In My Hometown

Tom Chapin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 18, 1998)
• Original Release Date: August 18, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony Wonder (Audio)
• ASIN: B000009NUJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,909 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Don't Miss the Bus

2. Hometown

3. Gertie's Birdseed Diner

4. Dog Rules

5. A Mozart Duet

6. His Name Is Ty

7. Goosetown Halloween

8. Street Fair

9. My Town Is a Salad Bowl

10. Muhheakunnuk

11. Boogie Woogie Chase

12. Homemade Lemonade

13. Da Baby Sitter

14. Our Next-Door Neighbor, the Moon

15. It Feels Like Home

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Harry Chapin's younger brother Tom never made the elder's commercial splash, but his recordings for kids are doing wonders for parents. Chapin's seventh children's recording, In My Hometown, is unapologetically excellent at several musical levels. Simplicity in melody here never cheats the rich instrumentation or complex, polystylistic composition. In the profusion of styles are lively mariachis, bouncing ragtime, funny ska, and, of course, plenty of dyed-in-the-wool folk. And for all the musical variety, none of the songs shoots above kids' heads. Like his brother, Tom Chapin writes narrative songs, many of them turning on witty repetitions that perk kids' ears up--and still strike adults as worth hearing. If you peruse Chapin's musician list, you'll also find some marquee talent, such as jazz trumpeter Lew Soloff, uilleann pipes maestro Jerry O'Sullivan, and former Blues Brother Blue Lou Marini on alto sax. --Andrew Bartlett

From Parents' Choice®

Here's a town worth a long visit. All sunshine and effervescent life, these new songs, presented in a variety of upbeat rhythms, take listeners on a bubbly, clever tour of the people, places and daily happenings in an offbeat, fictional town, where the comical "Dog Rules" features a doo-wop canine chorus and "Gerti's Birdseed Diner" caters to a varied, feathered clientele. In "A Mozart Duet" the composer pops up to give a frustrated young piano player some advice. "Goosetown Halloween" is a giggle, with cartoony-spooky rhythms and lyrics that tell a tall tale about what happens at the fire department's annual trick-or-treat party. "Boogie Woogie Chase" is an energetic "follow the leader" song. You'll find an unusually active "Homemade Lemonade" stand and "Da Baby Sitter" is very unusual indeed: Harry the Hat, who makes kids an offer they can't refuse--and wouldn't if they could.

Chapin gets serious, too, and the results are equally involving. "Muhheakunnuk," is a moving tribute to a river "that flows both ways," and to its lessons of its troubled past that resonate in the present. "Our Next-Door Neighbor, The Moon" and "It Feels Like Home" are the album's soulful, horizon-expanding wrap-ups. A 1998 Parents' Choice® Gold Award.

Reviewed by Lynne Heffley, Parents' Choice® 1998

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chapin's the best at kids' music, and this might be his best, August 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In My Hometown (Audio CD)

This album showcases Chapin's (and his bandmates') wit and range as they use many different musical styles to put together maybe the best disc since Family Tree. Chapin is a musician first, and that sets him apart from some children's artists. The songs are catchy (and many are funny, on both the child and grownup levels), and most important, they have a high parent-tolerance quotient (ie, you can listen to the CD 6-8 times on one roadtrip without wanting to leap out of the minivan into oncoming traffic). Our four children, ages 2-9, love it, and I've been known to pop in the CD when alone just to chuckle at "Da Babysitter" or "Dog Rules."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Tom Chapin album... highly recommended, June 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: In My Hometown (Audio CD)

Our first Tom Chapin album, "Billy the Squid," was borrowed from the library. I found the lyrics so clever, and the tunes so catchy, I ended up tracking down all of his albums available in the library catalog, then proceeded to buy all my favorites. "In My Hometown" is at the top of that list. The tunes are all pretty snappy, and I would be hard-pressed to choose my favorite... although I *love* "A Mozart Duet," which actually incorporates the Sonata in C. It *exactly* captures the way a kid tends to practice the piano and addresses the problem. Not to mention that my 4-year old is now *so* familiar with the piece in question she actually recognized it (Mozart, not Tom Chapin) when she heard it on the radio! She also spontaneously sings several the songs on her own... without the CD! The very best part is that it's "real" music... not the dumbed-down, sacharine pap that usually passes for kids' music.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Family Entertainment, for ALL ages (even grown-ups!), February 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In My Hometown (Audio CD)

We hadn't seen a new Tom Chapin CD on the market in quite some time, and were getting a little antsy. Then, my husband found this new one, "In My Hometown". While the themes of Tom's music are aimed at children, the style isn't at all juvenile. They're funny, touching, rousing, and raucous, by turns. He and his co-writers also use very different musical genres on each recording, which never happens in mainstream music. So far, our favorite song on this CD is "Da Baby Sitter", about the new sitter - an ex-con named Harry the Hat! We also loved "Dog Rules", the third of Tom's songs about his Golden Retriever. This Be-Bop song lists all the things that makes a dog, a dog, like "any food that falls on the floor is yours." Wonderful artist, wonderful songs, and a wonderful new recording! We look forward to memorizing all the songs, and can't wait for the next one! If you had more stars in your rating system, this CD would get them all!!