Customer Reviews

Not for Kids Only

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a favorite with every kid I know. But what do kids know? They listen to Raffi. *

From an adult perspective, this tape is amazing. The playing is superb and intelligent, the lyrics are sincere, heartfelt, and often pull-your-leg funny. Grisman and Garcia play with and off each other beautifully.

The musical skill here is extremely high, but feels unforced and simple.

For example, listen to the song "Arkansas Traveller" about an encounter between a city slicker and a country bumpkin:

Slicker: Well, hello stranger.

Bumpkin: Why, hello stranger!

Slicker: Yer corn looks awful little and yeller.

Bumpkin: I planted the little and yeller kind.

[cue duet]

Listen to the banjo and mandolin duet of turkey in the straw; the playing is quite intricate and beautiful.

What's right about this tape: it entertains and engages without once stooping to dull playing or insincere, tired singing. Unlike Raffi, for example, this tape never feels like an act.

Recommended for any kid. Also, any adult who likes good acoustic or folk guitar. This is a tape I play all the time, whether or not kids are around.

--Pat

* Please, no hate mail from all 15 of you adult Raffi fans. I know the lyrics to Baby Beluga and I'm not afraid to use them.

The late Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist for The Grateful Dead, was never known for the kind of upbeat vocals typically associated with children's music. Still, this sincere album offers a very appealing assortment of toe-tapping American folk tunes whose simple lyrics and old-fashioned harmonies appeal to the kid in all of us. "Uncle Jerry's" acoustic guitar picking is the perfect companion to David Grisman's plucky banjo and marvelous mandolin. The album's selections evoke a summer jam session on your porch, where friends join in at times with fiddle, harmonica--and sometimes piano. (Ok, ok, so the piano wouldn't exactly fit on the porch.) The album closes with a heartfelt rendition of the melancholy river song, Shenandoah, shyly sung by Garcia ("Away, I'm bound away, across the wide Missouri...") This sailor's worksong melts gracefully into Brahm's lullaby with a radiant string assemble lead by Grisman's brilliant mandolin, making for a very sweet sign-off.

This is a great album. It's a whole lot of fun. It's really just Jerry and Dave doing a bunch of kids songs. I don't have any kids so I can't really tell you how well this goes over with little ones; but then that should also tell you how nice this album is for adults.

This album features the bluegrass, twangy sound that Garcia and Grisman became known for. It's really no different there. But unlike just about all their other albums, this one you can sing along really loud and have a blast doing it. Good stuff.

All I can say is my daughter loves it, and I love playing it for her. The songs are catchy and fun, and Jerry and Dave's voices are such a pleasure to listen to, especially after suffering though Elmo, Barney and Friends, and other "kid's recordings". Also, exposing children to the music of Jerry Garcia and Dave Grisman is a very good for them, and it gives me a thrill to see my child enjoying their music, just like I do.

This CD calmed our newborn son into quietude by the end of the opening bars of "Jenny Jenkins" every single time. Garcia and Grisman's voices are so gentle and soothing that it's calming for young ones, and their wit and humor never disappoints the adults.

I have a theory about kids and banjo music: I have yet to find a child who doesn't respond positively to it, and I think it's because it's rhythmic, quiet and silly at the same time. People who associate him primarily with his endless Grateful Dead guitar jams may not know that Jerry Garcia was a very skilled banjo picker. David Grisman's mandolin adds harmony and a faraway soulful sound, a perfect combination for the traditional songs on this album.

This is a truly special recording. David Grisman and Jerry Garcia pick their acoustic way through a tasteful selection of children's classics, including a humorous 'Arkansas Traveler', a rousing 'Ain't No Bugs on Me', a rollicking Teddy Bear's Picnic', and a soothingly sleepy lullaby, 'Shenandoah'. A must-have for acoustic folk-style musicians, though enjoyable for just about anybody, this one comes to you with excellent production values and really neat cover art (wish I could find a print suitable for framing).

While you're at it, check out other Grisman/Garcia CD's for equally excellent music and production ('Shady Grove', 'The Pizza Tapes'), or Woody Guthrie's classic 'Songs to Grow On', perhaps the greatest children's album ever.

My CD collection is nearing the 1,000 mark, but there are a few discs that you can almost always find in my car or at my work. . . This is one of them. I'm not a big DEAD fan (don't hurt me), but Garcia and Grisman really struck a chord with me on this album.

It was originally given to me by a friend that REALLY didn't like folk music and bought it because Garcia's name was on it. What a great album to get!! All the songs are SUPER tastefully done, but as the title implies, adults will enjoy these tunes as much as anyone!

Really groovin' little disc!

Being a Garcia fan, I bought this many years ago for myself. Recently I had to buy another copy so I could get mine back from my 7 year old daughter. Her current favorite is Shanandoah, but tht changes according to her mood. The tape mainly features folk tunes that have come to the US and have had various alterations. Some of the versions picked are lesser known ones so you may even learn a few new verses!

Grisman and Garcia played well together and their timing was perfect. Production qualities are good and there are non musical sounds blended in in places that lend some decoration to the guitar and banjo that are used throughout. Their voices blend quite well on the tape, and yet in the 2 part songs there is no doubt that they are playing question and answer and having fun with it. I would recommend this to anyone with kids or with out if you have a liking for Burl Ives type music. The title of this collection is quite accurate.

If you are tired of listening to Barney or the Wiggles, or any other obnoxious children's CD in the car with your kids, buy this CD. This is a collection of perfectly played children's favorites by two of the best bluegrass musicians of their time: Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. Yes, the very same man who fronted the Grateful Dead played bluegrass music and was very very good at it. Children will love the fun sing-a-longs like "Ain't no Bugs", and "Freight Train", and you won't mind them either. Adults will laugh every time they hear "Arkansas Traveler" because the jokes are so corny, they are funny. Everyone will have "Hot Corn, Cold Corn" in their mind after a listen.

As the title says "Not for Kids Only", this CD will make any long drive a pleasurable experience vs. one that you wish you had brought along the sedatives.

Wonderful instrumentals and lyrics. A Shenandoah Lullaby is simply beautiful. I love the way the ending segues into Brahm's lullaby. His version of Arkansas traveller is refreshing. Teddy Bears' Picnic is a quaint song that few people have heard. There Ain't No Bugs On Me is my two-year-old daughter's favorite, judging from the way she belts out this song and giggles from time to time. I like all the songs on the CD. A breath of fresh air for parents who prefer real instruments to synthesized pop.