Review Two-Fer: Papa Crow / Chuck Cheesman

I don't think that Jeff Krebs and Chuck Cheesman are the same person. Having said that, I've never seen the two bearded guitarists in the same place at the same time, and some of the similarities on their new albums leave the question open in my eyes.

The kindie world is very focused on rock and pop and sometimes other genres at the moment, which leaves the folk music that for many years was the backbone of the genre somehat pushed to the background. As a result, these two albums stand out more than they might have ten or twenty years ago.

I've long been a fan of Chuck Cheesman, a former Old Town School of Folk Music Wiggleworms teacher who now lives in the pines of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. His first album for families, A Family Handbook, was a solid record of mostly traditional tunes, and his just-released second kids' album Dancing With No Shoes On is just as solid.

It's an occasionally goofy, occasionally heartfelt, always warm collection of songs. It's folk music that draws no small amount of inspiration from Woody Guthrie (see "Seafood Song" or "A Big Dog Ate My Homework," perhaps). Given his longtime experience playing for kids, he's got a good sense of what kids will respond to, songs like the banjo-aided "Chocolate-Covered Brussels Sprouts" and the bluesy (natch) "Milkstache Blues." It's a mostly upbeat, sunny approach -- something to play in the summer, or maybe a warm Northern Arizona fall. The 35-minute album (which includes 4 songs heard on his first album) is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7; you can hear song clips here.

If Dancing with No Shoes On is a sunny, almost summer-y folk album, Things That Roar, Jeff Krebs' (aka Papa Crow) first album for families is a little more hushed, a Michigan winter to Cheesman's Arizona mountain summer.

Nothing is being reinvented here (OK, maybe the beat loops on "High Up on a String" are a little new), but the 14 originals are put together with care. It's not just a guy and a guitar -- it features (among other things) accordion, banjo, sleigh bells, and a couple nice duet turns by Kerry Yost. Krebs has an appealing voice himself and shows off some nifty guitar and ukulele work on songs like "Polar Bear in a Snowstorm" and "Ukulele." And if "Chicken Lips" doesn't become a minor radio hit, I'll be sorely disappointed. Kids ages 2 through 7 will most appreciate the songs here. You can hear some songs from the 32-minute album at the Papa Crow ReverbNation page.

When I mentioned this as one of my favorite new albums of the fall, I deliberately included Crow along with Dan Zanes, one of his inspirations. Things That Roar is a gentle breath of fresh air, and maybe my desire for cooler weather caused me to prefer that to Dancing With No Shoes On, but they're both fine albums. Chuck Cheesman is one of those artists who, if they were in a larger market, would be much better known; Dancing With No Shoes On is just an excellent collection of new and folk music. And while Papa Crow's got a ways to go to reach the heights of Zanes or Elizabeth Mitchell or Frances England, artists who've inspired him, but Things That Roar is a small delight and fans of those artists will probably find in Papa Crow someone they want to hear more of as well. Both albums are definitely recommended.

Itty-Bitty Review: Sing Along Piano Classics - Beethoven's Wi

While the concept of Richard Perlmutter's Beethoven's Wig is kinda genius -- take famous classical melodies and attach often-funny lyrics to them -- I'd kinda found the past couple entries a little lacking, at least compared to the first couple albums. It was the Die Hard of kids music -- starting out strong, but no longer essential.

Well, John McClane won't head back to theatres for a fifth time until February 2013, but Perlmutter is bringing back his own creation for a fifth time in the recently-released Sing Along Piano Classics. If this new album is any indication, you may want to keep that weekend free for moviegoing because Bruce Willis Richard Perlmutter brings back his "A" game.

As the title suggests, Perlmutter uses famous piano melodies as the basis for his "Weird Al"-like parodies, and many of them hit the mark. "A Piano Is Stuck in the Door" reworks Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" to amusing effect, while "Poor Uncle Joe" appropriately talks about death in Frederic Chopin's Funeral March. A death of a car, but still. Most of the melodies are very familiar, and Perlmutter tweaks that familiarity on that in some cases -- lots of nonsense syllables in his version of W.A. Mozart's Sonata in C Major, or a clucking chicken in "My Little Chicken." And his take on Mozart's "Alla Turca" (unfamiliar name, but a familiar melody), which he calls "Mozart Makes Kids Smart," is slyly sarcastic ("Instantly / kids can be / the Little Einsteins we expect now / Did you know / with more Mozart / there'd be no child left behind?").

