Rocket Ship Beach was the first Dan Zanes album I ever heard. This was maybe 4 years ago or so. I liked it, but it didn't quite grab me at the time the way his 3 subsequent albums did. In going back to the album for the purposes of this review, I tried to figure out why. Let's start out with the stuff I liked then, and still do. You wouldn't think that "Bushel and a Peck" from the Broadway musical "Guys and Dolls" would be a great fit for a chorus of elementary school children (whom I generally dislike hearing on record), but they sound great in the song. It's 180 degrees different from the Olive Oyl-stylings of Faith Prince in the Broadway revival from a few years ago, but lots of fun. My other favorite track on the record is Suzanne Vega's take on the "Erie Canal," which is... well, I don't want to say "eerie" (that would be too easy), but Vega's voice and Zanes' lap steel guitar blend together in a wonderful duet. The rest of the album is... maybe it's just too folk- and bluegrass-based for an entire album for my tastes. Yes, Father Goose and the Sandy Girls make their appearances, as does Barbara Brousal, but the overall feel of the album is definitely more "folk festival" than the other Zanes and Friends CDs. Maybe part of that is that there's only one Zanes original ("Hello," on which Brousal duets). In any case, the album is less diverse musically (if no less technically and musically accomplished). Don't get me wrong, I like the CD and I'm glad to have it in my collection, but I guess unless you're a big folk music fan, I would recommend one of Zanes' other CDs (probably "House Party") as an introduction to his stuff. The CD is best for kids ages 3 through 7 or 8, though like all of Zanes' work, it's definitely appropriate for people of all ages. Zanes' music is available in most stores with a children's music section. Recommended.

The idea of a concept children's album is probably a bit too difficult to pull off. There aren't many I'm familiar with (John McCutcheon's quartet of seasons-related CDs is an exception). Concept albums for 4-year olds are a little broader generally, and don't always work. (Do you want to listen to 12 songs about addition? Didn't think so.) On his third family and children's music album, Night Time!, Dan Zanes wisely eschews an explicit "nighttime" conceit for a set of songs that sounds very similar to his other kids' music albums, just a little more... nighttimey. (Yes, I'm a critic and I'm allowed to make up words.) By "nighttimey," I basically mean "mellow and relaxed." This isn't sleepy-time music -- the leadoff track "Night Owl" with Aimee Mann is all about staying up late. The second track (my favorite on the album) is the jagged sea shanty "Pay Me My Money Down." When I first heard the album, I thought a song mentioning bars and jails was an... atypical choice for a children's music album, but in his liner notes he mentions that it was kids' favorite song when he would play schoolrooms. Go figure. It's a blast. While all the elements of a Dan Zanes album are there -- the beautiful Spanish duet with Barbara Brousal, the Sandy Girls folk song, Rankin' Don doin' his dancehall thang or whatever his thang is -- there is an element of looseness and relaxation that is emphasized more so on this album than on the other ones. Maybe it's just the subtle hints in the liner notes and pictures, but it's easier to picture this album being made (and listened to) as the sun sets long into the evening. The album's one false note, "What A Wonderful World" with Lou Reed and the Rubi Theater Company, fails precisely because it's the one song that doesn't sound like it just "happened." Aside from that, the concept, loose as it is, works. As with all of Zanes' albums, the album is probably best for kids ages 3 through 8, but is perfectly OK for infants and grandparents and everyone in between. The CD is available through Zanes' website, online, and in what seems to be an increasing number of offline locations. Highly recommended.