Customer Reviews

Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits From Way Back Never

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4 star:		(10)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

My first copy of PHILADELPHIA CHICKENS was a gift for my granddaughters. We all enjoyed it so much that I bought three more copies -- each one for myself but impulsively given away.

Now I have BLUE MOO, and I'm keeping it for myself, so don't even hint for it.

You may know Sandra Boynton's impressive children's books but this music thing she has going on is something else again. "Renegade children's music," she calls it. BLUE MOO is subtitled "17 Jukebox Hits from Way Back Never," and trust me, you don't need children around to enjoy it.

Boynton collaborated with composer Michael Ford on these 17 fractured hits, and she mustered another stellar group of performers for the CD.

Patti LuPone shines on "Rabbit Tango," and yes, that's the amazing B.B. King delivering the goods with "One Shoe Blues." Christopher Kale Jones of JERSEY BOYS fame croons "Singing In The Shower."

When was the last time you heard a new release from veteran Neil Sedaka? Here he is in great doo-wop form with "Your Nose." And speaking of doo-wop, we have Sha Na Na singing "Gorilla Song" ("Banana nana nana nana, na na na"). Bobby Vee takes you down memory lane with the sentimental "With You," and John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting with a beautifully syncopated track named "Big Band Sound."

How about "Speed Turtle":

>> It's a ... Speed Turtle. Whoa-ho!
>> It's a ... Speed Turtle. Oh, no!
>> Man alive, it's in overdrive.
>> Go, little turtle, go go.

Yes, that's Brian Wilson, who else? And while I'm stating the obvious, "Mersey Lullaby" is (of course) recorded by Gerry & The Pacemakers.

The title tune is offered twice, once by Steve Lawrence and in a jazzed up "Blue Moo '62" version by a house "girl group."

Did you ever think of teaching a hippo to swing dance? "When A Hippo Can Dance" signals the idea:

>> If you have a hippo you love very much,
>> Yet you find it has one or two faults --
>> Such as sleeping too late, such as making you wait --
>> I suggest that you teach it to waltz.

The 18 tracks on this CD (yes, 18, notwithstanding the subtitle) will get your toes tapping, get you up dancing in fact. What fun!

Oh, and did I explain that there's a book too? A very entertaining illustrated songbook; which is handy because you won't want to miss a lyric.

Sandra Boynton produces a wonderfully creative project that the whole family will enjoy. You'll want to get your own; I'm definitely keeping mine.

Linda Bulger, 2008

I originally bought "Blue Moo" for my friend's 7-year-old granddaughter, but I'm enjoying it just as much as she at nearly 57. Hearing Neil Sedaka on "Your Nose" brings me back to "Oh Carol" and "Calendar Girl", Bobby Vee's "With You" evokes memories of "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", and "Blue Moo", the title cut, takes me back to Steve Lawrence's performance of "Go Away Little Girl" on a freezing night in January, 1963 on a telethon where an adorable young girl actually thought Lawrence was telling her to "go away, little girl"!! Sha Na Na, the Beach Boys, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Davey Jones--my childhood all over again.

But maybe the most catchy of all is "Singing in the Shower" by relative newcomer Christopher Kale Jones. For a few minutes, Jones brings back the great Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with his flawless tone and falsetto, singing a ditty whose beat reminds me of the Seasons' timeless "Sherry". Close your eyes and you'll think it's October, 1962 all over again with NY's Cousin Brucie on WABC AM radio.

I urge anyone considering buying to check out the video on www.sandraboynton.com to hear some marvelous snippets and see what these amazing legends look and sound like today! As a bonus, we're rewarded with author Sandra Boynton's daughter Darcy singing the female version of "Blue Moo" and young Jones wowing us with "Singing in the Shower"--in fact, this morning I was singing in the shower "Singing in the Shower"....

My four year old son loves Boynton and Ford's music CD/book combos. We listen to them in the car while he holds onto the book, admiring the pictures and trying to read the lyrics. Blue Moo just arrived in the mail yesterday--to our great excitement--so we've only listened to it a couple of times, but it already has captured his interest. His favorite song is a repeated joke about an uninvited marching band playing such real marching band music that you will think a parade is passing by your house. The band invades a house, a grocery store (and proceeds to go up and down every aisle, which happened to be named for all the letters of the alphabet), even one's dreams at night ("A Parade! A Parade! We're the Uninvited Prestigious Marching Band!). Boyton's trademark humor and adorable pictures are all here, along with a great cast of singers. I am not sure, though, whether this is going to be my son's favorite CD as we are very partial to the rock and roll stylings of Dogtrain. Blue Moo has a 50s jukebox feel, and although there are some great dancing songs, it doesn't seem to have quite the variety of the other compilations. I am concerned that the 50s sound might grow a bit old. I'd love for Boynton to make another rock and roll album, especially for us parents who have to listen to these CDs repeatedly.

