Review: Rhythm Child - Eat A Bowl Of Cherries

Rhythm Child - Eat A Bowl Of Cherries
2009, The Rhythm Child Network

Norman Jones cut his teeth over a decade with Reggae/Ska Band Crucial DBC before joining The English Beat's Dave Wakeling in The Free Radicals. A stint with General Public was to be before Jones headed off in a new direction. Inspired by the birth of his son Bailey, Jones decided he wanted to write music that would engage children but be enjoyed by parents as well. He formed the band Rhythm Child with wife Heather, and grew two other members (Bailey and Andre). Since that fateful decision Jones has won a John Lennon Songwriting competition Grand Prize as well as placing as a finalist. Rhythm Child's latest album Eat A Bowl Of Cherries spawned a #1 song on Sirius/XM Kids Radio as well as current or upcoming placement on two separate Putamayo compilations.

Eat A Bowl Of Cherries opens with "Riding On The Bus", Rhythm Child's take on "The Wheels On The Bus". It's a funky and soulful re-interpretation that uses the original as more of a guide than a song to cover; the result is very enjoyable and will work for both parents and kids. "Sam The Lamb Blues" is "Mary Had A Little Lamb" re-imagined as a blues song. The arrangement is solid, and the Hammond Organ work is exquisitely done. "Bowl Of Cherries" is catchy soul that hints at both zydeco and jazz without ever quite making the break. The song is a bit repetitive but is a fun listen. Rhythm Child misses a beat with "Everybody Is The One", but hits the mark with their take on "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in a funky acoustic guitar-driven arrangement that will make you want to dance.

Rhythm Child strives for a positive message that comes off weak in "Misunderstandings", but makes a soulful dance number of "Oh Susanna" in one of the biggest highlights of the album. "Shaker Song" will have everyone from the toddlers to grandma dancing and shaking their booty. Rhythm Child closes on a couple of awkward notes with the reggae behavior modification anthem "I Can't Play Today" and the repetitive and banal "Cab We Still Be Friends".

Rhythm Child makes a strong impression with Eat A Bowl Of Cherries, a generally very positive collection of songs that crosses generational gaps to be enjoyable for children of all ages. Rhythm Child does hit a few rough spots along the way, but there's enough good material here that you'll be happy to pick up the album and just edit out the chaff on your playlist. Rhythm Child might be one of the more entertaining children’s/family artists this side of Trout Fishing In America.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Rhythm Child at http://www.rhythmchild.net/ or www.myspace.com/rhythmchildnetwork. You may purchase Eat A Bowl Of Cherries from Rhythm Child's webstore, or as a digital download from iTunes.

Review: Leeny And Tamara - Sharing The Same Stars

Leeny And Tamara - Sharing The Same Stars

2009, Leeny And Tamara

Leeny And Tamara are Ilene “Leeny” Altman and Tamara Hey. Altman is based in Gloucester, Massachussets and is an award-winning children’s artist. Hey is a New York City based singer-songwriter with three albums under her belt and a great deal of respect from critics and fans in NYC. The duo met as students at Boston’s Berklee School Of Music; their first professional collaboration, Sharing The Same Stars (September 1, 2009) is intelligent and catchy children’s music that will appeal to adults as well as children.

Sharing The Same Stars opens with Put On My Seatbelt, a piece of classic 1950's style Rock N Roll that teaches kids about the importance of wearing their seatbelts. The music is very entertaining and danceable, although the lyrics are a bit of a stretch at times and are obviously aimed at a slightly older crowd of kids. Taking Turns is highly listenable (and danceable) Rock N Roll, but again has a vague lyrical awkwardness that seems jarring in contrast to the musical arrangement. The two sides work better on I Used To Be Shy, a story song with a moral about being yourself. Where the first two songs come off as vaguely patronizing, I Used To Be Shy seems to come from the heart and therefore flows much more easily. Hold It will be a chuckle for the parents and perhaps a positive post-potty training reinforcement for the kiddos.

Ladybug, Ladybug, Ladybu-U-ug is entertaining, informational and forward thinking. I learned more about Ladybugs from this song than I ever knew before, and there's even a focus on preservation and Green thinking in the song. The arrangement itself is upbeat and fun and likely to engage children of all ages. My Baby is more for the moms listening along; a sentimental call for the growing up process, even time itself, to slow down. It's a gorgeous ballad written from the heart and is very touching. Your Epidermis Is Showing continues with the highly informational and highly entertaining tunes. Your kids will dance while learning all about their skin (keeps the outside out and the inside in!). It's Cool To Be You is a self-image builder done in a gentle rock arrangement that's a bit cliché in modern Pop children's psychology but has a positive message that's worth hearing.

Vitamin C is again highly informational and entertaining. The only downside to this, and many of the songs on Sharing The Same Stars, is that the music is definitely not aimed at younger kids. The words and concepts presented in many of the songs are so far over the heads of toddlers that it might not connect. The songs are catchy enough to garner interest from the young ones, but anyone not at least of school age might be left behind (which cuts out a large part of the market for a children's album). I Came Out Backwards is an amusing tune that shows how getting off the wrong foot can have long-lasting consequences, and is done as a cabaret tune with a Latin rhythm. This might be the best songwriting on the disc, although it would be considered a novelty tune if done for adults. Leeny and Tamara close out the set with Across The USA, an answer to Johnny Cash's I've Been Everywhere done for children. The tune is infectious and will have both parents and kiddos dancing.

Leeny And Tamara hit mostly the right notes on Sharing The Same Stars. A few instances of lyrical awkwardness early on are forgotten by the end of the CD. The intellectual level of the listeners is bit older than on your typical children's album, covering some words and ideas that will be fully lost on the younger set. Musically and vocally the album earns no complaints. A mix of musical styles and tempos will keep kids and parents involved. I suspect a live performance would be highly entertaining. I'd say Sharing The Same Stars is most appropriate for kids in the 4-7 range, although you might get caught up in the "that's not cool" phenomenon with the school age kids because the music's actually educational. Sharing The Same Stars is a strong album, it just might have a really narrow demographic.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Leeny And Tamara and Sharing The Same Stars at http://www.leenyandtamara.com/ or http://www.sharingthesamestars.com/. You can purchase Sharing The Same Stars as either a CD or download through CDBaby.com.