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Caspar Babypants is, if nothing else, the most prolific artist in the kids' music arena. But what puts him so far ahead of the pack, in my opinion, is the fact that all five of his albums are of such high quality, even though they all contain upwards of 20 songs and they've all been released within three years of each other. His latest, Hot Dog!, is no exception to his quality standards, easily making our list of Best Kids' Music of 2012.
The Artist
Chris Ballew once fronted The Presidents of the United States of America, an indie pop trio from Seattle who used their sense of humor and unique instrumentation to garner a couple of Top 40 hits during the mid-'90s, including "Kitty," "Lump," and "Peaches." Over the course of five albums of family music, Ballew has translated his musical vibe into kids' tunes that, well, aren't really that different from his grownup songs!
Ballew emerged as Caspar Babypants in 2009 with his kids' music debut Here I Am!, an album that topped our list of Best Kids' Music of 2009. Ballew was obviously still full of tunes as More Please! was also released in 2009, followed in quick succession by This is Fun! in 2010, Sing Along! in 2011, and Hot Dog! in 2012.
The Music of 'Hot Dog!'
Anyone familiar with the work of Caspar Babypants will not be surprised by the number of songs dedicated to animals and bugs on Hot Dog! The cast of characters includes sugar ants, rockin' beetles, sleeping bugs, a cast of whales, stompy bears, elegant elephants, bouncing bunnies, countless moles, and lunching animals, as well as the occasional snowman and scare crow.
Chris Ballew has always had a penchant for incorporating blues forms into the songs he writes as Caspar Babypants, and Hot Dog! includes several of those tunes. The loping "Boot Got Grounded" is the sad tale of a shoe no longer able to move, while the more spirited "Bunny Brown" retells the tale of the tortoise and the hare, and the get up and boogie "Sweepin' Broom" relates the adventures of a spider and a fly. The Cab Calloway-inspired call and response "The Animal Lunch" will make a great audience participation song in concert; while "More Moles,' featuring Rachel Flotard of the Seattle band Visqueen, is not necessarily a bluesy tune, but borrows the military march call and responnse "sound off" chant to propell itself along.
More Music from 'Hot Dog!'
Ballew always performs a few traditional tunes for each of his Caspar Babypants albums, but make no mistake: these are not your typical cover songs. Hot Dog includes revised oldies like "This Old Whale" (aka "This Old Man"), "Bunny Brown" (aka Aesop's "The Tortoise and The Hare"), and "The Animal Lunch." Ballew's witty wordplay and inventive chord changes in his remakes of traditional tune are worth the admission price alone.
Standout tracks from Hot Dog! include great folk pop tunes like the superb "Summer Baby (Let it Ride)," a tune that would fit right in on The Beatles' White Album; the spare, Zen-like, island-y "All That I Have Got;" the sweet, swaying "Lonely Glove," a tune about the personification of a found glove; and the harmony-filled "Snowman in the Summer." The dainty "Eleanor the Elegant Elephant" sounds at times melodically similar to Neil Young's "See the Sky About to Rain," from his 1974 album On the Beach. And check out the hand-clapping rave-up "Messy Face," the Muscle Shoals-influenced rhythm workout "Stompy the Bear," and the Violent Femmes-like "A Thousand Tiny Doughnuts."
The Verdict
Once again, Chris Ballew impresses us with another collection of Caspar Babypants songs. Hot Dog! is fifth family music album in about three years, but the tunes on every album are just as great as the last. The only kids' music band that can compare to Ballew's pace and quality is Recess Monkey, who, like Ballew, just happen to live in Seattle. Hot Dog! is definitely one of the best kids' music albums of 2012.
Released April 17, 2012; Aurora Elephant Music
Track Listing
- "Sugar Ant"
- "Crazy Blue Beetle"
- "This Old Whale"
- "Summer Baby (Let it Ride)"
- "Boot Got Grounded"
- "Messy Face"
- "Stompy the Bear"
- "Eleanor the Elegant ELephant"
- "Bunny Brown"
- "All That I Have Got"
- "The Animal Lunch"
- "I Don't Mind"
- "Scared Scare Crow"
- "More Moles"
- "Sweepin' Broom"
- "Lonely Glove"
- "Snowman in the Summer"
- "A Thousand Tiny Doughnuts"
- "Even Bugs are Sleeping"
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