Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Dan Zanes has a thing about trains. If your kids do, too, they'll love this folksy CD.
Families can try to identify the wide variety of instruments played on these otherwise simple songs.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kathi Kamen Goldmark
Dan Zanes brings his unique style to 18 folksy songs; enough of them are about trains to call this a "theme" album. With a troupe of talented friends and imaginative instrumentation, he delivers tracks (get it? Train songs .. tracks?) that are a cut above most children's folk music albums.
Multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multi-talented, this ragtag band of minstrels takes us on a lighthearted journey through a variety of musical styles with happy songs about locomotion, nature, and friendship, performed and produced with attentive care. For those who think that Dan Zanes is their little alternative-kids-music secret, it may come as a surprise to see this CD on the display counter at Starbucks.
Parents in the know will be relieved to note that CATCH THAT TRAIN is as quirky as any of Zanes' previous efforts. Highlights include "Catch that Train" (the title song), "Mariposa Ole" (in Spanish, and including a beautiful vocal by Barbara Brousal), a very odd cover of the Rufus Thomas R&B classic "Walkin' the Dog," and the Children of Agape singing "Pigoo." Least appealing is a dragging cover of "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie." Slowing this one down makes no sense; it's the rapid-fire, swingy tempo that makes the song work and conveys the "train" concept, so this version falls very flat. But the rest of the album lopes along at a comfortable, easy, and interesting pace.
The wide variety of instruments used will make the tunes more interesting to parents, and appealing and fun for kids. The lyrics and chords to all the songs are thoughtfully included, in case you want to play and sing them at home. Mostly, Catch That Train is right on track (Get it?...oh, never mind.)
For more Dan Zanes, check out House Party.
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Social BehaviorPositive messages about inclusiveness, friendship, and nature. |
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