Itty-Bitty Review: Their Heads Are Green and Their Hands Are Blue - Papa Crow

Their Heads Are Green and Their Hands Are Blue

I praise the willingness of musicians to follow wherever their idiosyncratic muse takes them, and by that measure, few kids musicians would receive higher praise than Michigan's Jeff Krebs, aka Papa Crow.  It's not that he changes musical styles dramatically from album to album -- you can hear his gentle folk-pop on his fine albums Things That Roar and Full Moon, Full Moon and you can also hear it on his EP about farting and tooting, What Was That Sound?.  It's the subjects that are wildly different.

You can also hear his folk-pop on his latest EP, Their Heads Are Green and Their Hands Are Blue.  His subject this time? The nonsense poems of 19th century writer Edward Lear.  Accompanied with nothing but his vintage 1947 Gibson guitar, Krebs tells these stories through melodies he's written for the album.  Lear might be most well-known for his poem "The Owl and the Pussycat," which Krebs includes here, but the strongest songs to my ear are the leadoff track, the sea-shanty-like "The Jumblies," and the blues-y "Calico Pie."  (Special shout-out to Krebs for recording the 110-line "The Courtship of the Yonghy Bonghy Bo," which Krebs reports took him 54 attempts to reach a suitable take.)

The album will be most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8.  You can stream and purchase the 19-minute EP here.  Kids will need to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy the songs here -- they do require some attention -- and these may work better mixed in with other songs, rather than in one set.  But it's a fun album nonetheless.  Settings of 150-year-old poetry to song is probably not the way to kindie fame and fortune, but I'm glad that Papa Crow has chosen to explore this particular side path.  Recommended.

Note: I was given a (digital) copy of the album for possible review.

Review: Full Moon, Full Moon - Papa Crow

Michigan-based musician Papa Crow zigs and zags.  His hushed, heartfelt debut Things That Roar was earnest, while the follow-up EP What Was That Sound? was… well, maybe it was heartfelt, too, but it was a heartfelt and fun album about flatulence, so I think you see my point about the zigging and zagging.

Having gotten toots out of his system -- so to speak -- Papa Crow (aka Jeff Krebs) returns to the warmth of his debut with his recent release Full Moon, Full Moon.  If the first album sounded a little bit like it was recorded in the middle of a Michigan winter, this new album has a sunnier, more expansive feeling, like it was recorded over the course of some long Michigan summer days with many friends.

"Moving to the Beat" is a gentle ska-tinged tune featuring organ and saxophone, while "Great White Pine" is straight-ahead bluegrass tune about camping.  If "I Wanna Rock & Roll" starts out softer than I'd expect a song titled that to begin, it ends with a suitably loud riff.  Krebs says the album loosely follows a day in the life of a child from sunup to sunup, so as you'd expect, a lot of the album's second half is mellower -- "Give Some, Get Some," featuring Frances England, is a highlight, as is the title track and "The Michigan Waltz," the latter written by Krebs' grandfather.

You can listen to 3 full songs from the 42-minute album (most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 8) here.  The album is made with evident care and craft, and will again appeal to families who are fans of Frances England, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Dan Zanes, artists who originally inspired Papa Crow.  This album which celebrates the outside world is a worthy successor to both of its predecessors -- more so the debut than the cheekier EP -- and worth checking out regardless of how well you know his music.  Definitely recommended.

Note: I was given a copy of the album for possible review.