Given the occasionally tricky wordplay, the album is most appropriate for kids ages 6 and up. The 45-minute album features both versions with and without the lyrics; you can hear samples here. Ironically, given his gentle mocking of the "Mozart Effect," Sing Along Piano Classics is actually a pretty good introduction to some famous classical melodies, pairing some well-loved (and in some cases, centuries-old) melodies with smart and silly lyrics. It's a lot of fun. Yippee-ki-yay, Mozart-lover. Definitely recommended.

Itty-Bitty Review: Colonel Purple Turtle - Rocknoceros

While DC-area heroes Rocknoceros have the chops to write nothing but hook-filled pop-rock tunes, they've always been interested in taking detours musically -- think back to the meta-song "Trying to Write a Song" from their debut.

On Colonel Purple Turtle, their fourth album, the detours become the journey -- few songs here could be recognized as pure pop-rock candy. Which isn't to say there aren't several catchy hooks -- the hilariously cliche-tastic "Early Worm" is a bit of southern alt-country, while the repeating, driving melody of the title track will stick in your head (repeatedly). It's just that the band would rather explore a wide range of genres (sea shanty, babershop quartet, disco, and jazz, to name a few more) or channel, say, Wilco at its mellowest ("Sprouted") or mid-period Beatles ("Echolocation"). The songs tell the stories of the animals of Soggy Bog, where Colonel Purple Turtle lives. Yes, it's a concept album, but for the most part the concept is loose -- the record's mostly a collection of occasionally fanciful character sketches about animals with personalities. (I've not seen the accompanying book, which may or may not provide your kids with additional context behind the songs.) If this all sounds a bit... weird and disjointed, well, it is. I've listened to it several times, and every time I do I'm struck by how odd the overall impression is. It's a fun -- and continually surprising -- album.

The 47-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. (You can hear samples at your favorite internet retailers, or try YouTube for some live versions.) Colonel Purple Turtle is a big ol' grab-bag of styles and as a result might not be everyone's cup of tea, but Rocknoceros fans should enjoy it (they probably have it already) and I'm pretty sure that everyone will find at least a couple songs that appeal to them. Recommended.

Book Review: Two Books from Kate Endle & Caspar Babypants

A lot of kindie musicians dream of creating their own TV shows.

Most of the rest of them want to become authors.

That works out to varying degrees, of course. Chris Ballew, AKA Caspar Babypants, in addition to being a talented musician (and visual artist), has the good fortune to be married to artist Kate Endle. Togther they have combined to produce two lovely books -- Bunny Rabbit in the Sunlight and My Woodland Wish -- which parents (or kids) wholly unfamiliar with Caspar Babypants or Chris Ballew would be happy to have on the shelf.

In fact, these books owe the majority of their charm not to the words but to Endle's cut-paper artwork, which is simply beautiful. It's a collage but with everything meticulously planned and put just in the right place. (Take a look at that cover -- you'd think that it was entirely hand-drawn until you look closely at those bushes.) Both books are nature-based -- Bunny Rabbit presents a series of animals in different light settngs while My Woodland Wish is an ever-so-slightly more narratively-driven book that follows a girl spying on (and interacting with) various woodland creatures. The books are cute, but not too much so -- they don't over-anthropomorphize the animals (or give them eyes waaaaay out of proportional to the rest of their bodies).

The words/lyrics to the books (created by Ballew alone in the case of Bunny Rabbit; the two of them together for My Woodland Wish) aren't bad, they're just not what keeps me returning to the books. Ballew created Caspar Babypants melodies for the words, and while they don't have the zippy energy that I personally enjoy most about CB songs (nor should they given the subject matter), they definitely create a sense of dream-like wonder like many of his other songs do.

Caspar Babypants - "Bunny Rabbit in the Sunlight" (book preview) [YouTube]

(The video book preview for the other book is at the end of this review.)

