CD Review: Justin Roberts - Meltdown!

It was with some trepidation that I decided to review the latest album by Justin Roberts, a growing star in children's music. I braced for inane, annoying, repetitive songs — along the lines of the Barney theme song — which would bounce through my head all night long, with me waking up sweating and screaming.

When I think of children's music the adjectives "clever," "witty," and "funny," are not the first to come to mind. But those are words I would use to describe Robert's album, Meltdown!

"I Chalk," the first song on the album, reminds me of drawing chalk pictures on my mother's driveway with my nieces. The lyrics to that song - my favorite on the album - are illustrative of the singer's style: Outside our house, the neighbors just gawk (or maybe not)

There are songs about common problems encountered by children, including blaming siblings for problems, learning to ride a bicycle without training wheels and dealing with meltdowns by parents. One of my other favorites on the album is "Our Imaginary Rhino," about a family setting a place at the dinner table for a child's imaginary friend. The song ends with a twist, though, as the imaginary rhino has his own imaginary friend and insists another place be set at the table: Now we're almost at the end

The songs evoke the wide-eyed curiosity and wonder with which children approach the world, not to mention just trying to understand these languages adults speak.

Take, for example, "More Than Just a Minute": The sun is out and the sky is blue

Mama can I go to the park with you

And she says 'Just a minute'

She says 'Just a minute'

But sometimes when my mama says Just a minute

She means more than just a minute...

The narrator describes his grandmother's age as "many, many, many, many minutes." The song ends with this: But then I kiss my mama on the cheek

And I feel like I'm more than just a minute

For that minute I'm more than just a minute."

If you have kids and are looking for an album that both you and your child can enjoy that does not involve television characters, this album is just what you need.

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