Music for Children -- Nature Jams by Farmer Jason (Review)

 

For ages 4-10.

Nature Jams, the newest Farmer Jason release on My Kazoo/Universal  includes a 16 song cd, a dvd with four new PBS videos, and a 20 illustrated booklet drawn by uber designer Brad Talbot. (For his day gig Brad designs apps for Microsoft.) The driving concept of the project is to motivate kids to experience and appreciate the great outdoors and nature. Each song has a special guest artist dueting with me.

Here is the song and guest list:
01) Nature Jams
02) Can You Canoe with Alison Brown
03) Take a Hike with Mike Mills (of R.E.M.)
04) Well Oh Whale with The Saw Doctors
05) Meadowlark in Central Park with Suzy Bogguss
06) Bayou Boogie with Terrance Simien
07) Prairie Riddles with Iris Dement
08) Buffalo or Bison? by Webb Wilder
09) Dison the Bison with Webb Wilder and Steve Gorman (of The Black Crowes)
10) Spelunker with Tom Petersson (of Cheap Trick) and Ruthie Foster
11) The Glacier with Jason and the Scorchers
12) Manatee with Hank Williams III and Tommy Ramone (of The Ramones)
13) No Place Like the Woods by Victor Wooten and The Wooten Kids
14) The Moose Lives Where? with Todd Snider and Jo Nesbø
15) Have You Ever with Brandi Carlile
16) Skating Along with Kristi Rose, Addie and Camille Ringenberg

My Thoughts:

Now that Savannah is at the age where is is repeating things that she hears, I have to pay close attention to what we listen to on the radio while in the car.  Because of this, I have begun listening to family/kid friendly music, including this CD from Farmer Jason.  A few of my favorite tracks on this CD are Take a Hike, Bayou Boogie and Spelunker.  I have to say after listening to this CD in its entirety this past weekend, as we drove home from visiting my parents, this is definitely a CD worth picking up and sharing with your little ones.  Parents will not get embarrassed by the lyrics, and be warned -- most of these tunes are catchy.  I have found myself singing a few of them in the shower, as I rock Arabella and even waiting in line at the bank. :-)  As soon as Bayou Boogie comes on in the car, Savannah begins to be-bop in her car seat.  And, unlike other children's music I have listened to, Farmer Jason's music and lyrics are not corney.  Through different musical styles, Farmer Jason teachers young listeners about nature and how to truly appreciate and take care of it.  Through the use of various music styles, Farmer Jason captures a broader audience, including fans of rock and country.  This also allows children to be exposed to the different styles of music, hopefully making them fans of each.

Overall, this is a very entertaining CD, and one that will be listened to over and over again in the car this spring/summer.  I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future releases from Farmer Jason, so that I can pick up and add to our collection.

--BUY NOW---

You can pick up a copy of this CD directly from the Farmer Jason website, for only $9.99, plus shipping and handling.  Click here to order this and other products from Farmer Jason today.

Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of this CD from the vendor in order to write up an honest review.  The views above are mine and mine alone.