Subtitled A Family Music Party, this upbeat album is a definite crowd pleaser with the short people. Both Fink and Marxer have great voices that blend well in simple harmonies. Brave Combo provide a wonderful backing for the vocals, their horn section and percussion adding a particularly nice touch. There's something infectious about Brave Combo's treatment of the various world and ethnic traditions, making them an excellent choice for this type of album. Although known for their creative interpretation of polka and other ethnic dances, this group defies pigeon holing. As you might expect, All wound Up combines traditional songs from many places, from the ubiquitous "Mockingbird" (as in "Hush Little Baby don't say word.") to the Mexican "De Colores" and the Israeli hora "Mayim Mayim." There are also some great originals written by Fink and Marxer. My favorite tells the story of a child whose bedroom is turned into a museum by the Mayor because it is so dirty, entitled appropriately, "I Will Never Clean Up my Room." Other winners are Stephen White's "Spaghetti Twist and Twirl" about a chef who knows exactly what pasta to make when children enter the restaurant, and Harry Belafonte's "Turn the World Around."

Throughout, the vocals and the instrumentals are well done, infectious, and fun. There isn't a glitch, missed beat, or poorly chosen track on this album. The liner notes have all the lyrics, and list the musical style represented in the song. Non-English lyrics are translated as well. All Wound Up also stands up to the repeat playing test. As with any children's album, one must ask the question, "Could I stand to listen to this 500 times in the next month?" My answer is yes, with one caveat. All Wound Up is, well, upbeat, happy and bouncy; the title says it all really. So be prepared to be happy and cheered up when listening to this disc, because it's about fun, dance, singing along, and great musicianship. It's the sort of disc that brings the little ones into the folk music world with great enthusiasm, on a level very accessible to children. I would definitely recommend this album for children who may be curious about folk traditions, and those about to enter primary school. Brave Combo's web site has sound samples for this projects, as well as band information, tours, etc. Fink and Mercer also have a web site.

Larry Kirwan's vision of childhood reflects his own experience as a parent of children in the New York City where kids are savvy and impatient (as his web site tells it). He brings his world weary voice to an assortment of songs about kids who rebel, have adventures, and generally question their fate in an odd adult world. Kirwan is joined by Roseanne Cash on vocals, and an assortment of other musicians, although his guitar and vocals dominate the mix. Despite the title, this is not an album full of Celtic clichés; there's nary a jig or a reel to be hears, just great songs in the tradition of Irish singing. Black 47 fans will recognize Kirwan's way with melody. Others will note that he wanders around even traditional melodies, adding a distinctive sense of timing and a way of building a tune up to a climax, his meaningful pauses, and a voice that almost sings, but mostly talks around a tune.

There are several great songs on this album that will appeal to the kid in all of us. Keltic Kids opens with a "The Pirate Boy" who marries the captains daughter, moves to Jamaica, and plays in a reggae band. It's a a kid friendly version of "Whiskey in the Jar," slowed down and turned into an adventure. "Hookedy Crookedy" tells of fairy horse who takes his unsuspecting owner, the "maddest man in County Clare" on a wild ride around the planet and as far as the Milky Way each night. "I Wanta Be Five" expresses a young lad's fears of growing up and becoming just like the boring adults around him; because Mom is prettier than all the girls, she's the "Queen of the whole wide world." I also liked the "Boy who wouldn't Sleep" and fills the whole city with the sheep he is counting, until they disappear back inside his head.

This album will appeal to grade school age children, and most parents. As you may note from my descriptions, most of the songs are written about boys, although Kirwan is pictured with his daughter on the liner notes. If she's as savvy as he thinks she is, he's already had a talking to, and is composing the next project, entitled Keltic Girls, Songs for the rest of Us. One exception, "I Won't Play with my Brother," didn't pass the mom test at one house where even this idea was

found to be unacceptable subject matter. If you like Kirwan's approach to the adult world, you will likely appreciate this album. Certainly the grade school types I played it for liked it. There were some questions about why all the kids lived in New York, but any fan of Kirwan's will be expecting this peculiarity of vision. Overall I liked this album, and particularly recommend the last song, "Don't ever Lose Your Dreams," which is about as good an anthem for childhood as I've ever heard.

Bright Spaces is the effort of Rounder Kids to raise funds and awareness for a project to bring attractive, creative play spaces to homeless shelters in the U.S. The Bright Spaces Program grew out of corporate day care programs, and seeks to make crafts and toys available to children with an otherwise grim existence. It features a well-rounded sampling of some of their well known children's artists, from Raffi, to Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer. Many other tracks contain well known folk artists performing children's material, such as Si Kahn,

Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, and the Arlo and Woody Guthrie recordings. There are some really enjoyable tracks on this disc, although it covers a diverse group of artists, and remains very much a collection rather than providing a consistent vision or theme. This is the sort of album that is very successful for long road trips with the family, because the diverse voices and visions keep the children's attention without driving the parents crazy.

It opens with "The Arthur Theme Song," by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, always a crowd pleaser where I'm from. Arlo Guthrie follows with "Bling Blang," and then Raffi, the consummate children's entertainer. There are several other highlights throughout the album. I particularly enjoyed Sweet Honey in the Rock's "Still the Same Me" about a child who takes flights of fancy, shape-changing in her dreams, but returns as the same recognizable person. John McCutcheon's "If I ran the World" is a children's classics, as is the "duet" between Arlo and Woody Guthrie, "This Land is Your Land." I have to admit that I was disappointed that some of the more rebellious verses didn't make the cut for this song, but it was still fun to listen to this pair. "Bossa by the Numbers" was also a big hit at our house. I adored the last song, Raffi's version of "Goodnight Irene" -- and I'm not usually a big Raffi fan.

This is a great children's sampler for parents who may not be sure of folk music, or Rounder Kid's catalogue. It provides diverse voices and distinctive styles, with helpful references to the original albums in the Rounder Kids catalogue.

[Kim Bates]