World Playground

The record label Putumayo is known for its eclectic compilations which endeavor to bring so-called "world music" (a catch-all term which for most Americans means anything outside the realm of US or UK pop) to a "mainstream" American audience. Each cd in the series has a theme, usually to do with a particular region, culture, or musical genre. I was already familiar with the label through their zydeco, reggae, and Afropop collections, but would never have thought of giving their kid-themed "World Playground" series a try had a teacher friend of mine not been shuffling through this disc in my presence, trying to decide which tracks she wanted to employ for a presentation she was doing with her class. Some of the tunes - notably those by Buckwheat Zydeco, Glykeria, Eric Bibb, and Bob Marley's mother Cedella Marley Booker - caught my attention and I decided to give the album a spin.Although (as many other reviewers here have noted) these songs are great for children, there's nothing inherently "kiddie" about most of them (as most of them weren't created exclusively for the children's market) and no reason that adults can't enjoy this cd. English speaking listeners of any age should note, however, that in keeping with the global theme, seven of the twelve songs on this disc are not sung in the English language. In addition to cultural, musical, and linguistic diversity, there's also an interesting mix of well-established recording artists and apparent amateurs represented on this album. Here's the rundown in terms of title, artist, language and assessment:1. "Fatou Yo (I am Fatou)" - Toure Kunda (Senegal) - MandinkaThis is one of the songs on the disc that I would say was a little "kiddie". Although sung primarily by brothers Ismail and Sixu Toure, lead singers of the popular Senegalese band Toure Kunda, this fun, vibrant, bouncy tune, accentuated by excellent drumming, is written from the perspective of a little girl, talking about how pretty she is and how she wants to be when she grows up. Sounds like a great formula for building up a child's self esteem.2. "La Mariposa (The Butterfly)" - Colibri (Chile/USA) - SpanishThis is a nice little song on which Andean rhythms and the zampona (a bamboo pan-pipe) feature prominently. Listeners should note that although the songs comes from the Bolivian highlands, it was not recorded in that country and neither of the featured singers are Bolivian. One is an American and the other is from Chile.3. "Three Little Birds" - Cedella Marley Booker & Taj Mahal (Jamaica/USA) - EnglishThis is a sweet, mellow cover of Bob Marley's song from his Exodus album. It is performed by none other than his venerable Moms, accompanied by contemporary blues-fusion giant Taj Mahal.4. "Nyandi Matilda (Waltzing Matilda)" - Trevor Adamson (Australia) - PitjantjatjaraEveryone's heard the "unofficial natrional anthem" of Australia before, but this time its sung in the Aboriginal Pitjantjatjara language. This may be a good thing if you're planning on playing this cd for English speaking kids. Contrary to popular belief, "Waltzing Matilda" is not about dancing with a girl. It's the tale of a swagman (Aussie slang for an itinerant worker) who steals a sheep from a greedy landowner and is forced to kill himself when the guy shows up with three cops to arrest him. The laborer's ghost then goes on to haunt the billabong (water hole) where the whole grisly incident took place. It's all there in the lyrics sheet!5. "Home By Barna" - Teresa Doyle (Canada) - English (with a lot of Celtic terminology)This is an interesting old Irish song preserved in Eastern Canada's thriving Celtic community about a "lass" who after going to mass every morning (Good girl!) would stop and have a little something to drink at the local public house (Bad girl!). After hanging out all day, she'd then have to puzzle out the best way to return home at night. Going along the main road she might meet up with brigands, so that's out. Cutting across the fields, she'd wind up slicing her feet on the thorns and of course she didn't want that. If she traveled along other routes, she risked encountering such supernatural creatures from Irish folklore as the banshee, the swoogh, and the fairy band. All things considered, it was best to go home by Barna!6. "Mardis Gras Mambo" - Buckwheat Zydeco (USA) - EnglishAlong with Amede Ardoin and Boozoo Chavis, Buckwheat Zydeco is one of my favorite zydeco musicians, and he's in top form on this cut. For those who don't know, zydeco is a fusion of African, French, Native American, Spanish, Celtic, German, and other musical forms originating in Louisiana's Creole community. The accordian (Buckwheat's intrument of choice), the vest frottoir (rubboard), and fiddle are some of the characteristic elements of the genre.7. "Tik Tik Tak" - Glykeria (Greece) - Greek"Tik Tik Tak" is the onomatopoeic title of this song about how the heart of a young woman nearly beats out of her chest when she sees the fella she has a crush on. It is performed by the extremely popular Glykeria Kotsoula, who