Review: Gustafer Yellowgold's Dark Pie Concerns - Gustafer Yellowgold

Gustier Yellowgold's Dark Pie Concerns album/DVD cover

Gustier Yellowgold's Dark Pie Concerns album/DVD cover

Can it be true?  Can Gusfater Yellowgold's Dark Pie Concerns really be the seventh album from Gustafer Yellowgold?

Of course it's true -- why would I start out this review with a bunch of untrue rhetorical questions?  Over the course of more than a decade and those seven albums, Morgan Taylor has crafted an entire world about the yellow guy from the sun wrapped in a gauzy '70s AM-rock packaging.  The songs are catchy, but what lodges Gustafer into the kindie listener's memory are the lyrics and the videos illustrating Taylor's often surreal subjects and stories.

Sure, you can hear "Sunny Side" as a song celebrating waking up early and having a positive attitude, but the video suggests that it's really celebrating eggs cooked sunny side up (and features at one point some 8-bit squirrels).  "Dark Pie" brings a little electronic percussion (hints of Wilco's update of '70s soft rock on "Heavy Metal Drummer") to the public and private shame that is overbaking of pies.

This is an album of food-inspired songs and while there's always been more than a hint of food antagonism in the Gustafer oeuvre, that comes out in full force here -- from the Gary Glitter stomp of "Rock Melon" to the slightly disturbing craziness of "Gravy Insane" to the food-gone-amock soft-rock-turned-electro-rock-rap of "Cakenstein." (I love "Cakenstein.")  But Taylor indulges his softer XTC side as well, particularly on tracks like "Cinnamon Tap," "Strawberry Love," and "I Sandwich," which is an odd metaphor for love.

If there's any change from prior GY work, it's that unlike the past few albums, there is no story throughline to the album.  It has its "food" theme (though like They Might Be Giants' numbers and letters-inspired albums, it's as much a jumping-off point as anchor), but there's no plot per se.  That's fine, but I do miss those attempts at broader stories.

You can get the 29-minute album either as part of the DVD/CD set or just the album alone.  I think the music stands up on its own, but hopefully I've made the case for the videos as well.  The DVD/CD set also includes sing-along versions of all the songs, along with a 24-minute bonus video featuring Taylor telling you how to draw Gustafer's best friend, the pterodactyl Forrest Applecrumbie, with occasional sound clips from other songs.  As with all Gustafer albums, the sweet spot is for kids ages 3 through 8.

Gustier Yellowgold's Dark Pie Concerns is another surreal trip through the Gustafer universe, funny and memorable, both musically and visually.  Even if this trip doesn't head anywhere in particular, it's still fun to meander with him.  Definitely recommended.

Note: I was provided a copy of this DVD/CD set for possible review.

Review: Beatles Baby - Caspar Babypants

Caspar Babypants Beatles Baby album cover

Caspar Babypants Beatles Baby album cover

Chris Ballew works fast.  Diligently, to be sure, but fast.  Beatles Baby is his tenth Caspar Babypants album in less than 6 years, and that's on top of his work with the Presidents of the United States of America and his new efforts in the world of ambient music.

Beatles Baby arrives this Friday, almost 2 years to the day after Ballew's first set of Beatles covers, the search-engine-challenging-in-retrospect-titled Baby Beatles.  As with its predecessor, its value in a world in which few if any Beatles covers are truly necessary is in its nimble and somewhat pared-down approach to the songs.

Many of the originals' signature touches remain -- Billy Shears gets his shout-out on the transition from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" to "With a Little Help From My Friends" at the start of the album, or the driving bass line in "Lady Madonna."  Also nifty is the reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's" near the end (again, just like the original) and the transition from "Golden Slumbers" to "The End" from Abbey Road (sorry, fans, of "Carry That Weight" -- that gets elided out).  In some cases, like on "Drive My Car," the simple arrangements are let the melodies shine through even more, though Ballew also pulls out some orchestral synth arrangements.  For me, the most interesting tracks are those on which Ballew puts more of his stamp on the piece -- the mellow take on "The End" or the somewhat sped-up take on "Hey Jude," or the "cleaned-up" take on "Piggies" (though some fans of the original might miss the Fab Four's rougher take.

