It's a Bam Bam Diddly - CD

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There is no shortage of love among parents and 4-year-olds for Dan Zanes, and rightfully so. On the strength of five brilliant family albums, he and his ragtag posse got the multitudes in on an intergenerational groove so powerful it jolted kids' music out of a long and boring slumber--if anybody deserves credit for redefining the parameters of a genre doomed to rot in dullsville, he's the guy. But as gifted a musician as Zanes is--songs like "Firefly," off 2002's , prove it so mightily you wish somebody would get around to naming him the Godfather of Meaningful Kids' Music--those who've been along for the ride since the first CD, , know it's often not Zanes' solo tracks but the ones he hands over to friends that end up on repeat. Regulars like Barbara Brousal, Cynthia Hopkins, and, yes, Father Goose, aka Rankin' Don, have made some of the best and most memorable Zanes tracks--no small thing when you consider that Bob Weir, Deborah Harry, Suzanne Vega, and other luminaries have also been guests. In a world better attuned to the greatness of the Zanes gang, then would have come out a long time ago; Father Goose does his dancehall thing to exhilarating effect (try listening to "Chi Chi Buddo" and "Come Down the Line" without spontaneously twirling and swaying--pretty hard), and he steps out of the hall long enough to re-route his nonstop energy into soul ("By and By," with the masterful Cherise King), spunky throwback pop ("Flying Machine" with Zanes and Sheryl Crow), and traditional Caribbean folk ("Long Time Gal" and "Nah Eat No Fish" with Judith Murray and Aggie). Front and center, Papa Goose gives up the gruff stuff skillfully as ever. This is a disc destined to stay lodged in the station wagon CD player for months to come, and one of the finest in the Zanes & friends treasury. More from Dan Zanes