs by putting the enhanced CD in your computer, too.)
It’s worth mentioning that the concepts Wake Up, Clarinet! addresses are decidedly basic — high notes and low notes, that sort of thing — but Etkin does such a fine job of incorporating those themes into the performances that it never feels like he’s talking down to the listener. These are just bite-sized songs, steeped in jazz, and bursting with a wonderful energy. Whether or not you think you care about jazz, this is a Wake Up that should strike a chord with music-loving families everywhere.
CD Review: Various Artists, “Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti”
You wouldn’t be visiting Dadnabbit if you weren’t looking for quality entertainment that your whole family can enjoy.
What if you could have it — lots of it — and support a worthy cause in the bargain?
That’s the idea behind Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti, the debut offering from Bill Childs‘ Spare the Rock Records, and it works splendidly. The track listing boasts a virtual Who’s Who of the best and brightest in kindie, including Recess Monkey, Elizabeth Mitchell, Gustafer Yellowgold, Dan Zanes, and Uncle Rock — and almost all of the songs are previously unreleased. The set was produced by Dean Jones of Dog on Fleas, who helped round up the artists (including Pete Seeger, recorded in a single take in his living room) and contributed a pair of tracks (Dog on Fleas’ lovely “Sing About the Sun” and the quirky, irresistible Jones solo cut “Little by Little”).
If you’re familiar with Bill’s work, or any of the artists I named above, you know what to expect from Many Hands — it includes its share of boisterous, candy-colored tracks (like They Might Be Giants’ “My Name Is Kingof Socks”), but this crew is fighting the good fight; where they go, smart, honest kids’ music is sure to follow, and most of it is stripped down to its bare essentials. There’s no artifice here, no pandering to children, no teeth-grindingly cute arrangements or lyrics. Just family entertainment, in the truest sense — beautifully recorded by a family of artists, to benefit families half a world away.
More about that worthy cause: Proceeds from Many Hands go to the Haitian People’s Support Project, where they’re working hard to repair the devastation of the January earthquake. It’s a crisis too great for one charity — or one great CD — to solve, but you can help by picking up a copy of the album and explaining the story behind it to your kids. And if you’re lucky enough to live within driving distance, you can attend one of the Many Hands concerts scheduled for the fall.
(While it wasn’t an official Many Hands show, Dadnabbit was lucky enough to play a part in bringing Dog on Fleas to our rural corner of New Hampshire recently. Pictures here.)
The more time I spend with kids’ entertainment, the less patience I have for movies or music that waste energy condescending to their audience. Kids are just like us — they respond to things that make them feel, that treat them with respect, and that trust their intelligence. The artists who contributed their time and talent to this project understand this, and that’s what makes it such a beautiful, valuable listen. If you buy only one CD for your family this year, make it Many Hands.
CD Review: Pete Seeger, “Tomorrow’s Children”
Even during his younger days, Pete Seeger was something of an ambivalent recording artist. He feared that the more he sang on record, the less likely people would be to join in and sing along; foreign as it might seem in this age of tabloid-reported indiscretions and phony social media friendships, Seeger never desired celebrity. He’s really always worked to build a creative relationship with his audience, and he’s always stressed the power of participation — in family, in community, and in the arts.
Now 91, Seeger isn’t the vocalist he used to be, but he’s only used this as an excuse to further embrace the group performances he’s always encouraged; his Appleseed Recordings tenure has included a number of collaborations, and that trend continues with the delightful Tomorrow’s Children. Read the rest of this entry
CD Review: The Okee Dokee Brothers, “Take It Outside”
Following the tradition established by albums like Jerry Garcia and David Grisman’s Not for Kids Only, the Okee Dokee Brothers blow the dust off traditional bluegrass and highlight its playful spirit, offering kids a knee-high gateway into the world of American roots music.
Of course, it isn’t like trad bluegrass is particularly hard for all-ages audiences to enjoy, but that’s no reason to complain about Take It Outside, the Okee Dokees’ follow-up to their 2008 debut, Kids with Beards. Anything that connects kids with the primordial joy of song is all right in my book, and Outside represents an assured next step in the duo’s self-proclaimed “mission to remind children (and adults) of their intrinsic ability to discover, imagine, and create through music.”