As with all of the Caspar Babypants music, the 49-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 1 through 5, but of course the Beatles source material will automatically extend the high end of that age range another 80 or so years upward.

It's hard to make a case for this album as essential listening, for either Beatles fans or Caspar Babypants fans (and I count myself in both camps) -- why not listen to the original tracks from 50 years ago, and Ballew's written dozens of nifty pop songs for preschoolers in his own right?  But the clean and thoughtful stripped-down pop that's been a hallmark of the Babypants sound is every bit in evidence here as it's been in the past, and, married to one of the best songwriting duos of the 20th century, that's good enough for me.  Fast work, yes, but still just as good.  Recommended.

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

Weekly Summary (3/10/14 - 3/16/14)

How I Got Here: Laura Doherty (Billy Joel, The Beatles, Neil Young)

Laura Doherty_ELTrain_photo credit Phil Onofrio_lowres.jpg

Laura Doherty has a new album (In a Heartbeat, funded via Kickstarter) full of acoustic rockers for your favorite kindergartner, a new animated video ("Domingo the Flamingo"), a new band name (Laura Doherty and the Heartbeats) and a long history of making music for kids.

I've had a number of conversations with Doherty through the years -- she's one of the nicest musicians in a genre of nice musicians -- and so I was happy when she agreed to be the latest participant in my "How I Got Here" series of kindie artists reviewing influential albums.

Read on for not one, not two, but three albums of great importance to her on her El train to Chicago kindie musician.

Most of the music that influenced me when I was young, were pop and rock songs that had catchy melody lines, jangly guitars, and anything with harmony— the more parts, the better. I can’t remember ever not loving music and singing. I was the girl with headphones on, playing guitar with my tennis racket, in front of my bedroom mirror and singing into my hairbrush. Or I was often lying on the plush green rug in my yellow room, with my ear pressed up against my Emerson stereo speakers. (Thus inspiring the song “Yellow Room” from my band Sweet Hello’s album Well of Wishes).  

What album has influenced me the most in my own songwriting? I’ll break it down into one that has influenced my singing and one that’s influenced my guitar playing. And then a radio segment that rocked my world!

My parents did have a small collection of adult contemporary 60s and 70s records, such as Frank Sinatra and Barbara Streisand, which I liked, but it was really my brother’s record collection that I was drawn too. It was 1980, I was 10, and Billy Joel’s Glass Houses captured my attention. I stared at the teeny-tiny “hand-written” font of all the lyrics on the inside record sleeve, and I memorized every word. Growing up in NY, I had an instant connection to Billy’s voice. In “Sleeping with the Television On” I would sing it just like Billy, with a stronger NY accent that I actually had. To this day, if I’m in close proximity to a karaoke machine, you can bet I’ll be asking them to cue up “New York State of Mind”. “All for Leyna” was another favorites from that record. That driving piano riff and soaring vocal…pure 80s pop! I went on to collect all of Billy Joel’s albums after that. Of course MTV was in high gear with videos, and all the 80s music made an indelible mark on my brain.

Later in high school, I became completely obsessed with the Beatles, learning the words to every song, but oddly enough I never fully learned which songs are on which albums. This is because my introduction to the Fab Four came one Thanksgiving weekend, when NYC’s rock station 102.7 WNEW played EVERY Beatles song from A - Z. I popped in my cassette tapes and recorded the whole thing. My family must have not seen me too much that weekend as I was holed up in my room switching the cassettes! I remember it covered 3 days worth of Beatles music. And that’s how I learned Beatles songs…”Ob-la-di-bla-da”, followed by “Octopus’ Garden” followed by “Oh, Darling.”

Back to an album that greatly influenced my guitar playing. I discovered classic rock and folk-rock of the 60s and 70s right at the time I first picked up a guitar, around age 16. Neil Young’s triple compilation album Decade was one that greatly influenced me and I bought the accompanying guitar songbook too, and taught myself some chords. The chord progressions I play today, and the rhythmic way I approach the guitar, I believe have sprung from those Neil Young songs I was learning as a teen. “Old Man,” “Cinnamon Girl,” “Heart of Gold”…the guitar parts all have great melody lines. I could go on and on with influences after that, such as the Indigo Girls and all the female singer-songwriters emerging at that time. I immersed myself in this music!

