1999 music reviews (July-December) “THE FLIP SIDE”

album by The Persuasions, reviewed July 1999

What do you get when you cross five extremely talented a cappella singers discovered by Frank Zappa in 1968 with the Good Ship Lollipop? It's easy — you get Music for Little People's new release On the Good Ship Lollipop with the Persuasions. Once again, eagle-eye executive producer Leib Ostrow has bowled a strike. Though the Persuasions have performed thousands of shows in all kinds of venues, including schools and children's workshops, for over 37 years, this is their first children's recording. "We always wanted to do one," says lead singer, baritone and co-producer Jerry Lawson, "but we wanted it to be special." The rest of the dynamic "Lollipop" crew consists of Joe Russell first and second tenor; Jimmy Hayes first tenor and bass; Jayotis Washington first tenor and falsetto; and recent addition, veteran baritone and former Drifter, B.J. Jones.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Wouldn't an all a-cappella-all-the-time children's album get boring?"  Crossed my mind, but so do a lot of other things. Enough about me, let's answer your question with a resounding "Don't be ridiculous, you silly goose." This collection of classic and original children's tunes has a touch of class, a whole lot of soul and a heart of gold. The blend of voices fits hand-in-glove with this material.

In addition to the title song, which may even erase Shirley Temple's pouty little version from your memory-banks, you'll find:

• "Teddy Bear's Picnic"
  The perennial favorite, which I learned from the liner notes first appeared in children's poetry collections in the early 1900's. Jimmy Hayes's deep bass serves the song well and will certainly keep you out of the woods. Young Rebecca Hale, one of a children's chorus tagged as The Lollipop Kids' Chorus, helps out on this one.
• "Big Rock Candy Mountain,"
  The Lollipop Kids' Chorus is also featured on "Big Rock Candy Mountain," made popular by Burl Ives in the 1950's.
• "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window"
  Gets the Patti Page seal of approval — "I listened to the entire album in my car. I enjoyed it very much, along with my two youngest grandchildren, 3 and 5!" That's pretty cool.
• "On Top of Spaghetti"
  The song gets a fun make-over with a tall tale about someone named James Weldon Eldorado MacMeatball and his tomato sauce jacket that came somewhere from the recesses of Jerry Lawson's fertile imagination.
• "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me"
  This was a popular marching song for African-American soldiers during the Civil War. I didn't know that. Did you know that?
• "Train Song Medley"
  There's a great big old "Train Song Medley" that as they say is, the "the train medley to end all train medleys." Includes "People Get Ready"/Little Red Caboose"/"I've Been Workin' On the Railroad"/"Choo-Choo Boogaloo"/ "To Stop the Train"/ and "people Get Ready." Nice arrangement by Leib Ostrow and vocals by the guys. These guys know over a thousand songs so probably this was a piece of cake. Yeah right!
• "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."
  The Persuasions draw on their gospel backgrounds for a spirited (did I say that?) version of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." You gotta hear little Bernie Steinberg's solo. "When I heard this little Jewish boy trying to sing soul, it was nice," said Lawson.
• "I'm So Glad (I've Got Skin)"
  There's an obscure tune written in 1965 by Country Joe McDonald and Blair Hardman called "I'm So Glad (I've Got Skin)" an anthem celebrating life and respecting others. "This makes my day!" exclaimed Country Joe upon hearing the Persuasions' version, it's good to be known for something other than "Fixin'-to-Die-Rag!"
• "My Daddy Do, Too"
  This song, written by Don Conley, got a coveted slot on the album by virtue of a bathtub full of five-year-old Casey, son of Jayotis.

"My wife always gets children's cassettes, this song was on one...Casey loves to listen to it. I thought, wow, sometimes you have to listen to children. Let's do this one." Jerry Lawson's original, "Persuasions' Nursery Rhyme Medley" is a blast with each of the guys interpreting Old King Cole, Little Miss Muffet, Jack and Jill, Hey Diddle Diddle, Humpty Dumpty, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Little Jack Horner, Jack Spratt and old Mother Hubbard.

"These old nursery rhymes, we've been singin' for a long long time. From the basement to the steeples, this music for little people!" Executive Producer Ostrow wrote one especially for the group called "A Cappella Fellas" that starts the Persuasions' story from when they were "tiny Babies." Also, the song gives a little overview of  a cappella singing comparing their voices to a vocal symphony. The Persuasions' 37 years in the business and still going.

What's on the horizon? Lots. A Broadway play, a sitcom, a tribute album of Frank Zappa songs and their critically acclaimed documentary, "Spread The Word: The Persuasions Sing A Cappella" still airs periodically on PBS. There's a whole lotta love on this album.

