If you’ve read Cool Mom Picks for any length of time, you probably know how much we adore the music of the Okee Dokee Brothers. So, when our favorite Grammy-winning kids’ music duo asked me to check out the new release from their friend, Paul Spring, I decided to give it a spin. And it’s been in our family’s music rotation ever since.
Hailing from Minneapolis, singer-songwriter Paul Spring’s first family-music release, Home of Song, is so easy on the ears, this is definitely not one just for the kids. With catchy vocals, plenty of peppy banjo, and cheerful guitar, this is a great set of tunes to play during that backyard barbeque or evening around the campfire.
Home of Song covers a lot of ground in 12 songs, from the playful Red Sky at Morning with its out-to-sea lyrics, to Mississippi River, a song that should immediately become that river’s theme song.
I love how each song tells a little story that keeps us paying close attention to the lyrics. Don’t expect young kids to understand every lyric, as in Sloppy Jalopy, about an old family lemon, with a chorus that sings “Cuz we’ll be going up and down/Like the Dow Jones and NASDAQ”. Don’t be surprised if your kids are singing along before asking you what that means.
And this book-lover appreciates all the interesting literary-based lyrics found in three songs titled Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes, and Don Quixote.
You’ll hear the backing vocals and banjo of the Okee Dokee Brothers too, but it took me a while to be convinced that Paul Spring wasn’t a pseudonym, his voice reminds me so of the Okee Dokee’s Joe Mailander. But, lucky for us, he’s making his own music for families. –Christina
Order the Home of Song CD from Paul Spring’s website, or download a copy from our affiliate Amazon.
