Review: Curious George Soundtrack - Jack Johnson

I've never been a big Jack Johnson fan. Didn't dislike him, but just found his folky-guitar-based music too... languid for my tastes. As a result, I didn't necessarily have high hopes for his work on the soundtrack to the movie Curious George.

I needn't have worried. The Curious George soundtrack is a solid album of (mostly) children's music that appealed to me and will appeal to the kids.

The songs most likely to be enjoyed by adults and kids simultaneously are the ones where the band shakes off its (to put a negative spin on it) lethargy and really gets moving. The "3 R's," which rewrites "3 Is A Magic Number" into a celebration of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," is a full-out jam that is destined to become a classic children's song recording. "Jungle Gym" and "Upside Down" are a couple other songs that move briskly and entertainingly. (The cover of the White Stripes' "We're Going To Be Friends," like the movie itself, polishes off the sharper edges of the source material. It's OK, but not revelatory.)

Johnson had to walk a fine line between entertaining his adult fans and engaging the young viewers and listeners. When Johnson throws his adult listeners under the bus to focus on the kids, he's written some great children's songs. "The 3R's" and "The Sharing Song" are superb examples of this. On other tracks such as "Upside Down" and "People Watching," Johnson neatly straddles that child/adult line with lyrics that can be read on multiple levels. (And, indeed, "Upside Down" is getting played on all kinds of different stations.)

Where the album fails slightly as an album is with the slower, more wistful tracks. "Wrong Turn" is a lovely song, and in the movie itself, it works quite nicely. But lyrics like "And I would like you to know / Although it seems sad to say / This was only the worst hour of my day" do seem a bit heavy for the youngest kids. A couple other tracks fall into this category.

Reading back on this review, the tone is a bit harsher than my overall feelings about the album. It's a good album with a few great kids' songs, and unless you dislike Jack Johnson's music, you're going to like this album. It's best for kids 3 through 7 and it's available darn near everywhere.

And as for your kids, well, if they're anything like my daughter, they'll say, upon first listen of the CD at home, "Hey, that's the Curious George music!" When I asked if she remembered it from the movie, she said, "No, we heard that at preschool!" I have a feeling her classroom isn't the only one with a copy...

Review: Wiggleworms Love You - Old Town School of Folk Music

In the mid-80s, the writer/director John Hughes produced Pretty in Pink, in which the less-than-upper-middle-class main character (played by Molly Ringwald, natch) has to decide romantically between her best friend Ducky and a boy from the "right side of the tracks." To many viewers' great chagrin -- how could you not pick Ducky! -- she picks the golden boy. A few years later, Hughes basically rewrote Pink as Some Kind of Wonderful and reversed the ending, with the main character picking his from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks best friend as his romantic partner. It's a much more satisfying ending.

What does this have to do with Wiggleworms Love You, the 2005 album from the Old Town School of Folk Music. OK, aside from the fact that both Hughes and the Old Town School are associated with Chicago. Well, this new album is sort of like the "golden boy" character with all the advantages compared to the poor original, Songs For Wiggleworms. The first album sounded like it was recorded in an actual Old Town classroom, with time constraints reminiscent of parent-teacher conferences. ("I'm sorry, it's 6:45, it's time for the Sweeneys.") Very few of the songs had anything more than voice and acoustic guitar.

This new album is greatly expanded sonically. It sounds much better, and the instrumentation is, on some tracks, surprisingly full. Percussion, bass, stringed instruments of all kinds (banjo, mandolin, fiddle) -- heck, there's an accordion on seven tracks. It sounds much more like a "folk music" album. (All of this may be the result of the fact that an honest-to-goodness record company, Bloodshot Records, released the CD.)

So why wouldn't you want this CD? Well, you would... if you already had Songs For Wiggleworms. The problem is that they already got most of the great tunes on the first CD. There are fewer of the great "oh, I'm gonna sing that to my young'uns" songs. There are maybe 12-15 songs that meet that criteria on the CD, or about 1/3 of the 42 songs on the album. The other songs are obscure to varying degrees, usually dependent on how familiar you are with the early Raffi oeuvre. (I can't believe I just used the phrase "Raffi oeuvre.") That's not to say that there aren't some great tracks on the album -- "If I Was a Bird," the meta-rave-up "Mama Don't Allow," and the tailfeather-shaking "Looby Loo" are three standouts. But unlike the first CD, on which the listener could sing virtually every song, many without the CD, this CD may be great to listen to but isn't necessarily as user-friendly for taking that out into the daily world with your child.

This sounds like a mixed review, but it's really not. It's just that I think the first album's ragged charm is just so perfect for its intended use that this more polished sequel slightly disappoints. If you already have Songs, I recommend Wiggleworms Love You wholeheartedly. If you don't, I think the first album is the better starting point. The CD is for children aged 0 through 6 and is available through the links above, plus the usual online suspects.

Review: Baloney Cake - Uncle Moondog

Baloney Cake (2005) is the second album from Uncle Moondog, the animated alter ego of California-based musician Mike McManus. Those of you hoping for the hard edge of another animated band, the Gorillaz, will be disappointed. Moondog is, er, a dog with a bunch of (mostly animal) friends with a vocal style that reminds me most of Wolfman Jack.

