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Shrek - Like The Muppet Show or The Simpsons, Shrek is tiered with visual appeal, fantasy, and sophisticated humor that appeals to children and adults on two mutually exclusive levels. Judging by the soundtrack alone, there is some genuine emotion coming from this movie; Rufus Wainwright, the Proclaimers, and especially the Eels all pen winsome, longing tunes. Dana Glover's "It Is You (I Have Loved)" represents the soundtrack's requisite glossy ballad, but it's better than most, and John Powell's climactic, orchestral "True Love's First Kiss" makes one wish there was a full score to accompany this soundtrack. On the flip side, Smash Mouth cover the Monkees' "I'm a Believer" with a groovy treatment of crunchy hip-hop beats, and Leslie Carter (sister of Aaron and Nick) gives a perky performance on the Britney-esque "Like Wow!" The soundtrack squeezes the last drops of juice from the overplayed Smash Mouth hit "All Star," but other than that, it strikes a great balance between cute-but-not-precious pop hits, and more grown-up songs that are well within reach of young ears.
Ralph's World - No matter where you enter Ralph's World, you can't help but want to fling the doors wide open: here, finally, is an artist who's made good on his promise to deliver kiddie songs that don't drive the big folks batty. The titular Ralph is Ralph Covert, a Chicago-based singer-songwriter with an animated, slightly Arlo Guthrie-ish voice and a knack for complete naturalness--not such a breeze when belting out songs whose lyrics call for ecstatic beep-beeping ("Drivin' in My Car") and choo-chooing ("Choo Choo Train"). That Covert is the debut artist on the just-launched Mini Fresh label, also based in Chicago, speaks volumes: the company is the kid's offshoot of Minty Fresh, the independent label responsible for bringing hip groups such as the Cardigans, Veruca Salt, Komeda, and Tahiti 80 to the grown-up masses. Ralph's World follows a similarly hip, "wow 'em with something different" formula. The pure pop of "All My Colors," made meaty by the inclusion of the mandolin, will find parents pumping the gas pedal on cross-town car trips; the hand jive of "Four Little Duckies" (featuring Dobro, banjo, and duck calls) defies anybody beyond drooling age to sit still. The folk-infused "Name Song," with its mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and an off-the-charts tempo, will leave you laughing, if your lips don't fall off first. For background vocals, "Ralph's World" relies on a rhythm-rich quartet known as the Kids, who supply the record its party-on vibe. This is a CD that leaves no listener behind, lacks pretension, and, most important, will lead jaded parents to believe that sharing quality music with their kids isn't a lost cause.
Innocence & Despair - In the mid-1970s, Hans Fenger taught music in the Langley, British Columbia, school district, using an experimental method inspired equally by Brian Wilson and Carl Orff. Occasionally he would record his students in the school gymnasium--elaborate affairs involving more than 60 kids per session. The result is this compelling collection of semi-accidental genius. Picture the Shaggs and Danielson presiding over an elementary school assembly for shy kids, and you begin to understand how sweet, sincere, and slightly unsettling these recordings are. The Langley students perform their favorite 1960s and 1970s hits as if they never heard the originals; they turn "Mandy" into the kind of lo-fi pop song that Neutral Milk Hotel would perfect 20 years later, and sing "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" like a delegation of extraterrestrial children on a friendship mission to Earth. Fenger's arrangements are spacious but elaborate, with prominent Orff percussion instruments that coat everything with a glimmering otherworldliness. The Langley students must've been proud just to hear themselves on tape, but for those of us encountering these artifacts for the first time, it's impossible to come away unmoved. (The photographs are precious, too.)
Cieli di Toscana - Not content with the simplistic "crossover" formula, superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli has been pursuing alternative paths since he emerged as a vocal phenomenon in the mid-1990s: operatic classics and contemporary popular song. The singer's last few albums have showcased his love for the former (including homages to his beloved Verdi: the Requiem and Verdi aria collection). But Cieli di Toscana ("Tuscan Skies") marks a triumphant return to the pop idiom last explored on Sogno, offering a highly varied series of the kind of beautifully crafted contemporary melodies that initially won Bocelli acclaim. The familiar cast of songwriter-collaborators (including Francesco Sartori, responsible for the smash success "Time to Say Goodbye") mixes with new blood; Bocelli himself unveils his songwriting talents on "Il Diavolo e l'Angelo." It's a highly produced affair, but behind all the gloss, Bocelli sings with a newfound, relaxed, even mellow quality. There are intimately touching moments--"L'Incontro," a tribute to his first son featuring Bocelli's own poetry as read by U2's Bono--as well as soaring flights of lyricism (the duet "L'Abitudine" with Italian singer Helena). And on "Mascagni," with its quotes from that composer's operas, Bocelli makes another nod to his classical affinities. But whatever the style, Bocelli is a singer who knows how to go straight to his listeners' hearts.
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