Review: The Kids Are All Id - Randy Kaplan

It's taken me a little time to fully appreciate Randy Kaplan for what he is -- one of family music's most inventive storytellers. There were times at which I thought songs like "Shampoo Me" were, though amusing, a little silly and not quite the Dan Zanes-like music I thought Kaplan could -- or maybe should -- make. I was wrong. It's songs like "Shampoo Me" that are what make Randy, Randy. The fanciful stories sprung from the conjoined heads of Shel Silverstein and Bob Dylan are Kaplan's calling card, and he's very, very good at them. His third album for kids, The Kids Are All Id, is to my mind, his most story-intensive collection yet. From the get-go, Kaplan tells inventive stories in folk songs about characters you haven't heard from -- "The Hebrew-Speaking Bear," an Elizabeth II-aping queen bee on "Little Bee," or his monkey Kqxhc, who makes a return appearance on "Is She a Girl or Is She a Monkey." Kaplan doesn't dig too deep into lessons -- his cover of "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" and his original "My Little Laugh," about laughing at situations that might otherwise make him cry are about as deep as he gets. The album is titled The Kids Are All Id on purpose -- there are lots of characters here who are somewhat exasperating -- Joe, of course, the title character in the folk-punk "The Kid Is All Id," Kaplan's younger self in his rreworking of "Don't You Leave Me Here," or the toddler who responds to every joke setup line with "This Guy." The first ten or so songs are, if not frenzied, at least active. As a result, the trio of Ezra Jack Keats-based songs about two-thirds of the way through the disk come like a soothing balm. "I Like Cacti" is a sweet, sweet song -- I can't get over the line "What attracts us / About a cactus?" Indeed, while I've been focusing on the words here, Kaplan writes some great musical bits (there's a part in "The Kid Is All Id," in which the adult supervisor breaks free with a plaintive, soaring chorus) and he and his producer Mike West give the album a natural, expansive sound. The 54-minute album will be most appreciated by kids aged 4 through 8. You can listen to 3 of the tracks at Randy's Myspace page. The Kids Are All Id is Randy Kaplan's best album yet, and shows Kaplan's greatest strength -- his ability to listen to and interact with the kids who are his audience and to turn that into stories in song. Instead of suggesting that Randy could be the next Dan Zanes, perhaps I should've suggested Bill Harley. Definitely recommended.

Itty-Bitty Review: The Big Picture - Uncle Rock

New York's Robert Burke Warren, AKA Uncle Rock, has always worn his heart upon his embroidered sleeve, and that's certainly apparent on his latest album The Big Picture. The title is deliberate, as many of the songs here deal with environmental concerns (the duet with Elizabeth Mitchell on the waltz "There Is No Away", for example, or "Garbage Barge"), or the "shop local" movement (which "Stop at a Mom n' Pop" thankfully doesn't actually use that phrase). "Leave the Bees Be," which from the title sounds like it might be in that camp, is sillier than that -- it features a "buzzing" solo, after all. It's reflective of the general approach that Warren with his producer Dean Jones takes -- very loose roots-rock with some nice touches (the cello on "There Is No Away," or the bells and horns on "Leave the Bees Be"). My favorite track from the album, the full-on rocker "Shake It Off!," features an energetic vocal turn Ralph & Ralph's KT Legnini. It's all about recovering from injury or mistakes, even aping Billy Joel's similarly-themed "You're Only Human" by leaving in the final mix laughter that couldn't have been planned. The album is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 8; listen to clips here. Even at 38 minutes in length, the album still feels stuffed full (and probably would have been OK without the last 2 tracks). The Big Picture has things to say and opinions to share, and that probably isn't for every family, some of whom like their kids music... fluffier. But it says those things and shares those opinions with verve and good humor, and that's enough for a lot of us. Recommended.

Review: "All Around Ralph's World" - Ralph's World

Ralph's World has done a lot of traveling, going from small label (Mini Fresh, an offshoot of Chicago's Minty Fresh) to big label (Disney) back to small label (Bar/None, who failed to come up with a cutesy kid-division name for Ralph). So perhaps it's not so surprising that his new album All Around Ralph's World takes the word "world" from Ralph Covert's band name seriously, producing a loosely travel-themed album. But "loosely" is the key adverb, because it's not a concept album. It's just an album that has a number of songs that happen to be about travel. I prefer to think of the album as another collection of solid pop-rock songs for the big wheel set (see "Easy Ryders," which also works in a gratuitous Beatles reference) from an artist who's already turned out such songs by the suitcase. There aren't many clunkers (such as "All Around the World," where Covert sings about learning stories from around the world rather than singing those stories), but they're more than outweighed by the nuggets, such as the poppy "All About Bob," the funny "Black Hole Boy" (who loses everything, including, eventually, words to his song), and the sweet "Blue Airplane." And although the album drags a bit around the 2/3rds-point, the last four tracks, starting with "The Funniest Joke in the World" on through the album closer "I'm Not Tired," are excellent. The album's most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 8. You can listen to the album at Ralph's website (just click on the "Playlist" in the upper right-hand corner). I found Covert's last album, The Rhyming Circus, a little underwhelming compared to his previous body of work -- not bad by any means, but not memorable either. All Around Ralph's World is a return to form for one of the best songwriters in the kids music genre. As you're picking out music for your family's summer road trip (or even planning it), All Around Ralph's World would be a fine addition to the playlist. Definitely recommended. I was provided a copy of the disk for possible review.

