Sing Along With Putumayo (2004)

Product Summary Label: Koch Entertainment UPC: 00790248022222 Release Date: 3/23/2004 Buy.com Sku: 60627869 Item#: MYVC3S Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. Bling-Blang - Arlo Guthrie ~ Various Artists 2. Bananaphone - Rhonda Vincent ~ Various Artists 3. Man Gave Names To All The Animals - Tim O Brien ~ Various Artists 4. Old MacDonald Had A Farm - Rufus Thomas ~ Various Artists 5. Love Train - Keb' Mo' ~ Various Artists 6. Don't You Push Me Down - Taj Mahal ~ Various Artists 7. Red Red Robin - Rosie Flores ~ Various Artists 8. Bushel And A Peck - Dan Zanes ~ Various Artists 9. Belly Button Song, The - Music For Aardvarks & Other Mammals ~ Various Artists 10. Michael Row The Boat Ashore - Eric Bibb ~ Various Artists 11. You Are My Sunshine - Elizabeth Mitchell/Daniel Littleton ~ Various Artists 12. I Will Be Your Friend - Guy Davis ~ Various Artists   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info A portion of the proceeds of SING ALONG WITH PUTUMAYO will be donated to the Putymayo Cross-Cultural Initiative. Liner Note Author: Jacob Edgar. Illustrator: Nicola Heindl. Translator: Karine Lal?ch?re. Arranger: Rufus Thomas. From Putumayo's children's division, Sing Along With Putumayo is a decent attempt to make an American roots music album engineered for kids. The bulk of the artists here aren't really from the children's music genre at all, but they sweeten their songs a bit for these recordings. The album opens up with a simple folky piece from Arlo Guthrie, then proper kids' songs from bluegrassers Rhonda Vincent and Tim O'Brien. Rufus Thomas contributes an excellent Memphis soul version of "Old MacDonald," and Keb' Mo' tosses in his own take on the O'Jays' "Love Train." Taj Mahal does a bit of ragamuffin, and Rosie Flores does a bit of old-style boogie woogie, Dan Zanes joins a crew of little ones for a full-fledged piece of folk, and the Music for Aardvarks troupe uses folk music as a vehicle for another piece entirely from the kids' genre. Bluesman Eric Bibb tosses in "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," and one of the few honest-to-goodness children's artists, a duo from the band Ida, contributes a soft rendition of "You Are My Sunshine." Closing out the album, Guy Davis spins a song in an older style of blues-tinged gospel that works perfectly for the piece. The music isn't what one would expect from a lot of the artists here, but it's quite good. Putumayo has possibly done something difficult for children's albums to manage: they have made a nice collection that the kids can sing along with (lyrics are available for the songs as well), and added some name recognition and nostalgia, along with higher quality songs, for the parents to stand on endless replays. ~ Adam Greenberg Designed to enhance children's gatherings, each song on SING ALONG WITH PUTUMAYO is playful and uplifting. A variety of musical styles are represented on this disc and many outstanding artists contribute to this CD. In short, listeners will hear an assortment of children's tunes, plus other light fare, as Arlo Guthrie, Taj Mahal, Keb' Mo', and others ask the kids to sing along. Dan Zanes's "A Bushel and a Peck" (from the musical Guys and Dolls) is given a folk treatment here. On this tune, Zanes combines banjo with the soft pulse of a tuba and his own country-inflected voice. This is a simple, carefree tune, and the sound of children playing in the background really adds to the appeal of this track. Taj Mahal's "Don't You Push Me Down" is a reggae tune intended to remind children to play nicely together. This music is not only instructive; it is also fun and easy to dance to. One of the most beautiful and joyous songs ever penned is the lovely "You Are My Sunshine," which is captured on this collection by Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton. Strongly folksy, this lyric of love and devotion is rendered exquisitely by Mitchell.   Technical Info Release Date : 03/23/2004 Original Release Date : 2004 Catalog ID : 222 Label : Putumayo Number of Discs : 1 Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00790248022222    Related Videos B Is For Bob: Ziggy Marley They Might Be Giants: Her...