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.

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.

Itty-Bitty Review: Practically Ridiculous - The Jimmies

Somebody just go ahead and give Ashley Albert her own TV show already. In fact, she has indeed been looking for a show, and why anyone as talented as Albert (and as willing to send photos of her wearing a fake mustache as her press shot) isn't yet somewhere on live-action TV is a little mystifying to me. But for now Albert -- kindie's Lucille Ball -- is content to rock out with The Jimmies. On the Jimmies' long-in-the-recording second album, the recently-released Practically Ridiculous, Albert continues the formula for success that made their debut CD Make Your Own Someday so winning: channeling one's inner eight-year-old attitude while marshaling top-notch pop-rock music production as backup for said thoughts.

Stylistically, sartorially, and practically (she's the one constant Jimmie at this point and the songs are all hers), Albert is kindie rock's Gwen Stefani, and on Practically Ridiculous, she polishes most songs to a glitzy pop-rock shine. You can practically smell the hairspray through the iPod on some of the songs, like the blitzing "Birthday," whereas songs like "Minivan Hotrod" or "Career Day" sound like the beats and the AutoTune were stolen from another, much less funny track.

And, really, it's bringing the funny that separates the Jimmies from a lot of other kids' acts. It's one thing to be excited about getting a pet ("Gonna Get a Hamster"), it's another thing entirely to really sell the enthusiasm when Albert as the song's narrator finds out that the hamster won't necessarily do everything she thought ("I'M... STILL... gonna get a hamster..."). This is where her years of experience doing voiceover work comes in handy. "The Hook" is a meta-song, the spiritual sequel to "What's That Sound?" from the first album, that explains pop song construction. (And while I'm emphasizing the humor here, the best track is probably the mostly serious "Bonfire," which mixes a little country-rock with a little self-empowerment.)

The album's most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9; you can hear clips of the album wherever it's (electronically) sold. Practically Ridiculous doesn't veer much from the formula from the Jimmies' debut, but why should it when that one worked out so well? This one does, too, TV's (temporary?) loss is kindie's (continued) gain. Definitely recommended.

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

Review Four-fer: Hullabaloo, Alphabeticians, Mister G, Monty Harper

As you would probably expect, I get many more disks than I could possibly have time to review (unless somebody decides that they want to nominate me for a MacArthur Fellowship). Given my time constraints, there are many reasons why I don't review an album, including it stinks or I can't figure out what to say about it. But there are a number of decent albums with a particular point of view that don't get reviewed in a timely manner just because life goes on. Here, then, are four albums, each with a different approach to the genre -- your family is likely to dig at least one of them.

San Diego-area musician Steve Denyes is a prolific songwriter (see here for a side project of mine he originated), cranking out a Hullabaloo album at least once a year. His latest record Road Trip tackles the theme of, well, car travel (natch), with thirteen tracks covering the experience (truckers' horns, traffic jams, the unfortunate demise of bugs on the windshield). The opening title track is a fun country-rocker, while the rest of songs take a slightly mellower, folkier, Johnny Cash-ier approach. (You can stream the album here.) The album is most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 7. In one sitting, the songs begin to run together, but there are a lot of songs here that would work well in a mixtape for your next trip. Recommended for: your next trip to Grandma's house, your afternoon errand-run.

Moving up the coast to Portland we find The Alphabeticians, a duo consisting of Eric Levine and Jeff Inlay, AKA Mr. E. and Mr. Hoo, which gives you a little sense of the goofiness that this duo trades in on their formal debut Rock. A little bit of the Pixies and R.E.M. (literally, in the case of the song "Eric Saw Peter Buck's Girlfriend and Then He Saw Peter Buck"), with a healthy dose of They Might Be Giants, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Schoolhouse Rock mixed in. It could use a little more polish production-wise in spots, but there are some great songs in there (I recommend giving "Metaphor" and "Monkey on my Shirt" a spin at the album's streaming page.) The album's most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 8. Recommended for: the sassy younger kids on TV sitcoms, families who have at least one TMBG album (kids' or adult's) around the house, kids who want lots of alphabet practice.
Rather than the more narrow stylistic approaches of Hullabaloo and the Alphabeticians, on his second album Bugs, Massachusetts-based Mister G (AKA Ben Gundersheimer) tackles a broader range of styles, including not a few tunes with some "world music" influence (e.g., "Grilled Cheese" is an ode to the sandwich set to a ska beat). It's a slick set of tracks that, save for the topics and lyrics (very much for the second grader in your life), in many cases (e.g., "Friends" or "Snow Day") would sound appropriate on your local AAA station. You can listen to the album here. The album's most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 9. Recommended for: the minivan carpool, families looking to bridge the gap between kindie rock and Putumayo Kids, kids tired of listening to their parents' favorite AAA station.

The final album in our quartet of reviews is Songs From the Science Frontier from Oklahoma's Monty Harper. If They Might Be Giants' Here Comes Science was the elementary school introduction to science, Science Frontier is the junior high science club follow-up, not only raising the question, for example, of "What is the Shape of the Molecule?" but also attempting to answer it (or, at least, explaining how a scientist might answer it). In fact, the majority of songs don't address scientific facts as much as they address scientists and the scientific process. Lest this sound dull, Harper knows his way around a melody and (his often necessarily wordy) lyrics much better than others who trawl educational waters (check out the sing-along chorus on "Microbe Hunter" or the neatly constructed syncopation on "Bat Man"). Chris Wiser (who produced the album) and Rob Martin from Sugar Free Allstars add some musical punch. You, or your kids primarily aged 7 through middle school can listen to the album here. I wouldn't expect too many people to listen to the album straight through if they don't have some current science relationship, but unlike many "educational" albums, you'd actually make it all the way through even if you don't. Recommended for: science teachers and classes, kids who play with their Legos or spend twenty minutes following bugs around, your local Beatles-loving scientist.