Itty-Bitty Review: Jam on Rye - Randy Kaplan

Without a doubt, Randy Kaplan is a raconteur, good at telling stories.  He tells them through song rather than spoken word or on paper, but his characters and offbeat humor sometimes bordering on the absurd might remind you (in a very kid-friendly way) of, say, David Sedaris.

That storytelling drive is back in full effect on his fifth family album Jam on Rye.  I say that because his last album, Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie, featured bowdlerized versions of classic blues tunes.  I liked the album quite a bit, but in retrospect, the parody/homage format meant that it was less character- and quirk-driven.  In other words, less Randy.

Not so on the new album.  From a memorable shower door ("Ode to a Shower Door," which features a guest appearance from a past Kaplan character), to parental frustrations with a visit to a Mexican restaurant ("Don't Fill Up on Chips"), the new songs let Kaplan play with voices and characters to good effect.  One of my favorite tracks here is "Crew Cut," which wistfully recounts a series of different hairstyles.  His songs range from scatalogical humor ("Burpity Burp Burp Burp") to tender ("Not Too Young for a Song") to tender scatalogical humor ("Everybody Farts") -- you can tell that Kaplan's new status as a parent has given him a brand new well of material to work with.  Longtime Kaplan producer Mike West once again helps fill out Kaplan's guitar work with a full range of instruments.

The 46-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8.  You'll laugh, you'll cry -- OK, your kids won't cry, but you'll at least take a minute to appreciate the whirlwind of parenting.  Definitely recommended.

Itty-Bitty Review: The Perfect Quirk - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo

We'll start by saying that while there are a number of artists making hip-hop for kids ("kid-hop," a term which I find as generally uninspiring as the term "kindie" but have come to accept the inevitability of), Secret Agent 23 Skidoo stands at the top of that heap.  There are other artists who match his beats and music, or his rhyming and rapping ability, or the subject matter, but he's the best at combining all of those into a potent musical stew.

So if I say that his latest album The Perfect Quirk, isn't his best album, that's only because Skidoo has set the bar so high.  To be clear, there is nothing wrong with the music here -- Skidoo can still record songs that defy categorization, like "Imaginary Friend," a klezmer/sea chanty/horn-assisted rap partially sung from the perspective of an imaginary friend.  And on "Time Machine," he and daughter Saki (AKA Mc Fireworks), trade verses about growing up.  But the album is mellower than some of his other albums, and while a song "You're It" has the same theme of self-acceptance found in some of Skidoo's best songs like "Gotta Be Me," it's more the exception than the rule here.  (There's a song called "PJs All Day" here, for example.)

The 38-minute album will appeal most to kids ages 5 through 9.  I should re-emphasize that The Perfect Quirk is a good album.  If your family likes kid-friendly hip-hop (OK, OK, kid-hop) or y'all have previously enjoyed Skidoo, then, yes, you will like this album, too.  If you're new to Skidoo, I'd recommend starting with one of his other albums.  But just because this album might not make your kid want to save the world (or take an amazing journey around your house) right now doesn't mean you're still not going to enjoy it.  Definitely recommended.

Itty-Bitty Review: Good Egg - Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights

When I think of the female stars of kindie -- Laurie Berkner, Elizabeth Mitchell, Frances England, Molly Ledford of Lunch Money, to name some -- the names that come to mind are folk-rockers or indie-rockers, (sometimes) with more of an emphasis on preschool audiences.  What's missing are lots of nationally-known names making pop-rock for the elementary school crowd -- the female equivalents of your Justin Roberts, Recess Monkey, and Ralph's World (among many more).

I'm not going to speculate on why that is, but would suggest that New York City's Joanie Leeds is close to staking her claim in the kindie pop-rock star canon.  On her sixth kids' CD, Good Egg, Leeds and her Nightlights run through the gamut of kid-accessible topics -- food fights, Halloween, parents, doctor's visits -- filtered through a pop-rock lens (with the occasional punk-rock or arena-rock touches).  She's not tackling the subjects in any particularly unique way, but the combination of her fine voice, solid playing (and producing from Dean Jones), and hummable melodies produce a set of songs that sound good here (and will sound good live as Leeds increasingly plays on a national stage).

I think Leeds is at her best in songs with the tiniest bit of edge.  Songs like "Food Fight" (I think you can guess what that's about) and "Confusing Costume" have more vim than the kinder, gentler Leeds on tracks like "Kids Place" or "With My Dad."  (I'll forgive "Hipster in the Making," which seems likely to bore the kids while amusing the Park Slope parents in Leeds' backyard with Pitchfork and dub-step references.)

You can stream the entire 42-minute album -- most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 9 -- here.   I'm not sure that Good Egg is the final step towards Joanie Leeds' total world domination, but it is a slick collection of appealing pop-rock songs that, if your family is a fan of Justin Roberts and Recess Monkey, perhaps your family should try on for size.  Recommended.

Itty-Bitty Review: Just Say Hi! - Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

It occurred to me as I listened to Just Say Hi!, the latest album from Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, that I'm not sure I've ever seen Rymer frown.  I'm sure he must occasionally -- maybe -- but I can't recall anger or frustration when I've seen him play live or at kids music events.  For the most part, it's just a big grin.