All in all, this is another great addition to our growing Boynton and Ford collection, and I look forward to hearing the Gorilla song (sung by Sha Na Na--the word banana is repeated over and over), Your Personal Penguin, The Shower Song (you can hear the water running during the chorus) and others for months to come.

Not a "Kid's CD" that Adults will like but an "Adult CD" that kids will love!

When "Philadelphia Chickens" - the first Book and CD released by Boynton and Ford - was released I ran out and got copies for all my friends. (Heck, I live in Philly, so it was a natural.). Not one of these friends had young children. All were grown. But I knew they'd love it as much as I did.

The next projects "Dog Train" and "Rhinoceros Tap" were more like "teasers" for something more.

Well that something more is "Blue Moo" and I love it even more than "Chickens". And so will you. Yes YOU! Baby Boomers and even younger AARP members. This was our music - but with new words. And the performers like Neil Sedaka (singing a song SOMEONE ELSE wrote and doing it well), Steve Lawrence (when's the last time HE made a record?) and Gerry & The Pacemakers (to add a British Beat touch) are on record (date we still call them records?) for the first time in many years. Any new recording by Beach Boy musical wizard Brian Wilson is a must have and he's here too - having a ball.

I could go on, but just look at the track list.

If this was just a 17 track CD in a jewel box it would be a bargain at the list price of under $17.00. But it's 66 page (!) book with all the musical notes and words AND - of course - great Sandra Boynton artwork. This ones a no-brainer.

Whether you have kids or not, if you love "oldies", you need this CD and book. If you do have kids, or grandkids, you need multiple copies: One for the car, one for their playroom and.... one for you to listen to all by yourself.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

This is a great CD - on par with Philadelphia Chickens (I was not as big of a fan of Rhinoceros Tap or Dog Train). Right now, it is the only CD my 4-year-old daughter will listen to (which is great since the Boynton/Ford CDs are the least likely kiddie CDs to drive my husband and myself insane). In particular, she likes "Singing in the Shower" and "Speed Turtle". My favorite is the "One Shoe Blues".

Like many parents, I have an ever increasing number of Boynton's works. Blu Moo takes her barn yard crew into the relm of 40's, 50's and early 60's music. Full of comic twists, it is well written and very well performed. My whole family enjoys the songs! Good for play time and to close out the day. If you like Sandra Boynton's other works, then you are sure to love Blu Moo!

My whole family LOVES this book and cd.
My two children and I love to listen and sing along in the car- sometimes I wonder if I enjoy it more than my kids do! I listen to it even when my children are not with me!
The music is not obnoxious kids stuff- it sounds like "real" music- well, until you pay attention to the lyrics. ;)
What a wonderful way to expose children to various classic styles of music!
5 stars!!!

Of the four Boynton book/CDs that we own, Blue Moo is my personal favorite. The songs have a fun do-wop style with lots of silly and amusing lyrics.

My absolute favorite thing about this CD is The Uninvited Loud Precision Band. This is a marching band that has interludes throughout the course of the CD and both the lyrics and the boisterous singing and playing style of the band make it a delight. Consider this line from one of their interludes: "We are marching through your kitchen, for we need a little snack. Now we organize your cupboards and we exit out the back." I never fail to giggle when the band makes their appearance.

Another song that both my daughter and I love is "Singing in the Shower". It's a fun tribute to the superior acoustics of the bathroom and leads to lots of giggles as we talk about who does and doesn't sing in the shower in our family.

"Gorilla Song" is one that's high on my daughter's list. The style of it is very reminiscent of the nonsense lyrics of a lot of '50s hits. Part of the appeal of the song for my daughter is that she always remembers that, in the book, there is a drawing of gorillas at an old fashioned ice cream shop. Behind them is a list of 28 flavors, all of which are Banana--except for Vanilla, which is listed once.

As with "Dog Train", I recommend purchasing both the book and CD. While the songs are great, I don't think anyone should bypass Boynton's artwork, which is perennially adorable. The first part of the book has a two-page spread for each song. On one side is a drawing showing a scene from the song while the other side contains some of the lyrics. The back of the book contains full lyrics and music as well as information about each of the artists that have contributed to the CD. One of the best things about these books is that they contain all sorts of humorous little gems, showing that Boynton is not only funny to kids but also to adults.

Great book and music. The kids will love it and so will the adults.

This CD just gets better and better. My daughter has been jamming to this since she was 1 and starts to bop as soon as the melodies play. We have it in rotation with some Motown greatest hits in our "MOO-Town" playlist and it is fantastic to go with Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder into "Singing in the Shower" or "1 Shoe Blues." We have backed up now and bought Boynton's first 2 CD-book sets, but "Blue Moo" is our first love. This is what we're giving to everyone for the birthday party rounds this year so all of the friends can sing-a-long.