is to Greek music what Umm Kulthum was to Arabic music and Marcia Griffiths is to reggae. This song is a great example of her work and a great example of bouzouki music, a genre which originated among the urban poor of Athens.8. "Bongo Bong" - Manu Chao (France) - EnglishThis is a strange electronic pop song sung in English by the Basque/Galician French singer Manu Chao. Its subject is a monkey from the Congo who goes to "the big town" to achieve fame as a bongo player. He fails, but doesn't care. Yeah.9. "Boom Boom Tarara" - Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca (Congo) - SpanishAfter that weird bit of fantasy involving bongo-playing Congolese simians, we're treated to an actual Congolese act and an interesting one at that! Ricardo Lemvo, a musician of Angolan descent who grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo and then moved to the USA at age 15, was always fascinated by Cuban salsa, rumba and timba, and Puerto Rican bomba because he recognized in them the rhythms of Africa brought to those islands by the enslaved individuals who created those musical forms. As an adult, he interpolated elements of these Afro-Latin genres with the popular soukous music of his homeland to create something at once ancient and vibrant and new. "Boom Boom Tarara" is a fine example of his closing the circle and reconnecting Afro-Latin musical forms to their West and Central African origins.10. "Bonjour Pra Voce (Good Morning to You)" - Nazare Pereira (Brazil) - Portuguese and PatuaThis is a cute and fascinating little song about a woman from deep in the Brazilian bush who grew up in a culture that was a fusion of African, Native American, and Portuguese elements. Add to that mix the fact that she lives near the French Guianese border, which she frequently crosses on pleasure outings, and things get even more interesting. In order to communicate with one another, folks in this border region have created a "patua" (patois) of French, Portuguese, African, and Native American elements, and parts of the song are sung in this language. In the end, all the girl does on her trip is have a tafia (a traditional Native American drink of the region) with her friend Moche, and then cross the Diuba River to head back home, but what a linguistic journey she had to go on to get it! The song is at once soft and lively and the singer (Nazare Pereira) has a beautiful, soothing voice.11. "Zichronot M'Africa (Memories of Africa)" - Shlomo Gronich & the Sheba Choir (Israel) - HebrewThis for me is the one misstep on the album. This song was composed by an Israeli musician of Eastern European heritage named Shlomo Gronich and performed by a children's choir made up of Israeli kids descended from immigrants of the Beta Yisrael community of Ethiopia. For those who don't know, the Beta Yisrael (known to outsiders as Falasha) are Ethiopia's native Jewish community. In 1991 many of them were airlifted to Israel in the famous "Operation Solomon" to escape the famine and hardship brought on by the the civil war between various rebel armies and the forces of Ethiopia's brutal dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam.The song, the brainchild of Gronich, is meant to be "evocative of the childrens' homeland" and "authentic Ethiopian music". The trouble is, its not. It sounds nothing like traditional Habesha music, something with which I happen to be very familiar. It sounds instead like cheesy music from an American or European animated feature set in a generic "Africa". The so-called "African rhythms and drum beats" incorporated by Gronich into the music are not at all in the Ethiopian tradition. Instead, they sound like some outsiders' impression of non-specific West African drumming, as might be playing in the background of a Tarzan movie or "Tin Tin Goes to Africa". The whole thing comes off as patronizing, inauthentic, and artificial. Unlike the other tracks on this album, this song is not representative of any traditional or modern form of world music, but rather of one outsider's patronizing view of a cultural and musical tradition he apparently doesn't understand very well.12. "Just Keep Goin' On" - Eric Bibb & Needed Time with The Deacons (USA) - EnglishBluesman Eric Bibb and his Needed Time band joined forces with gospel quartet The Deacons for this truly inspirational gem to close out the album. Encouraging listeners to "take every knock as a boost/and every stumbling block as a stepping stone/lift up your head and hold your own..." Bibb and company succeed in capturing an old-timey, acoustic, foot-stomping feel evocative of the old school worksongs and spirituals that help to sustain the Black community of the pre-Civil Rights Movement American south through the horrors and hardships of that time and place. The Deacons' harmonies are tight and the mandolin and harmonica playing are spot on.Overall, Gronich's manufactured offering excepted, this is a solid, interesting, and eclectic album, appropriate perhaps for children, but just as enjoyable for adults as any of Putumayo's other compilations.

