Customer Reviews

Mister Rogers Swings!

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Although I'm an avid music listener and record collector, let me start by saying that vocal jazz is not my thing. This recording, however, is like a breath of fresh air -- it's surprisingly good and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys easy-listening/vocal jazz.

Most people would never recognize these songs as coming from Fred Roger's decade-spanning children's PBS program. No matter -- the songs and arrangements are high quality and Ms Yarbrough's voice-- a bit reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald-- is perfect for these refreshingly simple, heartfelt lyrics and lovely melodies.

It sounds crazy at first - sincere jazz versions of songs from "Mister Rogers"? But trust me, on Mister Rogers Swings! (Vintage Discs), Holly Yarbrough is Ella Fitzgerald teleported into the age of Gwen Stefani. Her angelic voice and perfect phrasing shine through on tracks like It's You I Like and Look & Listen. Yarbrough's take on Many Ways to Say I Love You is so timeless; you could imagine your grandparents slow-dancing to this back in the day. As real jazz goes, it does not get any better than this.

Yes, on this album Mister Rogers does swing.Just an outstanding jazz album with beautiful vocals and a superb band backing it up. This is good music.

I found this album while looking for some of Mister Rogers' songs - this is a fantastic tribute to his fine work. Great vocals backed up by an excellent jazz band. Mister Rogers would surely approve!

I have to say that this CD exceeded my expectations. I recently visited the Fred Rogers Center in Latrobe, PA so his music has been on my mind ever since. I couldn't be more thrilled to add this to my Mr. Rogers collection! The songs are fun and recognizable, jazzy, and the woman does a wonderful job singing them. This is a CD that parents can listen to with their children. It can be put on repeat on long rides without wanting to throw yourself out of the car like with some other children's CDs (think Kidz Bop)! I would recommend this CD to the Mr. Rogers jazz fan!

Additionally, the packaging is very cute. It is a cardboard, die-cut circle around the shoes pictured, and the inside contains a sendable post card, and a CD that resembles a vinyl record. The vintage design is great, and would make a great gift or collectible item for the Mr. Rogers fan in your life (or for yourself)!

Obviously, I made a great purchase!

I have 4 kids (3 in college and 1 in 3rd grade), so we are very familiar with Mr Rogers. His music really made the show special (you are special BTW). Holly has done a fantastic job with her version of these timeless songs. I really appreciate what she and the other musicians have done to keep alive these classics. I listen to them in my car in the morning and it does make me feel good. Also, the CD sleeve design is beautiful, and I love the record look of the CD. Great job!!!!!

Who knew? Mister Rogers Swings!

It's the truth. Yarbrough has taken sixteen songs from the Fred Rogers songbook and done them proud. And they all swing.

Now, "swing" is a term that needs definition in this case, since the word sometimes carries a connotation of fast rhythms and blaring horn charts. You won't find much of that here. But, swing it does. It's a very gentle sort of swing, and, like Fred Rogers himself, non-threatening and full of love. This won't make you hop up off the couch and jitterbug, but it will definitely make you want to hug someone special to you. That can be fun, too.

The session opens, as seems obligatory in any reading of Rogers' work, with a version of "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" In a similar nod to conformity, it closes with "It's Such A Good Feeling". No problem with that, as it's expected and they're both swell tunes, wherever they might have shown up. In between, we get material that will be familiar to long-time viewers of Fred's show, most done up in a cool lounge vibe. Over top of the solid bass and drums, there are healthy doses of to-the-point laid-back guitar soloing, some extremely tasty piano work, occasional loosening of the horn section's leash (to very good effect on "You've Got To Do It", which features Roy Agee, George Tidwell, and the late Boots Randolph, trading short solos on trombone, trumpet, and saxophone, respectively), a few country-tinged pieces dominated by cello and fiddle, and - most inviting - Yarbrough's wonderful vocals.

Yarbrough has a truly great set of pipes, and she uses them well. Her singing is smooth and melodic throughout. There's truly little to quibble about in her choices. Throughout the CD, you ride along on the light golden honey of her singing, nary a bump in the road anywhere, and it's an enjoyable journey.

One of my all-time favorite Fred Rogers compositions is the love song, "When The Day Turns Into Night", and I'm happy to report it's included here and done exceedingly well. The lyric is simple, yet as achingly beautiful as anything ever written by more-well-known purveyors of melancholy than Rogers - if the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Fred is puppets, this one may surprise you - and Yarbrough invests the words with just the right amount of tension, neither going over the top or leaving them bereft of the necessary emotion.

My favorite cut is probably "Everybody's Fancy", which opens with a bit of light scatting before the main lyric. This also features a very direct Lori Mechem piano solo.

I could go on and give you a description of every other selection, but I think I'd be doing you a disservice if I did so. You'll be more delighted if you buy the CD (or download the songs) and discover the good bits for yourself. This is a collection of Fred Rogers' songs that will, if you listen to it in the company of a significant other, likely make your evening all warm and tingly. Who knew?

Great swingin versions of Mr Rogers classics, done with a great voice and a brilliant band.. "It's you I like" is simply beautiful.. It's always been a cute song but this is amazing! My only bother is the omission of some of the original verses in some songs, like in "everybody's fancy" the lines are omitted about the mommies and the daddies but they would have worked just fine, and would have still been a cute old style song rather than sounding like a children's song. An omission I don't understand at all given the shortness of the track.. These versions have a brilliant way of minimizing the "kid's song" quality of these and allow their universal sweetness shine through like great old Gershwin tunes.. And the musicianship is top notch- it even features the legendary Boots Randolph!