The album consists of a wide range of children's pop with a particular predilection for beach-related melodies and lyrics ("In Hawaii," "Surfin' School"). Now, I can't say I was super-enthused by the album. Some of that is because I didn't like the Moondog voice, which I realize is a personal choice -- others may think it's cool. Some of that is because I really didn't like "Baloney Cake," which is exactly about what the title says it's about and makes me a wee bit nauseous thinking about it. And one of Moondog's friends has a high-pitched electronic voice that drives me nuts.

What's good about the CD? Well, it's produced well, and when it stays away from cheesy kids' music touches (whah, whah, whah, WHAH) the songs have a certain appeal. The melodies are usually appealing. And McManus has a sly sense of humor. For example, in "Baloney Cake" he realizes that it is kind of a disgusting concept, and the song addresses that thought. (As does an aside in "Surfin' School.) And in "The Walrus Waltz," he not only rhymes "waltz" with "small-tz," he notes the silliness of doing so. (I'm also pretty sure that "Elvis" makes an appearance.) There's enough there that I'd like to see McManus give it a go without the Uncle Moondog alter ego -- I'd probably enjoy it more.

While I'm not a huge fan of the album, those who like Beach Boys-like melodies or want a coastal-themed album (and can handle people singing in a style different than a "normal" singing voice) may want to give it a shot. It's probably best for kids aged 3 through 6. It's available through his website. (Too bad there's nothing as catchy as the Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc.")

Review: The Corner Grocery Store - Raffi

I think with kids' artists there's no such thing as a sophomore slump. There are plenty of artists whose second albums were just as good, if not better, than their kids' debuts. But something happens on album #3 -- delusions of grandeur, perhaps, or just boredom with the formulas -- it's good, but not as good as album #s 1 and 2. Victims of the slump include Ralph's World, Laurie Berkner, and, well, Raffi.

Don't get me wrong, The Corner Grocery Store, Raffi's 1979 album, is pretty good. It has some nice renditions of some traditional songs, including "Frere Jacques" and a very simple but pretty "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." For the most part, the instrumentation consists of the fairly simple arrangements of piano, guitar, and occasional backing band found on his first two CDs.

But there's something missing overall. Perhaps it's the lack of a really good Raffi original, like "Peanut Butter Sandwich" or "Oh Me Oh My." Perhaps it's "Anansi," which jettisons all the simple arrangements for something approaching cheesy instrumentation. I don't know. It's hard for me to put a finger on, but the whole thing just isn't quite as appealing to me. Still, for those you thinking that covering Leadbelly or Huddie Ledbetter or Woody Guthrie on children's music albums is a newfound trend, Raffi did them all (Ledbetter twice) on this CD. (He does add lyrics to some of them, so perhaps it's not quite so adventurous.)

The album is best for children ages 2 through 6. I recommend the CD, though not as highly as Singable Songs For The Very Young or More Singable Songs. You can find the three CDs packaged together (slightly cheaper) as The Singable Songs Collection. Available at the usual suspects.

Review: The Great Green Squishy Mean Concert CD - Monty Harper

"Don't judge a book by its cover," goes an adage I tend to ignore when it comes to CDs. The aura of competence regarding album covers and inserts is often an indication of the competence of the music and production itself, particularly in children's music.

So this CD, with its cover picture a giant mouth that brings nothing to mind more than, "Let There Be Lips!" (that's a Rocky Horror Picture Show reference there, folks), worried me.

Thankfully, in this case, the old adage is actually true. Monty Harper's 2005 album, The Great Green Squishy Mean Concert CD, is a fun and occasionally funny album. (It certainly exceeded my cover-based expectations.) For his fourth CD, the Oklahoma-based Harper recorded three concerts with his "Thrice Upon a Time Band" in front audiences of kids and parents. The concept brings a couple strengths to the CD: 1) the full band (guitars, bass, drums) sounds really good, and 2) the audience participation songs have an audience to participate. Both make the CD very lively.

Harper writes straight-ahead rock (think "classic rock") tunes with a sense of humor and an occasional tendency toward "educational" lyrics. My favorite songs on the CD are the two songs leading off the album, "Loose Tooth," a cute pop-rocker about, er, a loose tooth, and "The Great Green Squishy Mean Bibliovore," with crunchy guitars (and lead character). While I tend to prefer his more story-based songs (like the two above), his "educational" songs aren't bad either -- young kids will probably eat up (pun mostly intended) "You're a Dinosaur," which introduces a whole bunch of dinosaurs in song. (It's one of 5 reptile/dinosaur songs on the CD, so if that's your child's thing, definitely check it out. I'm pretty sure it's the only album in the world with two songs about horned toads.)

The CD also comes with some CD-ROM bonuses -- I did like the two healthy-eating-based songs, "I Go Bananas," and "Gimme Vegetables," the latter of which had a very '80s synth-pop texture wholly unlike the concert itself. (Both are fun -- if Harper ever releases a B-sides/rarities disk, these seem like perfect candidates. Because I don't think I'm ever actually going to listen to the CD at the computer....)

I'd recommend the CD for kids aged 4 through 9. You can find it through the usual suspects (artist's website, CDBaby, Amazon, with samples available at the latter two). If you're looking for a CD of rockin' kids songs, check it out.