For proof that the Okee Dokee Brothers know what they’re doing, you don’t have to look much further than the company they keep — Take It Outside was produced by Tor Hyams and features liner note endorsements by preeminent kindie critics Bill Childs, Christina Refford, and Stefan Shepherd, all of whom know a thing or two about great family entertainment. And it isn’t hard to hear why they’re Okee Dokees fans: This a 13-track bundle of fun, cleverly written bluegrass, recorded with a minimum of fuss and bother, and soaked in kid-friendly charm. Read the rest of this entry
DVD/CD Review: The Dirty Sock Funtime Band, “Sock-A-Delic”
If you’ve spent any time at all watching the Noggin network (apologies, corporate rebranders, I mean Nick Jr.), you’re familiar with the Dirty Sock Funtime Band, even if you don’t realize it. Like Laurie Berkner, the DSFB pops up in the interstitial music videos that the station runs in lieu of commercials, particularly during episodes of Jack’s Big Music Show — and like Berkner, they’re squarely on the sugary, high-energy end of the kids’ music spectrum.
Now, those of you who have been reading this site for awhile may remember that Laurie Berkner is one of my main musical nemeses — there’s just something about the way she’s always bouncing around with that smile on her face that bugs me — so I’m naturally predisposed to dislike any band that includes a pink-wigged man and a lead singer who looks like a tiny, hyperactive, Jew-froed Steven Tyler. And to be perfectly honest right up front, I sincerely doubt I’d ever watch or listen to the Dirty Sock Funtime Band on my own; for me, listening to this type of music is like eating frosting. A little goes a long, long way. Read the rest of this entry
CD Review: Roy Handy and the Moonshot, “(I’m Gonna Be) Your Best Friend”
I had a high school English teacher who allowed us one exclamation point per semester. It struck me as an unusual rule at the time, but I’ve come to appreciate its wisdom, so song titles like “I Am a Dog!!!,” “That’s a Great Idea!!!,” and “Blanket!!!” — along with hand-drawn artwork that might make you wonder whether the CD duplication plant accidentally scanned the wrong side of the booklet — made me instantly suspicious of Roy Handy and the Moonshot’s debut album, the optimistically titled (I’m Gonna Be) Your Best Friend.
My trepidation didn’t last long, however, melting in the face of the album’s sunny blend of crunchy guitars, toe-tapping beats, catchy melodies, and funny lyrics. It’s definitely a homebrewed affair, but Roy Handy (otherwise known as Gerry Stanek) keeps things lo-fi without sounding amateurish. It’s an interesting sound for a kids’ record, and it puts the “indie” in “kindie” more than anything I’ve heard in quite awhile; it could function as sort of a gateway drug for the alt-rockers of tomorrow.
Best Friend does have its skippable moments, such as the irritating “Space Kitty!!!,” but on the whole, this is a fun, consistently entertaining record that works its way past your defenses with all the confidence of its title. It may not be your best friend, but you should definitely make its acquaintance.
CD Review: Justin Roberts, “Jungle Gym”
If you’re already familiar with Justin Roberts and are just wondering if his latest release is as good as his others — or if you’re simply the kind of person who likes skipping to the “star rating” portion of the review — I’ll make things easy for you right up front: Roberts is awesome, and so is his new album, Jungle Gym. Pre-order it now.
Now I’ll get a little more in-depth as to just exactly why Justin Roberts is so awesome, and why, if you’re the type of parent who loves music and would like to pass that along to your kids, you need to add his music to your family playlist.
In pure songwriting terms, Roberts outclasses most of the “grown-up” artists I listen to on a daily basis. Like any other kids’ performer, he understands how to address youth-oriented themes, and he does it really well — more on that in a minute. But compositionally, Roberts is in a league of his own, both from a nuts-and-bolts music theory standpoint and from a kitchen-sink production/arrangements standpoint. He loads his songs with the kinds of smart changes that make dyed-in-the-wool pop fans smile, and he’s got a terrific secret weapon in his producer, Liam Davis, a guy who knows how to stuff Roberts’ tracks with everything from French horns to fat stacks of backing vocals without overwhelming Roberts (or the listener). Justin Roberts’ records are pure ear candy; if you could look in the dictionary under “music everyone in the family really, truly, honestly can enjoy,” you’d see a picture of his earnest smile. Read the rest of this entry
CD Review: Recess Monkey, “The Final Funktier”
The Final Funktier sounds like it should be the title of a Star Trek sequel starring Bootsy Collins, but it’s really the name of the latest opus from Recess Monkey, the Seattle-based kindie kingpins who have been breaking new ground for family music since releasing their 2005 debut. Each of the Monkey’s previous five releases were stuffed with thematic and stylistic adventures, from Aminal House to Tabby Road to last year’s Field Trip, but the band has outdone itself with The Final Funktier, which collects an impressive cast of special guests (including Tor Hyams, Chris Wiser of the Sugar Free Allstars, and members of the Gustafer Yellowgold family) for a space dance party. With lots of slap bass. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? It is. Read the rest of this entry
