CD Review: Dean Jones, “Rock Paper Scissors”

Dec 21, 09 • In Music

Man oh man oh man. Why can’t they all be this good? Not only my favorite kids’ album of the year but one of my favorite releases period, Dean Jones’ stellar Rock Paper Scissors is everything children’s music should be: A wonderfully easy-to-listen-to collection of songs that, while childlike in their lyrical simplicity and musical exuberance, still hum with a wild and woolly grown-up rock ‘n’ roll spirit. It’s one long, joyful noise, this album is, and having spent enough time with it to allow the initial euphoric rush of hearing it to wear off, I can safely say it’s my favorite kids’ record ever. A big part of this has to do with Jones’ choice of backing musicians. At his day gig, Jones is a member of the highly regarded kindie outfit Dog on