Leib Ostrow sums it up perfectly, "I love their spirit. They have a great feeling about them and it comes through beautifuly on this album." Hope they don't give up the children's music ship too soon. Catch you on the flip side.

On the Good Ship Lollipop, Music for Little People; $15.98 CD, $9.98 cassette. (800) 409-2457. Website HERE.

TO TOP OF THIS PAGE                TO LIST OF ALL MUSIC REVIEWS

album by Victoria Jackson, reviewed August 1999

In my opinion, Victoria Jackson has a warped sense of humor, a cartoon voice and a whole bunch of talent that is… just perfect for children's music. Following her first incursion into the pantheon of children's classics: "Ukulele Lady", that was roundly received, "Ukulele Ditties for Itty Bitty Kiddies" marches on to that same different drummer. In fact, the Highway Patrol should use the album title tongue twister as part of their checkpoint sobriety test. The 19+ "ditties" (hard to tell how many there are 'cus some of 'em are quick little rascals) are a mixed salad of songs, poems and riddles and some familiars to boot with a couple of twists of whimsy for flavor. "How Much Is That Doggie…", "Twinkle Twinkle," and "Little White Duck," among others highlight the latter. I love Victoria's funny verbal asides in the songs- really makes the familiars fresh and engaging.

Victoria Jackson doing a handstand in front of a police helicopter, cheered on by her husband Paul (a helicopter police pilot) and their daughters Scarlet and Aubrey.

In addition to Ms. Jackson's ukulele strumming, producer Charlotte Lansberg's arrangements compliment smartly, and Victoria's daughters (age 13) and Aubrey (age 4) help out on "Doggie…" and "Twinkle" respectively. One of my favorites, sung to a familiar melody, will have a mondo affinity factor with young gymnasts- called, "I'm a Little Gymnast". It's autobiographical meaning it was written in a car, I surmise (hold for applause). Victoria was a budding gymnast from age 5 to age 18 and her dad still teaches the discipline in hometown, Miami, FL. One of her aspirations is to compile a 'handstand book' featuring photos of her posing in various handstands at famous sites in the U.S. Hey, it got her on the Johnny Carson TV show for 20 visits! Why couldn't I have thought of that concept? Because, maybe I can't do a handstand? Duh? Details, but I digress, as usual.

We've all digested our share of alphabet songs, right? Well, Victoria Jackson has one that really takes the cake, uh the apple…pie. It's called. "The Tragical Death of an Apple Pie." Kinda goes like this: A was an apple pie. B bit it, C cut it, D dealt it, E eat it, F fought for it, G got it, H had it, I inspected it, J jumped for it, K kept it, L longed for it, M mourned for it, N nodded at it, O opened it, P peeped in it, Q quartered it, R ran for it, S stole it, T took it, U upset it, V viewed it, W wanted it, XYZ and Ampersand all wished for a piece in hand. See what I mean, jelly bean? Those six years on "Saturday Night Live" and current stint on "Politically Incorrect" prepared her well for the toughest roughest audience of all- itty bitty kiddies.

Before I move on, here's one more sorta pretty Victoria Jackson ditty:

A moustache is a silly thing,
A tickely fickely prickley thing.
A patch of hair growing over your lip,
A hairy spot over the place you sip.
Some people think a moustache is jolly,
Others think it just pure folly.
But to me a moustache is nice and adds spice to life,
As long as it doesn't grow on your wife!

Point, game and set! The album is 31 minutes long. Wish it were longer. I think the old adage is to leave them wanting more, and I for one look forward to her next album adventure. Check out Victoria's website for pictures, schedules and additional information including sample songs to listen to. Choo Choo Records also has a site that includes its roster of children's artists.

Ukulele Ditties For Itty Bitty Kiddies, Victoria Jackson, Choo Choo Records; $14.99 CD, $9.99 cassette. (888) CHUG-CHUG (248-4248). www.choochoorecords.com. 