Fast forward 20 years or so, I’ve been living in Chicago and music continues to weave through my life. Always a passion, then as a part-time career, and eventually 4 years ago, it turned full-time career of teaching, performing, and recording music for kids. You can hear those early folk and rock influences in my 3 children’s records and my adult records too — I’ve got one solo, and two with folk-pop band Sweet Hello. 

I began writing songs for kids in 2008, and it seemed a natural progression to the music I was playing already, and a nice pairing to the early-childhood music classes I was teaching (Wiggleworms), at the Old Town School of Folk Music. It’s a program that 15 years later, still brings me joy to teach. So thanks to Neil, Billy, The Beatles, and the Indigo Girls for acoustically rockin’ MY world!

Photo credit: Phil Onofrio

Video: "The Beatles (When Ringo Shook His Mop)" (Live) - Walter Martin

I already mentioned the oh-so-lovely Walter Martin - Karen O duet "Sing To Me," and now there's a new video for another song off Martin's forthcoming family album We're All Young Together.  It's for the mid-tempo stroll down memory lane "The Beatles (When Ringo Shook His Mop)," and it's every bit as genial as the titular subject -- Martin in the foreground, playing keyboards, the rest of the band in the background.  Not much happens, but the song's so great, I don't care.  Unfortunately, toy xylophones introduced (or noticed) in the first act are apparently unplayed in the third.

Walter Martin - "The Beatles (When Ringo Shook His Mop)" (Live) [YouTube]

Review: Desert Island Disc - Recess Monkey

Rather than complaining about Recess Monkey's incredibly high level of productivity and quality as I have multiple times in the past, I thought I'd try to, you know, straight-up review the Seattle band's tenth (!) album for families, the recently-released Desert Island Disc.

Novel, I know.   (Besides, how am I ever going to top this interview?)

As with many Recess Monkey albums, the band's latest album is nominally a concept album, loosely tied around the theme of being stranded on a desert island, the follow-up to their last album, this summer's Deep Sea Diver .  And as with most Recess Monkey albums, following the theme isn't strictly necessary, as the songs stand up well enough without the scaffolding of a theme to prop up interest in their young listeners.

Indeed, if the songs hold together in any particular way, it's more in their sound.  In the orchestrations (from Jherek Bischoff, brother of drummer Korum Bischoff), toned-down retro-rock, and love songs, this is easily their most Beatles-esque album since their little-heard debut Welcome to Monkey Town .  From the shuffle of "Pearls of Wisdom" to the sweeping strings on "Dessert Island" to the gorgeous love song "Long Gone," there are lots of echoes of the Fab Four's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band  (save for the "Getting a Sunburn," for which the band is probably getting lawyered up in anticipation of the inevitable cease-and-desist copyright letter from the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson).  Maybe it's just all the ukulele -- never a bad thing in my book -- but the mellow sound puts more emphasis on Drew Holloway's songwriting.

I don't necessarily hear the band playing many of these calmer songs in concert (notable exception: "Hide and Seek"), but I could see this desert island disk being a popular choice for snowed-in wintry mornings.  And, yes, I said "love songs" -- "Long Gone" and "Smooth Sailing" are sweet songs, as emotional as anything as the band's recorded, packing a wallop.

The 40-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9.  As noted above, it's not necessarily as danceable or totally goofy as some of their previously albums, though that's a deliberate choice.  You can stream the whole album here.

One would think that it's difficult for a band to turn out as much great music as Recess Monkey has in the past not-even-a-decade.   I could be stranded on a desert island for that entire period of time and be lucky to write a small fraction of the great songs they've produced over that time.  So let's be thankful that the incredibly productive and focused trio continues to produce wonderful music.  Regardless of Desert Island Disc  actually makes it onto your own family's "desert island disks" collection, it's really good. Highly recommended.

Note: I received a copy of this album for possible review.