Photo courtesy of Frances England

By Bill Childs

One of the things I enjoy most about kids’ music is discovering something new — putting in a CD from someone I’ve never heard of before and being surprised. Sometimes the surprise is great, sometimes not so much. But because of how much I focus on the new, sometimes I don’t pay enough attention to musicians’ good second (or third or fourth or nth) records. This month, some great later CDs from some artists we’ve enjoyed for a long time.

Frances England: Family Tree. England’s Fascinating Creatures was my pick for best family CD of 2006, and best represents that great “Wow!” you can get from an amazing first effort.  Happily, Family Tree is going to be a top-of-the-list record, too — no sophomore slump at all.  Her first record was produced as a fundraiser for her son’s San Francisco preschool and recorded in a home studio; the new one retains the immediacy and intimacy that made Fascinating Creatures so appealing and unique. The music is probably best described as indie folk, with the focus on Frances’ gentle, playful, and expressive voice. It occasionally rocks a bit more (“I Scream, You Scream” and “Free to Be Me”), but even then, it’s all about the song. The lyrics somehow strike a remarkable balance between simplicity and sophistication, hitting topics and phrasings that are appealing to kids and parents alike, with gentle humor (“Put down your cell phone, and get an ice cream cone!”) and warmth. I don’t think I’ll hear a better record this year.  FrancesEngland.com

Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck: Special Kind of Day. New Jersey-based mom/teacher/singer/dancer Rebecca Frezza has been making lively music for kids for longer than most, and, commendably, she’s kept focused on what works for her and her Big Truck band, rather than chasing around after the newest trends. The result is maybe not what you’ll play for your hipster cousin from Brooklyn (the prominent flute probably guarantees that, unless your hipster cousin is also a big Jethro Tull fan), but it’s something your kids are going to demand in the carpool pretty often. Lyrically, Frezza hits the preschool and early elementary sweet spot with the fast-paced “Snow Day” (which would fit just fine on a lot of grownup radio formats) and the groove-filled “Spooky Dance.” The CD also includes some acoustic numbers, including the nearly-perfect “Summer Sunshine,” which has a slowly building energy that nicely evokes a lazy summer day, book-ended with bits of “You Are My Sunshine.” BigTruckMusic.com

Thaddeus Rex: Shakin’ in Chicago. The third album from Thaddeus Rex (formerly of PBS’s The Kids Zone) is an intriguing step up from his already-solid past work. The songwriting has gotten more varied and sophisticated, and he’s added savvy collaborations with the legendary Koko Taylor and Pinetop Perkins and, maybe a bit more oddly, George Gershwin’s son. Rex has a major focus on reading but is never didactic, instead providing witty and silly straightforward acoustic rock (with blues and country notes).  ThaddeusRex.com

Princess Katie & Racer Steve: Fast & Feisty. Even if you resist all things “princessy,” you’ll enjoy Princess Katie; she and her talented band are all about individuality, fun, fairness, and humor. Katie’s voice is a dead ringer for Natalie Merchant’s, and the music — ranging from poppy alt-rock to bossa nova — will have your whole family dancing. And the skits will have you laughing.
PrincessRacer.com

Other preview picks: I expect to have full reviews in future columns, but I’ve heard two tracks each off of Dan Zanes’s Spanish-language ¡Nueva York! and Justin Roberts’ Pop Fly, and they’re both terrific. The early tracks from Zanes’s CD are still distinctly Dan Zanes arrangements, but, as Zanes says in the liner notes, they sound like “New York in the new century.”  Roberts’ past CDs have been note-perfect poppy alt-rock for kids, with humor that reaches both kids and their grownups, and the early tracks from Pop Fly are in the same vein.

Bill Childs is a law professor in western Massachusetts who proudly answers, “Minnesota!” when asked where he’s from. He and his 8-year-old daughter produce a kids’ music radio show, “Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child,” weekly; check it out at SpareTheRock.com. Contact him at show@sparetherock.com.