Review: "Ranky Tanky" - Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem

This is a disk that's been sitting on my desk for awhile, and I've actually listened to it a fair amount since receiving it a few months back. I feel slightly bad about this, some sort of cognitive dissonance between the desire to tell folks about a good CD and my inability to, you know, tell folks about a good CD. The Connecticut-based band Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem has been making music stringband music for a good decade now, but Ranky Tanky is their first album specifically targeted at families. It's a big stew of songs familiar and not, "traditional" and "un." The first 4 songs -- Cat Stevens' "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out," traditional tune "The Green Grass Grows All Around," the Meters' "They All Ask'd For You," and the pop novelty hit "Purple People Eater" -- illustrate the band's omniverous, genre-disregarding approach to music. They just find good songs and give them new life. In essence, while lots of artists talk about making music for families, relatively few of them have taken the Dan Zanes approach of making "age-desgregated" music truly expected to be listened to without irony filters. This album takes this path less-traveled. In the end, I think Arbo falls just a little short of Zanes, which is an admittedly high bar to reach. While the album maintains a genial vibe infused with warmth, there are times on the album where the jolt of a Father Goose or an out-of-left-field guest artist would have helped a bit. In true Zanes-ian fashion, the idea of an appropriate age range is a little odd with this disk, but think of it as being best for kids ages 3 and up. You can spin five of the tracks here and listen to clips at its CD Baby page. Ranky Tanky is one of those disks destined to be listened to long after the kids have grown out of their size 1 shoes. Fans of Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell will find the eclectic song choices and cozy arrangements to their families' liking. Though you were always sort of part of this family music world, we'll wish you a formal welcome, Rani -- hope you stick around for awhile. (It won't take me this long next time to tell folks.) Definitely recommended.

Review in Brief: American History + Rock 'N' Roll = Deedle Deedle Dees

I think the world of Brooklyn's Deedle Deedle Dees for many reasons. Some of them are obvious -- catchy tunes, they RAWK -- and some are less so. One of those "less-so" reasons is that the band is so clearly following their muse, writing and playing songs that interest them. I mean, I can't think of any other kids musician or band who would record a song about, say, Eleanor Roosevelt, as the Dees have done on their latest album American History + Rock 'N' Roll = Deedle Deedle Dees. But there it is, a dreamy song about Eleanor Roosevelt, getting advice about what to do as she was becoming First Lady -- it's a nice character sketch. "Nice character sketch" is a good description for the Dees' history-based music -- rather than trying to sing about the big, important historical events, they're more apt to sing about the smaller historical moments or non-Presidents -- the saucy, horn-assisted strut of "Bring 'Em In" (a possibly true story about the pitcher Satchel Paige) or the party of "Tres Muralistas" (about the Mexican muralists Diego Rivera, Jose Orozco, and David Siqueiros). And when they do hit the people you're more likely to read about in a fifth grade history book, it's more about just trying to give the audience a little hook to remember the person by; in "Tub-Tub-Ma-Ma-Ga-Ga," it's remembering that Harriet Tubman led people by walking, rather than trying to explain (in song) what the Underground Railroad was. Musically, the album moves from shuffling rock ("Little Red Airplane") to horn-aided Mexican-tinged folk ("Tres Muralistas") to punk ("Put on the Dress," based on a true story of -- and featuring on the record -- Bill Childs). The musicianship is solid throughout and I especially enjoyed some of instrumental flourishes (the guitar on "John Muir" or the piano on "Si Se Puede!") Though the Dees have songs for younger kids (primarily from chief Dee songwriter Lloyd Miller/Ulysses Dee), this album is entirely history-based. As a result, while younger kids will probably enjoy dancing around to the music, kids ages 7 and up will most appreciate the songs and stories told here. You can hear some samples here and I highly recommend the song notes the band's been posting here. These are not the catchy, big-picture pop tunes of Schoolhouse Rock; instead, this album is more interested in the nooks and crannies of history. I hope the Dees continue to follow their personal muses -- their music isn't necessarily for every listener, but it's vibrant. The fact that it's an excellent historical survey is just a bonus. Definitely recommended. [Disclosure notice: The band provided a copy for possible review.]

Video Game Review: Lego Rock Band (Wii)

We are not "gamers" by any stretch of the imagination -- somehow, being the sole kid without an Atari 2600 on my block growing up did not lead me to overcompensate by buying every single gaming console ever made. So when I was offered a copy of Lego Rock Band for Wii for possible review (it came out right around Thanksgiving), my first task was to, well, find a Wii. Which probably gives you a pretty good indication of my gaming experience. (Previous total Wii experience = about 1 hour.) But, having secured a Wii and assorted equipment for a couple hours and my friend Larry (along with his kid) to enjoy the game with, I dove right in. For those of you who aren't familiar with the whole Rock Band concept, in brief it lets players "play" console instruments (e.g., guitar, bass, drums) and/or sing-along karaoke-style along with popular songs in front of animated singers. The more accurate your "playing" (i.e., press the correct colored button at the proper time) is on these fake, simplified instruments (or the closer your vocals are to actual notes), the higher your score. Basically, it's karaoke without the crowds and with points. And, in this, the latest version of the Rock Band concept, animated Lego characters.