Posted by jennywest | Posted in Kids Music Reviews | Posted on 01-06-2010
Tags: Cats In the Cradle, earth-aware, environmental, folk, Harry Chapin, pop, rock, This Pretty Planet, Top Chapin
This Pretty Planet is a children’s contemporary folk album with an earth-aware theme. The album talks about looking after the planet in an entertaining and fun way. It also speaks about the cycles of nature and the changing seasons. The Pretty Planet is aimed at age four to twelve.
When I picked out this album out of possible music downloads for free, I suspected there might be some relation to the late Harry Chapin whose biggest hit was Cats in the Cradle. After I turned it on I was certain. The similarities are in the lyrical storytelling style, amusing ideas intermingled with accurate observations and catchy music.
It turns out that Tom Chapin is Harry’s brother, and most of the family are musicians too. Tom has been making music for decades. He also hosted an award winning children’s show called Make a Wish between 1971 and 1976. This Pretty Planet was nominated for a Grammy in 2001 and Publisher’s Weekly said:
Clever lyrics deliver Earth-friendly messages with style and fun, and a stellar line-up of guest performers ensures a memorable listening adventure. A special treat for tree-huggers and a great listen for everyone else, Chapin’s latest proves he’s still in top form.
The Year 3000 has a popping bass line. It’s got a mix of funk and rock in it. Did I mention that Tom Chapin makes music for grown-ups too? This track will have you grooving even when you are sitting down, and it had my kid holding on to my head and jumping up and down on my lap.
In the song Two Kinds of Seagulls Chapin explains that there are he-gulls and she-gulls, and for wombats there are mom-bats and dad-bats. It’s a very funny duet with a female singer that sounds like an elderly Austrian scientist and I find it amusing even if my toddler doesn’t get it yet.