The board book Bunny Rabbit in the Sunlight is most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 5; the picture book My Woodland Wish is more appropriate for ages 3 through 7. You can download both books' tracks here.

I should also note that this is not a typical self-published book, which in my experience can look kinda cheap when you hold it in your hand. These are both releases of Sasquatch Books, a regional publisher distributed by Random House; they both look and feel gorgeous and solidly made. You can find the books, therefore, all over the internet (and maybe even your local bookseller); Endle also sells them at her Etsy store.

I've been almost a little scared as to how easily Ballew has made the transition to part-time (bordering on full-time) family musician. There's not a single dud in his Caspar Babypants CD canon, and now he's helped create two wonderful kids' books with Endle. (A third, Augie to Zebra, is due out in May 2012.) Given their success with books, perhaps they should think about TV... Definitely recommended.

Disclosure: I received copies of these two books for possible review.
Caspar Babypants - "My Woodland Wish" (book preview) [YouTube]

Review: Little Nut Tree - Dan Zanes and Friends

I've already reviewed Dan Zanes' latest album for NPR. But there's a lot I can't say in a sub-4-minute review with sound clips, so I thought I'd add a few comments on Little Nut Tree, Zanes' sixth "proper" family album.

First, it's been a long time since Zanes released a "family" album, more than five years. And while Nueva York!, The Welcome Table, and 76 Trombones weren't bad albums -- even the least-satisfying Zanes album is better than 85-90% of family music released in a given year -- they lacked the everything-including-the-kitchen-sink variety of songs that is an important part of Zanes' appeal. It's not the scattershot approach of many kids' albums -- one reggae tune, one hip-hop, one glossy pop -- but rather songs from many traditions, filtered through Zanes' garage-folk lens, which lends his family albums some continuity but keeps the music fresh.
That kitchen sink is back, however, and as a result, longtime DZAF fans who eagerly awaited Little Nut Tree won't be disappointed, and neither will newcomers. Sharon Jones helps get the album off to a great start with In the Basement an R&B tune from the '60s, and although the album takes many detours on its way to its conclusion, it never loses its momentum. While I focused on the big-name guest stars in the NPR review, fans will be heartened by the presence of longtime DZAF associates Father Goose ("Jim Along Josie") and Barbara Brousal ("Saro Jane"). One of my favorite tracks is "John Kanakanaka," a chanty sing-along that would have fit perfectly on Zanes' underrated Sea Music disk from several years ago. Zanes also brings Shawana Kemp, Shine from Shine and the Moonbeams whose album Zanes releasing in 2012, on board to sing the soulful "Wake Up Baby!."

Now, did you know that you can get this album 3 different ways? Sure, you can buy the physical copy (yes, Donald Saaf has done another board book album package), but there are 3 different mp3 versions of the album. You can get the basic 16-track album at DZ's store, but you can also buy differing 17-track versions at iTunes and Amazon. At the moment, all three mp3 versions are under $9, so the question becomes whether the bonus tracks are worth splurging for. Of the two, I prefer "Friends," which is an uptempo song featuring Zanes and Sonia De Los Santos, a Hammond B3 organ, and more than a whiff of "Wonder Wheel." Unfortunately, it's the song on the Amazon mp3 version and is album-only. iTunes' bonus track is "Going Down To Tampa" is a country blues tune that sounds more like a solo tune (though there is some light accompaniment). It's not a bad song, and if I had to pick just one, I'd pick "Friends," but this track is available separately, so you can indeed have your cake and eat it too.

Like all Zanes albums, the idea that there's a preferred age range for Little Nut Tree is sort of ridiculous, but kids ages 3 and up will probably appreciate it more. You can hear three songs from the 48-minute album at the NPR review above or download "Wake Up Baby!" for free here.

So, it was worth the wait, friends. I'm not sure yet if Little Nut Tree is his Zanes' best album -- there's a reason why his Grammy for Catch That Train! was well-deserved -- but without a doubt it deserves to be part of that conversation. It's a joyful album meant for listening and dancing and singing along to -- in other words, a classic Dan Zanes album and one of the best kids music albums of the year. Highly recommended.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the album for possible review.