Reviewed by Trevor Kirk As has been recounted on innumerable occasions in these hallowed pages, the problem with the kids’ music from the USA which is released (or sometimes escapes) in the UK, is its unerring ability, thanks to its sheer cheesiness, to get up the noses of adults, whilst totally failing to connect with the target audience. British youngsters, by and large, are far more street-wise than our American cousins give them credit for and tend to prefer Sammy Horner, Carman, Jim Bailey, Ishmael, or indeed any kids’ music purveyor who doesn’t treat them as if they had the intelligence of a gate post. Whilst this CD quality-wise is eons ahead of the stuff that used to be churned out by Cedarmont, which, if you didn’t know, is the organisation that is largely responsible for both the scarcity and colour of the hair on Tony Cummings’ bonce – what he didn’t tear out whilst listening, went grey overnight – that doesn’t mean that it’s a Grammy winner. The mood is still excruciatingly jolly, the kids, although their singing accuracy is much improved, still sound bored (which calls into question the accuracy of the title of the thing), the arrangements still sound cheap and the choice of antique material is totally predictable. There are people out there writing good new stuff for kids these days, but you’ll not find any of it here.
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