Review: Whaddaya Think Of That? - Laurie Berkner

Of all the well-known children's music artists currently recording, Laurie Berkner has made the most effort to rescue toddler/pre-school songs from the detritus of many years of neglect. She does this in two ways:
1) She has fun singing kids' classics.
2) She records new songs actually aimed at toddlers.

Berkner's first CD, Whaddaya Think Of That? shows her strengths in both types of recordings. This CD doesn't have many "cover versions," though her renditions of the "Alphabet Song" and (especially) "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" are lively and joyful, with just enough "something new" to make the tired songs fresh. Her rendition of the classic "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is also lots of fun. She makes these songs fresh and fun even though she's rarely accompanied by more than a guitar and (sometimes) piano.

But more than most kids' artists, Berkner writes songs for toddlers and pre-schoolers without many concessions to adults. Even the song most likely to draw a smile from parents ("Doodlebugs," for reasons that I'll not reveal here for fear of ruining the surprise) works perfectly for the kids. Unlike many songs that encourage participation but which are bland on record, Berkner's songs such as "What Falls In the Fall?" and "These Are My Glasses" work fine even if you're just listening. And "We Are the Dinosaurs" is an instant kids' classic, if there can be such a thing. Indeed, one of the strengths of Berkner's work for younger kids is that the songs are simple enough that parents (and kids) can sing them later on, when the CD isn't playing.

There isn't much difference between this CD and Berkner's follow-up Buzz Buzz. Whaddaya is perhaps a little more limited in instrumentation, but not by much. Basically, if you like one of the CDs, you'll like the other. (And I recommend them both.) The CD is targeted mostly at kids between the ages of 2 and 6. You can buy Berkner's CDs at her own label, Two Tomatoes, or online or in finer book- or children's stores.

Review: Family Dance - Dan Zanes

Family Dance is billed as being by "Dan Zanes and Friends." By inserting the "and Friends" part in there, the listener gets the impression that he or she, too, could gather their own friends round the piano in the living room, drag in a small amp and guitar, and record a really hip version of, say, "Skip To My Lou."

That listener, of course, would be completely and utterly wrong.

The reason they would be wrong is that Dan Zanes has a whole bunch of really talented friends who can actually sing and play their instruments. On Family Dance, for example, Rosanne Cash turns in a nice duet with Zanes on the obscure (for me) kids' song "Fooba Wooba John," Loudon Wainright III helps in a raucous version of "All Around the Kitchen," and Sandra Bernhard "sings" (sort of) on a Dan Zanes original, "Thrift Shop." The less famous of Zanes' friends are no less talented -- Barbara Brousal sings one of her songs, "Malti," while Rankin' Don puts some life into those most tired of kids' songs "The Hokey Pokey" and, yes, "Skip To My Lou."

There's not much difference between this album and, say, Zanes' later House Party. The later album is perhaps ever so slightly more diverse (there's not much bluegrass in Family Dance), but however you felt about House Party, you'll likely feel the same way about Family Dance. It draws from the same well of kids' classics, American songbook classics, some foreign nuggets, and a few solid Zanes originals.

The CD is appropriate for, well, just about anybody. Kids age 3 and older might appreciate it more, but more than any other kids' artist out there right now, Zanes is a practitioner of "family music," meant for the whole family. Available from Zanes' own label, Festival Five, or finer online and bookstore vendors. Definitely recommended.

(And Zanes would definitely recommend that you get your family and friends together to sing and play music -- it's one of his attitudes that I find most refreshing. But hold off pressing that CD, OK?)

Review: At the Bottom of the Sea - Ralph's World

With his first, self-titled Ralph's World album, Ralph Covert immediately set the standard for 21st century kids' music -- musically diverse and lyrically targeted at kids while winking at their parents.

It is not a criticism of his second kids' album, At the Bottom of the Sea, to say that it's just like the first CD, only more so. At the Bottom of the Sea is even more musically diverse than Ralph’s World, from the country stylings of “Honey for the Bears” to the faux-Beach Boys sound of “Surfin’ in My Imagination” to the pirate chanty “What Can You Do with Your Baby Brother?” The parents will probably bob their heads happily during the “Banana Splits” theme song; my wife especially appreciates “The Coffee Song,” which obviously bears the imprint of having been created waaay too early one morning (a wild guess on my part which Covert has confirmed in subsequent interviews). Even his rendition of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" has enough subtle humor to keep the parents amused while maintaining a simplistic approach to the song that will hold the attention of the very youngest.

Given that Covert’s daughter is probably a couple years older than when he wrote the songs on Ralph’s World, the songs on this album are targeted mostly at kids between 3 and 8. Covert's popularity means that if any non-Disney CD is to be found at a Best Buy, it's his; otherwise, the usual online suspects are the place to go.

If you liked Covert's other Ralph's World CDs, you'll like this one. Recommended.

Review: Buzz Buzz - Laurie Berkner

The simplest kids' songs are sometimes the most effective -- Old McDonald's farm is not all that complex of an environment, yet it's a rare toddler or even pre-schooler who isn't somewhat amused by the song, particularly if it's delivered with gusto.

The best songs on Laurie Berkner's Buzz Buzz exemplify that truth. My all-time Berkner favorite, "Pig on Her Head," is about Berkner's family, who has a whole menagerie of animals on their noggins. (Heck, it's the sequel to "Old McDonald Had a Farm!") "I Really Love to Dance" is about a young kid who tries lots of different things but keeps coming back to dancing. Those originals are lots of fun. The covers are also performed with fun arrangements, such as the guitar, bass, piano, and kazoo used to provide a jaunty "I've Been Working on the Railroad." And her version of "There's A Little Wheel A-Turning In My Heart" uses the whole "change-one-thing-in-each-verse" to great effect.

Slightly less successful for me were longer songs that I think are more clearly designed for an interactive performance (e.g., "The Pretzel Store," "Lots of Little Pigs"). They're longer, so they're not quite as good if you (and your kids) are listening to the CD in the car. But if you're at home, and can convince your kids to act along, they'd be cute.

This is a fun, (mostly) upbeat CD and is recommended for children aged 2 to 6 years.

Berkner's CDs are available at her website, Two Tomatoes or all the finer book- and music stores.

Review: All Wound Up! - Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer with Brave Combo

Parents are familiar with serendipitous combinations -- peanut butter and jelly, Bert and Ernie, diapers and the Diaper Genie.

But some combinations aren't nearly as obvious.

Brave Combo is Texas band that plays polka (among other things) and Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer have been making kids music for 20 years. You wouldn't necessarily think that they would be making music together, but in All Wound Up!they have made one energetic album that should get your child dancing. (Warning: The Surgeon General has recommended that you do not play this album right before bedtime.)

The songs are lots of fun and cover a broad range of styles, helpfully listed in the liner notes. Some songs are Fink & Marxer originals -- "I Will Never Clean Up My Room" is an amusing tale of one child whose recalcitrance pays off in interesting ways. Some songs are hearty renditions of public domain and traditional songs (including, yes, "De Colores," which makes this literally the 5th or 6th version on our CD shelf). Ironically, the favorite song of mine and my daughter is the one Brave Combo-penned song, "Spaghetti," and enthusiastic tribute to restaurant pasta that ends with three or four overlapping musical lines. As with any good music, you can play either of these albums for kids of all ages, but kids from 4 to 8 years of age would probably appreciate them best. The record is on the Rounder label, available in the usual online suspects and in the "real world."