orange county register
01/12/2001

pick of the week - grade: A
"an album to treasure"
by Ben Wener

If you've recently had children and sought quality sounds that might entertain them, you know what a wasteland the genre is.

On one hand, the "Barney"-izing of tunes for youngsters has left rock 'n' roll parents seething on the inside. Meanwhile, the umpteenth rise of synthetic teen-pop, this time more overtly sexual, not only has some worried their kids will grow up too fast - they always do - but it also has trickled down and deteriorated the standards of traditional kid music. (For clarification, by "kids" I mean ages 2-10. Maybe even 7 or 8.)

Kids aren't fools. They may crave music that is somewhat silly and overly optimistic, but they'll quickly withdraw from anything that doesn't treat them with respect and have a modicum of brains. And it's typically not until junior high that they begin to seek out records designed to tick off every parent on the block. Until then, they tend to dig a lot of what their folks dig.

In that case, turn them on to "Rocket Ship Beach," a wonderful album from former Del Fuegos leader Dan Zanes.

Abetted by a top-notch band and several guest stars - both big (Sheryl Crow on a lightly rockin' "Polly Wolly Doodle," Suzanne Vega on the jovially dark "Erie Canal") and small (the toasting Rankin' Don enlivens several cuts) - Zanes has crafted a fanciful and cheery children's album that ranks among the best ever.

In fact, its relaxed, folk-rock feel recalls another great kids' album, the charity disc "For the Children," which featured artists such as Sting and Bruce Springsteen tackling youthful standards. This does that collection one better, however, by bringing consistency to the performances and a hipness to its alt-country sound.

What's more, apart from offering some usual nursery-rhyme suspects, it exposes kids to enduring classics like "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "Bushel and a Peck" - songs that are clever enough to engage them long past the age of cartoons and cotton candy.

Bottom line: An album to treasure.

Grade: A