Amazon.com
In a style that recalls his voice-overs on the TV series
The Dukes of Hazzard, Waylon Jennings doesn't just sing these 11 original songs for kids, he narrates in between the songs, giving context and meaning. A man who appreciates the way children think and the things they go through as they grow up, Jennings, who calls himself "a big rascal singing about little rascals," writes from a child's point of view, remembering in "When I Get Big," for example, what it's like to dream of growing up to become president--ending the wars, protecting all the animals from harm--and how it feels to be a boy with too many sisters ("All of My Sisters Are Girls"). Several of the songs revolve around strikingly fresh ideas--a child's celebration of "Dirt," for starters--and Jennings isn't shy about rocking several to his trademark "thump-bump" beat. All in all, a different sort of children's record from the man who insists he's "a kid trapped in a grown-up body."
--Alanna Nash
This album by country legend Waylon Jennings is not for those who find a boys-only-like-"boy"-stuff and girls-only-like-"girl"-stuff attitude alarmingly retro. (The spirit with which the album was created is anything but retro). Jennings, in disarming, simple intros between winning original songs, explains why a little boy yearns for a boy pal to climb trees with ("All of My Sisters Are Girls") or to get grubby with ("Dirt"). In his signature whiskey baritone, he performs with such tenderness and gentle, tongue-in-cheek humor it's no surprise to learn that the songs were inspired by young relatives, most particularly his youngest son. "If I Could Only Fly" is a child's imagined freedom flight that notes, "but I'd always come right back"; "Cowboy Movies" is a song about a dad who, wanting to share his passion for Westerns, is gently clued in that his son is "a nowboy," not a cowboy. Jennings is a spellbinding storyteller in "Useless, the Little Horse That Didn't Grow," a tale he wrote with his son to affirm that heroes can be small, even shy; he locks the message in a song called "Small Packages." A boy-and-girl chorus joins in. The musicians, including Jennings on guitar, are top-notch. Parents' Choice Gold Award. (Lynne Heffley, Parents' Choice, 1998)