Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joanne (Mrs Fred Rogers)Rogers , November 8, 2005
"This tribute to Fred's songs is a
great joy and delight to me. My gratitude is boundless
to the musical artists and technical experts who gave
of their talents and love to make the production
possible. I love Dennis Scott's final song, very much in
the same style as Fred's, and sung with such joy by
the whole cast of singers!" ........
Joanne (Mrs Fred Rogers)Rogers
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grammy Nominated Set is Beautiful!, December 30, 2005
Mister Rogers has had such a wonderful run on public television. He invoked many happy & safe emotions to me in my childhood. He has lovingly affected many generations of children. What a wonderful sentiment then is this set of his songs so wonderfully interpreted & contributed by some very talented artists. My favorites from this set is DONNA SUMMER's "Are You Brave", CRYSTAL GAYLE's "Did You Know", & TONI ROSE's "Just For Once". This set was recently GRAMMY nominated for Best Children's Recording this year! The songs are great to listen to by Adults & Children alike. Great album!
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25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Neighborhood's Been Remodeled, January 21, 2006
Had to listen to this before giving it to my granddaughter. I always respected Mr. Rogers' songwriting talent as well as the formidable chops and impeccable taste of his virtuoso pianist, Johnny Costa. As a musician and parent, I remember feeling good about turning my kids over to the music of the show. Wish I could say the same for this CD. If the album has a "star," it's Yamaha FM synthesis, a mushy wallpaper-music sound that was wrung completely out of mainstream jazz at least 15 years ago and that certainly never reared its cheesy head on a Mr. Rogers' show.
A preceding reviewer, Mr. Arkens, pretty much tells it like it is (apparently not a popular option): this is "adult contemporary pop," a far cry from the musical arrangements on the show. Too bad this collection couldn't include Nnenna Freelon's high-spirited recording of "It's You I Like" (from her Columbia CD, "Heritage"), with sparkling accompaniment by pianist Kenny Barron. For my money, the strong performances on the CD are by John Pizzarelli, Maureen McGovern, and Ricky Skaggs, all of whom eschew the synthesizer slush and play it relatively straight. The other tracks strike me as pleasant enough (with the possible exception of Toni Rose's teen-beat concoction) but otherwise forgettable. "Won't You Be My Neighbor!" is done twice, but neither version makes the tempo established by the composer. At least this collection should serve as a reminder that Mr. Rogers' kids have grown up while retaining the wisdom of their mentor. Still, I may think twice before sending this one all the way to Philadelphia.
[In expressing a personal opinion about the music, I don't mean to downplay the formidable challenge of the project--not just the programming and recording of the music but the task of assembling a diverse company of headliners, most of whom are no doubt under exclusive contract to major labels, not to mention the hassles of obtaining permissions from publishers. Patience and tenacity along with dedication and creativity are evident in the final production, which bears some resemblance to another 2006 Grammy-award winner, "American Made, World Played," a tribute to the music of Les Paul by Eric Clapton, Sting, and other pop stars. This one also failed to engage me, but Les is said to have loved it. I suspect Fred Rogers would feel the same about "Songs from the Neighborhood."]
Postscript: I sent the CD to my daughter (a mom and physician in Philadelphia). She loved it.
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by Fred Rogers
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is mainly Children's Music”