love this item

I have been playing this cd for my 2-month old granddaughter and we both love it. Most of the songs encourage one to dance (with or without a baby) and, if my granddaughter is getting sleepy, she falls asleep faster to this than to the cd of lullabies we also have.What was interesting to me is that a good number of the songs are not particularly representative of the countries listed, but instead are amalgamations of 2 or more cultures. The Canadian song is a haunting Celtic song, the French song is actually in English and written by an immigrant, the Congolese song is done by a man who now lives in the US and has been greatly influenced by Latin music, the Ethiopian song is sung in Israel by those missing their homeland, and the Brazilian song is sung in Patois, a trade language used by those on the border with French Guiana to communicate with each other. It is truly WORLD music. The instrumentation behind the singing reflects the cultures represented and adds so much to the cd's appeal. I found that it took listening to more than once to really appreciate its charms. I would recommend it for all ages.

It's a fun CD to play on a short travel day. If your into different musical instruments, diversity, and cultural music then I would recommend this. I use to play this for my 4 year old when it first came out. We ended up singing along to most of the songs. Great upbeat music.

If your kids love music, this is the CD for you. My kids love all kinds of music, and, although they are only 2 and 4, have gotten way past Raffi (thank goodness) and it is CDs like this one that have helped them get that way. My older daughter loves this CD so much, she brought it for show and tell so that her whole class could dance to it. This is a great introduction to all different kinds of music for your children. I discovered that my kids love Reggae from listening to this album. The best part about it is, I like listening to this stuff. It is definitely not "kids music" a la Raffi, Sesame Street, etc. The CD is clearly aimed at kids and has a colorfol booklet with all the lyrics that kids will enjoy looking at. I would probably give it 4 1/2 stars instead of 5 because there are one or two songs that are a little jarring, but it definitely deserves more than 4.Buy this CD and have fun with your kids, dancing to the music of the world.

We have had this CD for almost 5 years now. I purchased this for my then almost 1 year old son. We have listened to this CD consistently over the years and the way we have listened has changed. Initially it was simply to listen, enjoy and dance to, and for this it is absolutely great. Now, at age 5, he is into geography and is interested in different countries. And for that this CD is also a great learning too to look up the different countries (Senegal, Greece, Australia, Congo, Israel, Ethiopia etc), read the booklet that comes with it etc. With regards to the appropriateness of songs (there was a comment on the Greek song), I would say it really doesn't matter for younger kids since the tunes are catchy and there are great ways to use this as an educational tool (besides the fact my kids are never going to learn Greek, I don't think).

My 20-month-old grandson loves dancing to these songs, and they truly lift my spirits too. I’ve learned some lyrics to sing to him, especially Fatou Yo, an extraordinarily happy song. He is so fortunate to be exposed to music from around our world, and I would recommend this CD to anyone!

The product is what I wanted. It was unfortunately delivered in an Amazon plastic envelope. The company needs to stop using plastic.

気分のやや落ち込んでいる日でも初めの曲から聴者をハッピーにしてくれるCDです。

I bought this CD to use with small groups of adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities. I am really impressed with the diverse range of songs on here and how much you had to dance to the music! My group loved the music as soon as it began and were playing along with percussion and moving to the music. I am having very good results also with some people who are on the autistic spectrum and are responding really well to this CD - one man stayed in the group throughout the whole session and moved to the music which is something he has not done before. Another lady who is usually not verbal said a couple of words very clearly whilst listening to this CD so thank you very much. I would highly recommend this CD to anyone who loves music. I will be buying more in this series as soon as I can! Thank you.

We have a few Putumayo cd's as they really do make lovely listening for both kids and adults and I think it introduces kids to varied music from different genres and countries but it's great fun to listen to too. Our 5 year old son really took to this one and regularly puts it on in his room when he is playing with his Lego. Also great to have a crazy dance around the room to too!

Great to hear different styles of music,

It's ok. The kids don't find it that interesting and some songs are very cheesy. In terms of representing the world, it's not great. I have created a better world music playlist on iTunes, which the kids find a lot more fun.