Bill Crosby offers up an album of children’s music called Boomerang Orangutan that will delight the adults as well as the kiddies. The album is pure pop goodness, with lyrics that are funny and melodies that are catching.
Bill plays in many different styles and the lyrics are about different subjects, but they all share one thing—a very polished performance. Bill isn’t really singing just for kids—he’s singing for everyone who will listen. Songs like “Chocolate Everywhere” have an almost top 40ish sound, with great guitar riffs. The lyrics are silly but they aren’t childish, which means parents won’t be embarrassed if the CD is left in their car when they are traveling with the kids.
The best description of Crosby’s music might be somewhere between Squeeze and Jimmy Buffett, and that’s further proof that this is just not your usual album of kids’ songs. Bill seems to focus on the kid that is in every one of us. Whether he is singing about the love of books (“Bookworm”) or the joy of someone liking you (“Glad Somebody Likes Me”), the songs speak to the heart of the listener.
The songs do have deeper meanings…as the bookworm shows us as he wiggles down the street to the library. Parents will be smiling as the kids chime in “wiggle wiggle.” Being a bookworm is cool, after all.
One of Bill’s favorite subjects for songs seems to be animals, if titles like “The Antelope Can’t Elope,” “The Manatees (Hugh’s Song),” and “Hello Dalai Llama” are any indication. “The Antelope Can’t Elope” will definitely be a favorite among fans of Jimmy Buffett. It shares a Buffett-style fun island melody, and Francie Smith’s backing vocals add some more Caribbean flair.
Bill will educate your kids on “Mrs. Sippy.” It is the shortest song on the album, clocking in at only 55 seconds. But after a few listens, Bill will have succeeded in teaching anyone listening how to spell Mississippi in a way that might make a few grade- school teachers jealous.
“Good” is a rocking anthem for all of us that want recognition without putting out much effort. “I want to be good, but I don’t want to practice,” are words that most kids would nod their head in agreement with. This song really stands out on this album because the other songs have more of a pop flair, but it isn’t out of place. It still has the same air of fun that Boomerang Orangutan is full of.
The wood flute played by Match Reilly gives “Hello Dalai Llama” a New Age sound, which might be a little grown-up for most of the kids. The same could be said for the swing melody of “Happy To Be Home.”
So maybe this isn’t really children’s music? Maybe it is big kids’ music. That is up for debate. What isn’t debatable is the quality of the music on Boomerang Orangutan. This is one album that is hard to stop listening to, because it is infectious. Playing it is bound to lift even the biggest curmudgeon’s spirits. This is the album that the cool aunts and uncles should own, because the kids will want to listen to it over and over and it won’t faze those adults who might not want to listen to the other stuff out there.
No matter if you are young or old, Boomerang Orangutan has something to make you smile and sing along. This is quite possibly one of the most enjoyable albums that your ears will hear this year. So sit back, turn up the music and let Bill Crosby speak to your inner child. Your inner child will be happy that you did.