Family Values - Charity and the JAMband

Artist: Charity and the JAMband

Album: Family Values

Age Range: 4 to 8

Description: ​Don't let the peace sign on the album cover fool you.  Sure, the fifth album from San Francisco's Charity Kahn and her bandmates is filled with plenty of peace, love, and understanding -- heck, there's even a song titled "Flower Power."  But if you think that the music inside will be weak, you'd be wrong.  The aforementioned "Flower Power" has a muscular guitar chorus, and it's not the only track that begs to be played loudly out of a speaker (as long as the kids are wearing hearing protection headphones, right?)  Not all the tracks are as loud -- see "Grateful" or "Green Beans Everywhere" (which, full disclosure, I helped bring into existence) -- but Kahn and her bandmates take their JAMband moniker seriously.  You can hear the 48-minute album here (or via the widget below).  Family Values ​is a musically sprawling album with a compassionate message.  The combination of the two will resonate with a number of families.  Recommended.

​[Disclosure: I was provided a copy of the album for possible review.]

PLAY music, Volume 2 - Various Artists

Artist: Various Artists (PLAY music)

Album: PLAY music, Volume 2​

Age Range: 1 to 6

Description: When it comes to early childhood music and movement programs, we are (or at least have been) card- (and CD-)carrying members of the Music Together ​family.  And while I've heard a bunch of CDs from other programs, none have quite matched the quality and scope of those MT disks.  This album is one of the first early childhood music and movement CDs that I would consider adding to our collection.  It's from PLAY music, a Los Angeles-based program.  The 43-minute disk doesn't quite approach the breadth of a MT disk in terms of song selection -- it felt slightly more American folk-based and more less "odd" in places (e.g., not so many songs in non-standard time signatures or keys).  But the quality of the tracks themselves is top-notch -- it's somewhat more organic than the MT disks, thanks to the production of musician Willie Aron (who worked with Peter Himmelman on his kids music) and the presence of kindie musicians Randy Kaplan and Lucky Diaz on a few tracks.  I'm not sure what the market is for music and movement disks outside the context of those classes, but this is a solid collection of folk songs and other songs designed for singing (and dancing and rhythm-sticking) along with your kids.  Recommended.

[Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review.]​

What Was That Sound? - Papa Crow

Artist:​ Papa Crow

Album:​ What Was That Sound?

Age Range:​ 3 through 9

Description:​ There's no better way to make sure old farts like me (see what I did there?) don't get too comfortable with your musical output than to follow up a warm-hearted album for cold days (Things That Roar​) with an EP of fart songs for families.  It's still warm-hearted, but the 5 tracks here are silly, too.  Papa Crow (AKA Michigan's Jeff Krebs) even mocks his gentle folk troubadour persona by converting one of the songs on the first album to "All The Things That Fart."  And "Fart Like a Pirate" might just be the best fart song ever.  Songs about flatulence have to be a bit transgressive, but not too much so (for a family audience), and What Was That Sound?​ deftly negotiates that line.  Some of the songs on the 11-minute album can be heard at Papa Crow's Soundcloud page.  Definitely recommended.  (Glad I got that out of my system.)

The Children's Planet - The Tumble Down Library

Artist: The Tumble Down Library

Album: The Children's Planet

Age Range: 4 through 9

Description:​ A concept album, I guess.  Twenty-seven songs of alterna-pop with some British Invasion touches, averaging less than a minute in length, one for each letter of the alphabet (plus an introduction), telling the story of 26 kids trapped on a planet.  Really it's just a bunch of character sketches with echoes of They Might Be Giants' early years of brief songs mixed with echoes of They Might Be Giants' later years of quasi-educational albums.  Kids with short attention spans will probably dig the brevity; adults may wish the hook-laden tracks didn't end quite so soon.  Stream the whole thing (and buy it digitally for just $4) here.  Recommended.

[Note: I was provided a copy of the album for possible review.]​

Yes! - Wayne Potash

Artist: Wayne Potash

Album: Yes!​

Age Range: 3 through 6

Description:​ Boston-area musician Potash has always been a little retro in his approach -- no revved-up post-ironic alterna-pop for him, nosiree.  When I reviewed his 2005 album Don't Forget the Donut​, I praised his goofy lack of pretense, and time has not changed Potash's approach much.  Get past the lo-fi album cover and song titles like "I Like Trucks," which make it sound like the accompanying songs would be bereft of any creativity or production values, and you'll find some great preschooler tracks.  "I Like Trucks," for example, is a slow-moving country-folk song that is so ear-wormy and familiar that I could've sworn I'd heard it on a previous record.  I hadn't.  It is an instant transportation song classic, and "Allis Chalmers," a love song to a tractor with a great singalong chorus, is almost one as well.  Listen to clips from the 46-minute album here.  Rootsy originals and traditionals with a dash of classic rock, gentle and empathetic, Yes!​ is a sweet album for the wee ones.  Recommended.

Orangutan Van - SteveSongs

Artist: SteveSongs

Album: Orangutan Van

Age Range: 4 - 8

Description: Taking a bit of a break from his work as Mr. Steve on PBS Kids, Steve Roslonek comes back with all-new album of SteveSongs, er, songs.  Several songs -- "Recess Rocks," "Orangutan Van (and Banana Transit)," "Flat Stanley" -- show off the ability of Roslonek and his songwriting partner (and album producer) Anand Nayak to craft a nifty hook.  I've always found the best SteveSongs to be those that allow Roslonek's humor to shine through.  "'A' Is For Silly," with Silly Vanilli, for example, or the cooperative/competitive duet of Roslonek and Nayak on "Song Without a Rhyme" -- they're distinctive in a way that more earnest songs like "All in This Together (MLK)" or "Our Tune," though perfectly well-crafted, are less so.  But the wide range of approaches means that listeners are likely to find at least a few (if not most or all) songs worthy of repeat spins.  Recommended.

Get Moving with Ella Jenkins - Ella Jenkins

Artist: Ella Jenkins

Album: Get Moving with Ella Jenkins

Age Range: 2 to 7

Description: Whereas her last album A Life of Song found Jenkins surveying her career via a collection of brand new recordings, this new album is a compilation of previously-released recordings from the past few decades by the much-loved Chicago musician.  The title of this collection is deliberate -- all the songs encourage physical movement.  As is typical with most Jenkins albums, Get Moving will be most enjoyed if your kids (and you) actually join in, singing (and moving) along.  If, however, you're a preschool teacher (or a kindie musician), you could hardly do any better than this master class, listening with a view to learning how Ms. Jenkins manages to get her tiny charges to play and sing along with enthusiasm.  As is commonly the case, Smithsonian Folkways' packaging and liner notes for the 46-minute album are excellent.  Fun for kids, essential for those teaching music and movement.  Recommended.

[Note: I was provided a copy of the album for possible review.]

Escalator - David Tobocman

Artist: David Tobocman

Album: Escalator

Age Range: 4 to 8

Description: Los Angeles-based Tobocman doesn't rewrite the kindie songbook on Escalator, his third kids music album, but adds at least a couple very good songs to it.  The title track is propulsive and a complete earworm, one of my favorite tracks of 2012.  "The Owie Song" features a goofy sing-along chorus that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Very Helpful Songs -- the song is silly but fun for all.  Several tracks ("Playin' on a Sunday," for example) have a wide-open SoCal feel that might see the parents having Eagles flashbacks, but Tobocman brings in other styles as well; Tobocman's musicianship is, as always, solid.  Listen to clips here.  Recommended.