Customer Reviews

Arthur And Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those of you who watch the Arthur TV series on PBS, I'm sure you have heard the "Crazy Bus" song in some of the episodes. Sometimes you might think, hmm, does the song "Crazy Bus" really, really exist? I had that kind of thought when I first discovered this CD two years ago. Before I even bought it, I thought I was going to like it right off the bat. And after listening to the audio samples off the Internet, I knew I was going to like it then. So I bought it, and I loved it - every single track! I even like the "Crazy Bus" song, which is D.W.'s favorite song. But Arthur says that song is "annoying," according to a letter written by him you will find on the back cover of the album. If you're wanting to find "Crazy Bus," this is the CD you're looking for!

This CD contains songs from the PBS hit animated Arthur series, and they are sung by the actual Arthur characters. Most of the songs were baced on episodes from the first 4 seasons of the program. That's right, you'll get to hear Arthur (voiced by Michael Yarmush), Buster, Francine, Binky, the Brain, Mr. Ratburn, and D.W. sing their songs on this fun CD. In the liner notes that come with the CD, not only can you sing along with the songs, you get to see the characters comment on some of the songs. You'll see the characters comment with speech bubbles for the songs. Also, near the back of the liner notes, you'll find a list of the voiceovers who provided the characters' voices for the show at the time the CD was produced. And further more, you'll hear familiar singers like Ziggy Marley and Art Garfunkel.

Theme Song: Arthur says it's his favorite song. Sung by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.

Library Card: This song is heard in the episode, "Arthur's Almost Live, Not Real, Music Festival." You hear a lot of the Arthur characters in this song.

Crazy Bus (No Way!): D.W. begins to play her favorite song, but Arthur says it's not going to be played on the CD.
It's the second shortest track.

Arthur VS. The Piano: As I heard this song, I imagined Arthur himself practicing the piano. The song had a little bit of classical bits like Beethoven. My favorite lyric was "I'm sorry, Mr. Bach." Near the end, Arthur thought he hit a wrong note, but he liked the sound and begins to get down while playing the finale.

The UFO Song: Those who watch the Arthur show know that Buster is crazy over aliens, outer space, and UFO's. I liked the harmonica music in that song.

Meek For A Week: Francine sings about the time when Muffy made a bet with her that she couldn't be nice for an entire week. Based on the episode of the same name.

Jekyll And Hyde: Another song from the "... Music Festival" episode, the Brain sings about a time when he read a book which made him dream he became that character. The electric guitar music heard in the song really revs it up!

My Dog Pal: This is really a series of short songs on one track. It begins with Arthur singing about his dog, Pal. Then D.W. says that it's boring and she tells Arthur to sing something else. And then Buster, Brain, and Francine make him change the song again and again. It all leads back to Arthur's first song - about Pal. It's a musical chain reaction!
Based on the book and TV episode, "Arthur Writes a Story."
This is the longest track on the CD.

Matalij Ja Mustii (The Binky Song): There are no lyrics for this song in the liner notes because it's sung in Finnish. Heard in the episodes, "Binky Rules" and "Meet Binky." The actual artist who sang the song is from Finland, Varrtina. This is one of my favorites off this CD. Even though I don't understand the song, I liked the melody and the music.

Crazy Bus (I Said No, D.W.!): Once again, D.W. wants to play her favorite song. Arthur stops her again. This is the shortest track of all - it lasted for about 12 seconds.

My Night Light: Binky sings about how his night light keeps him from having nightmares at night. I liked the lyric "I love my night light more than I love ice cream." I thought it was funny and cute at the same time, and it's my favorite lyric. Based on the Arthur episode, "Night Fright."

Go To Sleep: In this song, D.W. tries to put her baby sister Kate to sleep. She doesn't sing her a lullaby, she tries putting her to sleep with Rock and Roll music! Before I even heard the whole song - I heard the audio samples of course - I had a feeling that her mom would tell her to be quiet when the song was over. I was right on the dot! Try putting a baby to bed with THAT music.

Thinking Tune: There was no singing at all, in fact, there wasn't even any music. There was just the sound of a diggery-do, which almost makes you want to meditate. Brain says he likes to think, and I agree. No wonder they call him THE BRAIN!

Lucky Pencil: Arthur sings about a time when he found a pencil that gives him good luck. He soon finds he doesn't need such a charm like a pencil for luck, you just have to believe in yourself. I once had that kind of experience. The song is based on the TV episode, "Arthur's Lucky Pencil."

Homework: Mr. Ratburn, the teacher, loves to sing about his favorite subject, HOMEWORK! This is another song from the "... Music Festival" episode. Compared to the song heard in the episode, it's slightly longer on the CD.

Poetry Club: As heard in the episode, "I'm a Poet," we hear Francine, Buster, and Arthur recite poems that they wrote themselves. Again D.W. pops up to try to get a little bit of for "Crazy Bus" song on the album.

