Philadelphia Chickens

Sandra Boynton (Artist), Aaaardvarks (Artist), The Heath Sisters (Artist), The Seldom Herd (Artist), Adam Bryant (Artist), Beth Andrien (Artist), Caitlin McEwan (Artist), Darcy Boynton (Artist), Eric Stoltz (Artist), John Stey (Artist), Keith Boynton (Artist), Kevin Kline (Artist), Laura Linney (Artist), Meryl Streep (Artist), Michael Ford (Artist), Natasha Richardson (Artist), Patti LuPone (Artist), Scott Bakula (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 10, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B0001ADB6Y
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,645 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #32 in

  Music > Children's Music > Sing-A-Longs

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The Bacon Brothers say it best on this hilarious CD's title track: "Poultry in motion is a beautiful thing." So is a record that grabs you by the funnybone from its opening (the Seldom Herd's "Cows") and doesn't let go till the final note is clucked. Sandra Boynton, whose illustrated board books have become as much a part of every toddler's reading list as Mother Goose, makes a convincing case here that authors can succeed brilliantly as very silly songwriters. Meryl Streep, Laura Linney, Kevin Kline, Natasha Richardson, and fourteen other performers all qualify as contenders for king and queen of the coop, and they whoop it up enough to guarantee the most enjoyable sing-along ever. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More uneven than "Rhino Tap" but still a great all-ages listen!, July 3, 2006

By	Jennifer M. Macleod "yiddishe supermama" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

We sort of did this out of order... we got Rhinoceros Tap first and LOVED it! Then, we took out this one, and it was a bit of a tougher sell.

The songs - I have to say - are great! However, to some extent, you feel like the "celeb singers" are showing off a little more than the lone singer (Adam Bryant) on the Rhino Tap album.

While Bryant's voice becomes friendly and familiar through that collection, here, each new song basically introduces a new singer; the success of this format, in my mind, is varied.

For what it's worth, we didn't have the liner notes and had NO CLUE who was singing what until I just now checked on Amazon. So here are our top picks - the kids' and mine - based solely on how much we enjoy the song and singer:
2. Nobody Understands Me - Meryl Streep (worth the price of the album if you're a Streep fan!)
5. Please Can I Keep it - Laura Linney
9. Faraway Cookies - Caitlin McEwan (a fantastic ballad to chocolate chip cookies!)
11. Fifteen Animals - John Stey (they're all named Bob!)
17. Pig Island - Scott Bakula (hee hee)
10. The Intermission Song! - Aaaardvarks

Least faves:
3. Philadelphia Chicken - The Bacon Brothers (I know, it's the title track, but the sound is too jazzy for my kids!)
12. Belly Button (Round) - The Heath Sisters
We also don't enjoy the instrumental reprise at the end of the album... I don't feel it's necessary and the kids always ask me to skip past it.

Some of the songs CAN get tedious pretty quickly, like "Be Like A Duck (Keith Boynton)" which just seems to go on WAY too long. There were a couple like that on Rhino Tap as well (like the Dinosaur round), but maybe those songs would appeal to younger children (my "big kids" are 10 and 11 and the baby doesn't have an opinion yet!).

Overall, this album features the same great mix of tuneful tunes, intelligent lyrics and Boynton silliness as Rhinoceros Tap, with only a couple of minor low points. Every member of the family will enjoy this album over and over - which is saying a lot, since my car-music "insanity threshhold" is usually kinda low. :-)))

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY THE BEST! (for all ages), April 29, 2004

By A Customer

I have given this cd/book/music to many kids and adults, including my mom. I've also kept it for myself! The songs are so fun and funny, they crack you up. They also introduce kids to all types of music, from blues to jazz to country to everything. The book itself is great, and I read stories to my grandson and nieces from it. And this is the best bargain in the business: You get the cd with 19 songs, the hard cover book with illustrations and words to each (which we enjoy as stories), and the sheet music for piano and additional lyrics in the back. The favorite of one of my nieces is "Please can I keep it -- it followed me home." The other niece loves "Those Dinosaur Blues," and MY favorite (or one of them) is "Be Like a Duck." But then the song by aardvarks pretending to be cows is charming, too. You just can't go wrong. BUY THIS!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please get these tunes out of my head!!, February 22, 2006

By	R. LEWIS (Stow, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The tunes are so catchy, and the lyrics so funny and memorable, that I sometimes find myself lying awake at night unable to get them out of my head. If you're on the fence, do yourself (and your kids) a favor and pull the trigger. It's great stuff.