TO TOP OF THIS PAGE                TO LIST OF ALL MUSIC REVIEWS

album by Carole King, reviewed August 1999

Download MP3 audio sample of title song (165KB)

A new/old friend is back in town, Rosie! Really, Rosie? Sony Wonder, Epic and Legacy Recordings, together with Lou Adler of Ode Records (Whew, anybody else got a label?) has released a newly-mastered classic, Carole King's "Really Rosie" on CD for the first time. First released in 1975 and based on the book "Maurice Sendak's Really Rosie Starring The Nutshell Kids". The Carole King music is memorable, and "Really Rosie" holds up really well. It was great to get re-acquainted with tough talented little Rosie, the 10-year-old Brooklyn street kid and her friends Kathy, Johnny (a hummable counting tune), Pierre (of the "I don't care" Pierres), Alligator (speaking of exemplary alphabet songs!), and Chicken Soup (man, you'll be singing this one all day). There's a new foreword penned by Sendak and a complete lyric booklet for the first time. Love my lyric booklets! A whole new audience gets the pleasure of meeting the fruits of a great creative endeavor. Must be exciting for all involved. Catch you on the flip side.

Really Rosie, Carole King, Sony Wonder; $11.98  CD, $5.98 cassette. (212) 833-5358.

album by Gary Rosen, reviewed September 1999

Bears, and Bears, and Bears, oh my! Wall to wall, 24/7, all bears all the time, I got your bears right here.

Gary Rosen, 25-year veteran of the family fare, delivers another resounding hit with "Teddy Bears' Picnic." A major coup for connoisseurs of fine storytelling and pudgy icons is the inclusion of the "Hums of Pooh" by A.A. Milne himself, extracted painlessly from the books, "Winnie-the-Pooh" and "The House At Pooh Corner" and set to music 70 years ago by the peerless English composer, Harold Fraser-Simson. Pooh, as we all know, is a couple of sandwiches shy of a picnic and first in line at the beehive but a friend for life.

All your Pooh buds are represented in fine musical form and it is indeed a pleasure to sit down and sing along with literary nobility. What a treasure! Never boring, always fun, Rosen also adds five original beary good tunes, including "Rock 'n Roll Teddy Bear": "Thadeus T. Bear from Upper Montclair went out for a ride in his limo chauffeured…" Rounding out the set are the title song, "Waltzing With Bears," and Bobby Troup's ("Route 66") finger-snappin' version of "The Three Bears."

Dad's three kids — Lela, Penn, and Eliza — give him a lift with vocal support, and a tight band breezes through the many musical styles. As Jimmy Kennedy once said, "For every bear that ever there was, will gather there for certain because, today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic."

Teddy Bear's Picnic, Gary Rosen, GMR Records; $13.98 CD, $9.98 cassette. Phone (802) 257-9566.

TO TOP OF THIS PAGE                TO LIST OF ALL MUSIC REVIEWS

album by Sister's Choice Recordings, reviewed September 1999

I ran across this environmental compilation while judging a music contest. It's about nine years old but still sparkles. That's what I like about children's music — timeless as the stars! Nancy Schimmel and Candy Forest do a beautiful job of framing important issues in accessible musical ways. How else can you explain "Fix My Dog" as sounding like a walk in the park. I was doing great until "Fancy Face Waltz" came on. It's about lab testing make-up on rabbits. What a sight I must have been, tears streaming down my face on the Hollywood Freeway singing, "Kind to rabbits kind to you…" Okay I'm sensitive all right. Got a problem with that? You won't have a problem with "All In This Together," I guarantee. Check out the company's website for other great recordings by Sister's Choice. Catch you on the flip side.

All In This Together, Sister's Choice Recordings; $11.00 cassette; order by calling (510) 524-5804, or by going to their website order page.

TO TOP OF THIS PAGE                TO LIST OF ALL MUSIC REVIEWS

album by Various Artists, reviewed October 1999

The Mayor of Mount Vernon, N.Y., is turning a 94-year old firehouse into a Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. . . Lauryn Hill recently collected an armful of awards for her hugely successful hip-hop album. . .

So what exactly is hip-hop and why is it so difficult to keep still and stop smiling while listening to it? Well, try this one on for size: Music For Little People's newest release, Hippity Hop. It's a duly danceable initiation to hip-hop, with familiar songs for younger audiences transformed rhythmically into this street-inspired sound. A sprinkling of seasoned artists mixed generously with talented West Coast teenagers will have Mom and Dad raiding the kids' CD collection.

My favorite cut is Cultural Heritage Choirs' poppin' version of "Cookie Jar." I can see Dad now, tooling to work, windows down, bellowing at the top of his lungs, "Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?" The Choir, along with Eric Bibb, also has a fun time reinventing "Funky Nursery Rhymes"; and Taj Mahal jumps all over "Everyday People," and a Bob Marley tune, "Three Little Birds," with Shinehead sharing vocals.

Maria Muldaur offers a brand new version of "Brand New Key"; and traditional songs from the slavery era, "Juba Dis and Juba Dat" and "Little Liza Jane," are given hip-hop life by Sheila E and the album's producer, Linda Tillery, respectively. Rounding out the album is Tillery’s take on "Mary’s Dancing Lamb."

