Here are a handful of new Christmas CDs that have crossed my desk that might be worth your time... and even possibly in time for you to listen to before, you know, Christmas... For the most part, the CDs below are going to be of greatest interest to the artists' fans, but if you're looking for a Christmas album that might be especially of interest to kids, you might want to start here. (If you're looking for Christmas CDs in general, by all means go here -- goodness, that is impressive.) Austin's Biscuit Brothers released their first Christmas CD, Have a Merry Musical Christmas, this year, and fans of the slightly goofy and slyly educational TV show will not be disappointed. For the most part, it's Biscuit Brothers originals -- a funny Tiny Scarecrow on "The Best Christmas Ever, " a sweet and jazzy "Together (a Christmas Waltz)," an expanded vocal role on "Have a Merry Musical Christmas." It's all appealingly goofy. Might not be the best entry point for a listener unfamiliar with the Brothers, but it's a fun cookie of a CD nonetheless. From the folks who brought you 2006's awesome Family Hootenanny CD comes Holiday Hootenanny, a 2007 collection of tunes from Detroit-area artists benefiting Detroit's Capuchin SoupKitchen. Definitely not a traditional CD in most senses of the word -- if you're looking for a swinging Ella Fitzgerald or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, keep looking because even the most traditional tunes sound off-kilter in Danny Crow-Haw's brief interludes here. While not as awesome as the first CD, the last 3 tracks -- American Mars' Dylanesque "The Little Baby Jesus," co-producer's Deanne Iovan's band the Come Ons' "More," and Ultimate Ovation's awesome rendition of "It's Christmas" (which reminds you where Motown was founded) -- are almost worth the price of the CD by themselves. Sample here. And there's more...
It's been too long since we've heard from Los Angeles' Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang. They released the fine Get Up and Dance in 2007 (review), but aside from a track on a 2008 Disney compilation, silence.
So, good news -- they've just released Clap Your Hands, their fourth album, and, yeah, they still rock. Well, not specifically for you -- Gwendolyn's music is still pretty much targeted at preschoolers, though perhaps a kindergartner or two might want to listen in and dance along. Sunny pop (with a few other genre explorationss thrown in) plus preschooler-oriented lyrics, that's always been the GTG formula, and they don't stray from it here. "Clap Your Hands" is essentially a movement song wrapped inside horns and harmonies -- it'd collapse under the weight of its simple lyrics ("You know me / I like to clap my hands / Clap, clap my hands") if it weren't an insanely catchy and well-produced tune. "Alright, Okay, Just Fine" swings while explaining feelings and emotions at a preschool level. "Smile, Smile" sounds like a lost track from a Muscle Shoals kids record. The gentle rocker "Evens and Odds" is the best song about the subject (sorry, TMBG), while "Mix It Up" mixes together crayons and diversity along with an insanely catchy chorus. The album's not perfect (I'm lookin' at you, "Speak-A-My-Language"), but there are a lot more hits than misses.
The 27-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 6. You can hear clips of the album at its CD Baby page. Clap Your Hands will have you doing that along with your kids in spite of yourself. Tons of fun for the preschoolers you know and love. Definitely recommended.
I admit it. I'm old. Not, like, Social Security old, but old enough that if I use the phrase "OMG" I mean it ironically. I am old enough, however, to have a kid who, though she isn't quite out of the "kids music" phase yet, will start listening to music I haven't introduced her to.
So I understand quite clearly that the soundtrack to Camp Rock, the latest Disney Channel original movie, premiering on a gazillion different channels this week, is Not For Me. It is for kids just a little older than my daughter. They'll spend their own allowances on it, or maybe their parents will get it for them. And what they'll get is an attempt to duplicate the High School Musical magic, except this time in a slightly more rock-oriented retelling of Cinderella. The album features some tracks with Joe Jonas solo (he's got a leading role in the movie) as well as a Jonas Brothers track. There are some songs by 16-year-old Demi Lovato, who has the lead female role and seems to be Disney's leading contender for a Miley Cyrus with a less pop and more rock edge.
The songs are fine enough, and most of the songs won't drive you to change the station if you hear them on Radio Disney (OK, maybe "Hasta La Vista," ugh), but you're not going to remember them 15 minutes after they're over. There's nothing as memorable as "Breaking Free" or "Fabulous" or "You Are the Music In Me," all of which are decent pop songs. In the end, it's not really for me, but it never really was.