Rymer's music for families has typically had that gregariousness, noticeable even in a genre that has more than its fair share of happy, gregarious folk.  On his new album, Rymer doesn't change course as he serves up another 11 tracks of feel-good roots-rock.  It's not that the whole album is butterflies and unicorns, relentless peppy.  Rather, songs like danceable "Just Say Hi!" ("Don't be afraid of the unfamiliar / Look 'em in the eye / Give 'em a smile, and / just say "hi!") and the anthemic "Tomorrow's People" have Rymer's positive attitude baked right in, faces turned toward the sun even when things aren't perfect.  While I could do without the goofy "Pet Song (We Thank You)" because the silly voices sound out of place on the album, for the most part earnest songs like "Red Piano Rag," a ragtime (natch) about Rymer's piano-playing Grandma Helen, or the zydeco-tinged "My Home," stand up to repeated spins.  And of course The Little Band That Could still sounds great.

The album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 10.   You can hear the 38-minute album here.  Look at that album for Just Say Hi!.  See that big grin on that monster -- that's Rymer's smile in cartoon form.  I think your family will probably be smiling after listening as well.  Definitely recommended.

Review: Aqui, Alla - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

Is there any stopping Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis, the couple at the heart of Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band?  The release a couple months ago of Aqui, Alla marked their sixth album in little more than three years.  That's on top of the TV show, the nonstop touring, and, oh yes, the Latin Grammy for for Best Spanish-language Children's Album for Fantastico!.

The answer, then, is probably no.

Unlike Fantastico!, which almost exclusively featured Spanish-language reworkings of their previous English-language hits, the new album features all new songs (plus "De Colores," because of course).  Diaz and Gaddis returned to team up with Gilbert Velasquez, who produced Fantastico!, and they somehow manage to merge Diaz' natural indie-pop sound with the sounds of Tejano music.  I mean, anytime you can bring in someone like Flaco Jimenez on accordion (on the leadoff track "Viva La Pachanga"), you just sit back and enjoy the result.  While most of the tracks are bouncy, danceable tunes, the album ends on a more mellow note, with the tender "Aqui, Alla" (about the multi-varied backgrounds of many Americans) before finishing with "De Colores," which isn't really a dance song (though Diaz et al. come close to turning it into one).

The one downside to the album -- and it's not going to be a downside for everyone -- is that the album comes with no way for the English-language speaker to bridge the gap between the music and their own experience.  For the Spanish-language speaker, of course, that's not an issue at all, but I found myself wishing that explanations of the songs in the promotional material were included in the album packaging.  You can enjoy the music without knowing a whit of Spanish, and yes, you can find lyrics and translations at Diaz' website -- but I think some of those families would enjoy it more if there were more of a guide right there with the CD.

The brief 26-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8.  You can hear the album here.

I love finding out what Diaz and Gaddis are cooking up next for families who love kids music.  The duo could have totally rested on their laurels with one Spanish-language album and left it at that, but they came back with Aqui, Alla, which is better in almost every way.  It gives me hope that a third album of their hybrid Spanish-language indie-jano (that's "indie" + "Tejano") will grace shelves and iPods at some point.  (And I'd encourage them to do even more to bring us non-Spanish dancers along for the ride.)  Definitely recommended.

Review: Shy Kid Blues - Hullabaloo

Steve Denyes and Brendan Kremer -- AKA Hullabaloo --have spent more than a decade cultivating their audience in the greater San Diego area with their "free-range, organic kid-folk."  That's their PR description, but it's a pretty accurate one from where I sit, and one they've not strayed far from during their career.

They are not the first band that came to my mind when the phrase "spoken word" pops up, and I suspect even Denyes was unsure of the reaction to Shy Kid Blues, the band's tenth and latest album.  The album intersperses new Hullabaloo tunes between spoken word scenes -- essentially a kid-friendly origin story of the band itself, how Steve and Brendan met, developed a love for music, and started a band together.  It's also the story of how a shy kid -- Denyes (and Kremer, too) -- found the inner strength to conquer shyness and make music onstage.

Now, I am typically not a big fan of spoken word interludes, or musical stories (on record), so I was surprised to discover just how fun this album is.  The dialogue and scenes feel natural, not at all stilted, and the moral -- Kid Conquers Shyness -- is delivered subtly, almost as an afterthought, and with a sense of how things will be different but not totally so.  (Turns out, Denyes is still pretty shy.)  I think the music also benefits from the structure which breaks up the tracks (dialogue is played between each song) and gives Denyes an anchor from which he can write songs in different styles and on different topics.  I've sometimes wished for more variety in the sound of a Hullabaloo album, and this album provides that.  And the final song (save for the reprise), "Like a Bird Must Feel," is genuinely moving in the context of the album.

The 41-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9 (a slightly older age group than many of the band's albums).  You can hear clips of certain songs here.

In an interview with the site, Denyes noted that he'd previously written and performed 2 one-man musical plays.  Based on the results in the kids' arena with Shy Kid Blues, I think he should  start planning kindie play #2.  It's my favorite Hullabaloo record.  Definitely recommended.