So when the mayor of Mount Vernon looked at that old firehouse and said, "It looks like a building, but it's not. It's an idea," I guess what he meant was that hip-hop is an idea that's here to stay.

Keep in hippity-hop touch with me at www.kidzmusic.com. Catch you on the flip side.

HIPPITY-HOP, Music for Little People; $15.98 CD, $9.98 cassette. Phone (800) 346-4445. E-mail to musicforlittlepeople@mflp.com

TO TOP OF THIS PAGE                TO LIST OF ALL MUSIC REVIEWS

Holiday music, reviewed December 1999

My dear friends, there was a time, back in 1988, when you would have been proud of me! Thanks to the power of recorded music, you can still listen to the album that a few good pals and your humble servant made called, Chanukah At Home on Rounder Records. The friends indeed are: Marcia Berman, Dan Crow, Uncle Ruthie Buell, Fred Sokolow (playing a bucket o' instruments), and my partner in J.P. Nightingale, Pamela Wood. Additional aid and musical assistance were aptly provided by producer Denny Bouchard on piano, synthesizer and bass; Novi Novag on viola; and Miriam Cutler on clarinet. The album holds up extremely well better than me, actually.

Side One kicks off with the exciting opening refrain of "Chanukah Oh Chanukah," passionately sung by Pamela and accompanied by the multitudes and featuring Miriam on the clarinet. Dan Crow's original "Kindle A Candle Of Light" sheds a little light on the holiday; "Chanukah Blessing" features honey-voiced Marcia Berman a capella; "Khanekah" is sung and played, for all intents and purposes, in Yiddish, by the ever-amazing, always-Uncle Ruthie. The title cut, "Chanukah At Home" by Dan Crow, has the laid-back feel of ohhh, "26 Miles Across Tel-Aviv" and what's that clarinet playing at the end, cowboy fans? Side One ends with Mrs. Wood's son's "Family Time," otherwise known as "The Beatles go to Israel."

Side Two opens with the, oh-so-familiar "The Dreydl Song," but this dreydl goes through some serious transitions, thanks to Uncle Ruthie. Marcia returns with beautiful renditions of "Ner Li" and "Sevivon"; Dan's "Together" reinforces this family time; and Pam's rousing version of Malvina Reynold's "Eight Candles" puts this baby to bed. Wow, these reviews are so easy when you have a vested interest! Go figure.

Speaking of vests, put one on and listen to the rousing A Child's Hanukkah with the Jewish Wedding Band from Music For Little People. It's a festive mix of traditional favorites and fun new tunes performed in English, with Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino along for the ride. My favorite is "God Rest Ye, Jerry Mandelbaum."

Those of you in a Christmas state of mind have to give a listen to A Child's Celebration Of Christmas, also from Music For Little People. More than 50 years of the best Christmas songs are on this compilation, from Gene Autry's "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" to "Up On The Housetop" by the Jackson Five. And who can possibly get through Christmas without a little taste of "Jingle Bells" by The Singing Dogs?

Now, if you like your latkes and candy canes too, I've got just the thing for you. Hey, my rhyming skills are coming back! It's Holiday Time! With Mrs. Music and the West Los Angeles Children's Choir is an all-original celebration of Chanukah and Christmas. Barbara Klaskin Harris' songs express hope, love, unity and celebration for the holidays and our children. So, dear friends, put those in your stockings and try to walk. My Christmas memory: When I was a child in England, we had a custom of hanging a pillowcase from the end of our bed. In the morning, Santa would have filled it with treats and presents. Kinda miss that because I have a bigger pillowcase now. Have a safe and happy holiday. Catch you on the new millennium flip side!

Chanukah At Home, Rounder Records; $14.98 CD, $9.98 cassette. Phone (800) 768-6337 or see their website at www.rounder.com
A Child's Hanukkah and A Child's Celebration Of Christmas, Music For Little People; $14.39 CD, $8.99 cassette (10% discount). Phone (800) 346-4445 or see their website at www.musicforlittlepeople.com
It's Holiday Time!, Mrs. Music Ent.; $11.98 CD. Phone (310) 472-6875 or see www.amazon.com.

Legal notice: Quoting from or otherwise using the material in the reviews on this website is not permitted without written permission from Kidzmusic. To obtain permission, contact John Wood at john@kidzmusic.com.

KidzMusic.com ©2008 E-mail address for kidzmusic.com is john@kidzmusic.com.