Listening Booth: Brian Vogan, “Little Songs”
Thursday, July 24th, 2008 by Jeff Giles
Brian Vogan - Little Songs (2008)
purchase this album (CD Baby)
I didn’t mean for it to be this way — and every time I review one of these, I grow more afraid that Mrs. Davis is going to kneecap me for horning in on her territory — but I seem to have become the kids’ music guy at Popdose. It’s hard to complain about this too much, though, because I keep ending up with free copies of CDs that my daughter loves — and the latest, Brian Vogan’s Little Songs, is the best yet.
Seriously, you guys. Seriously. Even if you don’t have kids, don’t want kids, hate kids, you might want to pick yourself up a copy of Little Songs — it’s smart, funny, well-produced, and charming as all get-out. Vogan, a former pre-K teacher, used his job as an early childhood music educator to craft the songs on the album, introducing them to his classes as projects that they all worked on together, week by week. You wouldn’t think that songwriting with a committee of toddlers would result in songs as immediately appealing as “Racecar” or “Animal ABCs” (download), but the evidence suggests otherwise.
The album isn’t without its low points — “Chess” aims for TMBG-style whimsy, but will leave you aiming for the “skip” button, and “Spring” lacks the irresistible energy of the rest of the record — but trust me when I tell you that the young ones in your life will be won over immediately by Brian Vogan’s Little Songs, and listening to it repeatedly (as I’ve done for the last week and a half or so) won’t drive you crazy either. What else could you ask for?
Popularity: 2% [?]



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