The Ballad Of Buster Baxter: Sung by Art Garfunkel of Simon and Garfunkel, it tells the story of when Buster went on a trip around the world with his dad. Based on the episode of the same name.

Leftovers Goulash: Sung to the tune of the Carmon opera and other classical melody bits, Arthur sings about his dad who is a cook. Unlike other cooks, Arthur and D.W.'s dad makes pretty disgusting concoctions for dinner. This is yet another song from the "... Music Festival" episode.

Crazy Bus (What's This Doing Here?): Finally, we get to hear the entire "Crazy Bus" song. I didn't mind it at all when I heard the whole thing for the first time. But when the song was over, Arthur wanted to call on Mom for D.W. playing that song. Unfortunately, the CD was over!

I loved the whole, entire CD! I could listen to it again and again and I'd never tire of it. It's one of my top 5 favorite albums I've collected over the years. Arthur and Friends is a recommendation to those who have read the Arthur books and watched the television series. I give the whole album - all the tracks - an overall perfect 10!

Marc Brown, YOU RULE!!!

As something of a regular in the 'Arthur' community as of recent, I recently used this CD as part of a review for one of the television shows. This CD is based in part on an episode from the television show called "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival." Although it's only about a half-hour long, pretty much all of the songs are excellent to listen to again and again, and you even get some music by professional artists, if you like that sort of thing. I really don't have any complaints about this CD, everything was very well done, right down to the liner notes which contain the words for all the songs and some of Marc Brown's artwork.

Arthur is definitely one of the better children's shows and most importantly one of the few shows that adults can tolerate as well. The same holds true for this "not live" CD. I'm not really sure what the title means, but the music is very enjoyable & engaging nonetheless. Standout tracks are Ziggy Marley's theme song (the same one you hear on the show) and the epic "Jeckyll & Hyde" which always gets my kids going whether it's at home, in the car or even on the moon. And it teaches them some good lessons and concepts as well.

Even though I am 12 years old and in the 7th grade I love the Arthur t.v. show. When Arthur Live came to Atlanta Georgia I saw it and it was wonderful. I have Arthur books, hat and balloons. When I saw the C.D. I knew I had to buy it. I haven't missed a single episode. I even memorize lines from the show. Especially D.W.'s very bad mood. On September 25 new Arthur episodes from year 2000 will come out. I know I'll be in my couch waiting for the show to start.

My two boys (ages 2 and 4) love it. I like all the musical styles - reggae, hip-hop, classical. However, my wife doesn't care for it. Her preference for kids music is more along the "Barney" style of music. So this CD gets played either when my wife is in another part of the house or when my boys and I are in the car alone.

Arthur's Line of products are exceptionally good. Although I am 13 I really enjoy Arthur's TV SHow on PBS, Actimate Arthur, Arthur Books, and the Arthur CD. Anyone can relate to Arthur, including Adults (my mom would never miss a single new episode!). This is a Must have for all childrens CD collections. Personally I think this is a must for everyone!

i'm a high school senior (almost 18 yrs old) and arthur remains hands-down one of my favorite tv shows. i've adored it since late elementary school, when it first came out, and all the songs on the cd are quite familiar to me. my friend just gave it to me over the holidays because it was pretty much the first music anyone has ever seen my self-conscious self dance to.

what i must really note, however, which has amazed me for years and that others seem to have overlooked, is that arthur and the songs on this cd are often clever satire or social commentary. while this is something i could talk about for hours, i really want to point out that "leftovers goulash" is a medley that combines lyrics about arthur's dad's crazy dishes with famliar tunes from mozart and the opera carmen. furthermore, the homework song sounds a great deal like a temptations song and the piano song is great fun based on the famous "do-re-mi" from the sound of music as well as pieces of "fur elise" and other well-known piano tunes.

this is an awesome way to introduce musical classics to your kids. i know it did so for me! =D

We're big Arthur fans... the show is very clever and appeals to children of all ages. This CD is no exception. The tunes incorporate various musical styles (including classical, 50s doo-wop, and even Broadway musical!), and the lyrics are very catchy and clever, not the treacle-y stuff that usually passes for Children's Music. Fans of the show will recognize either the tunes themselves or the specific episodes to which they refer. Most importantly, this is an album to which I am willing to listen to over and over in the car... and sometimes even when my 4-year old isn't with me!

I started to watch this show since I've been in the 5th grade. Now I'm in the 7th - and still like it! Arthur and his friends are talking about popular subjects, not as the other cartoon when they talk about things that were popular in the 80's, usually. Watching Arthur is really fun. It's not for young children, it is for all ages! I have to buy the CD and other stuff from here. JUST HAVE!

I saved this music for a road trip to montana. Arthur and his friends are my 3 year olds bests buddies. I am very happy to say that the 1,600 mile round trip was wonderful. My son loves to sing along and so do I. I'll bet I don't have to tell you that we now know every word by heart!