Patchwork Quilt & Other Stories from Around World

Editorial Reviews
National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, 1999
Nominated for a Grammy Award.

Patchwork Quilt & Other Stories from Around World, Music, Sharon Kennedy, Children's, Children's Stories, Childrens, Pop

Average customer rating:

Girls enjoy it

Patchwork Quilt & Other Stories from Around World
Sharon Kennedy
Manufacturer: Rounder Select
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Stories | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music
General | Children's Music | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

More Irish Folk Tales for Children

Irish Folk Tales for Children

ASIN: B000005YW0
Release Date: 1998-05-05

Tracks:

The Patchwork Quilt
The Peddler Of Tunes
The Princess And The Sea Serpent
La Bruja Means Witch
The Jazzy Three Bears

Customer Reviews:

Girls enjoy it.......2002-01-06

I think the Irish stories are better, but maybe it is personal preference. What matters is that the girls love all of Kennedy's CDs, and listen to them every night before going to bed. Then they act out the stories during the day. Not a waste of money at all.

Average customer rating:

Why meddle with good things?

Undercover Angel 2001
Alan O'Day
Manufacturer: Alan O'Day
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA9P86
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Tracks:

Undercover Angel 2001
Creative Me
WWW Dot Lonely
Raining More Than Rain
Allergies

Customer Reviews:

Why meddle with good things?.......2005-12-24

Alan O'Day is probably best known for the original version of his 1977 #1 hit "Undercover Angel," which was quirky yet infectiously simple pop. He also wrote songs for a variety of artists (Helen Reddy, Three Dog Night, and others). He obviously didn't exhaust his songwriting skills, as I guess he still currently writes and I was quite surprised to learn he wrote for "Muppet Babies" (admittedly, I can't remember any of the songs from the show, only the theme, which I'm not sure if he had a hand in writing) and some other shows later on in the '90s, including some Disney stuff.

I read somewhere that he was inspired to re-make his old hit due to the inclusion of the original in the Charlie's Angels soundtrack. Well, less re-make than butcher and bastardize. We get pseudo-rapping coupled with hilariously stupid pro-social "love one another" lyrics, and somewhere in all this garbage, the chorus of the new version is vaguely familiar. Really, the only worthwhile factor in the song are the lyrics about giving Eminem an enema.

The main problem is that the title track lacks all sincerity. I realize O'Day meant this as an unserious rap parody, but it's not really rap other than the vocals (O'Day, ever the try-hard, throws in some "Whazzups!" before the chorus...) It's very '80s sounding and synth-driven poor man's R & B, sounding like someone trying to badly emulate New Edition or a minor '80s Motown artist. True parody artists like Weird Al at least study their material, and even if it ends up being silly, stupid, or behind the times, it still has effort behind it. This seems empty and vapid, but it's pre-meditated enough where I can't just dismiss it as clowning around in the studio. As for the lyrics, they end up being insipid in their delivery even if the underlying message is decent. The average Raffi song is much deeper, and is at least being played by a guy not trying to insult my intelligence.

The rest of the songs aren't as bad, but unfortunately by putting the worst first, a bad light is cast on already average songs. "WWW Dot Lonely" is another sad attempt to stay current lyrically. "Creative Me" and "Allergies" are better attempts at quirk and humor, but they're nothing special. "Raining More Than Rain" uses the same sort of reggae/R&B vibe that fails on the title track more successfully, but there are compatability issues. The song would probably be a good dance number if not for the easygoing vocals (everything else aside, O'Day does nice vocals). It sounds like it was recorded with mostly programmed instrumentation and synths (I can't tell about the backing vocals), which lend it an inorganic feel. Considering the simplicity of the music, this is not a good thing.

It's tragic that in trying to be humorous and current, O'Day effectively had to destroy his best past work. Ditch the title track, and the others would make a passable demo CD-R, or perhaps bonus tracks on an upcoming album (if there's any such release, I'd have to sample it thoroughly before even considering buying it).

Older songwriters needn't hang up the hat (Paul Williams and Rod McKuen are dead proof of that) in a world ruled by vapid pop and commercialism. They shouldn't feel obliged to have to keep penning the kinds of works that made them famous, nor should they feel they have to progress any further than what they want. But let this be a lesson, that trying to stay current is less important than trying to stay yourself, wherever you might find your musical path takes you.

Average customer rating:

More Than Meets the Eye

Manufacturer: Cornerstone
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA7J9S
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Average customer rating:

I sometimes wonder...
Correction! And More....
A truly classic album - challenging and full of beauty.

Balloon Music
Judy Dunaway , With Yasunao Tone , and and Dan Evans Farkas
Manufacturer: Composers Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Urban Folk | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000007NX0
Release Date: 1998-06-16

Tracks:

Piece For Solo Tenor Balloon
Bluebird
Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime
Champagne In Mexico City - Fragment Set #1
Blown Uncut
Rubber Patchwork Quilt
Champagne In Mexico City - Fragment Set #2
Balloon Pop

Customer Reviews:

I sometimes wonder..........2005-07-17

... if some reviewres don't rave about items they've bought to hide their embarrassment over throwing away perfectly good money on crap. In that spirit, buy this CD!!! It's the most astounding thing you could ever want to hear!

But in the interest of personal honesty, I have to say that I do regret having wasted good money on this CD. It falls into the category of being a interesting concept eclipsed by an extremely poor execution. "Hey, I know! I'll make some 'music' using only balloons in various states to generate the sounds; I'll just squeak and squeak them really fast and use lots of very audible jump cut edits, replete with extremely obtrusive popping and clicking noise - screw editing! I'll make all the pieces monotously similar and drag them out for 10 minutes or more each - that'll be really experimental!"

Actually there was one cut, Champagne in Mexico - Fragment Set #2, that maintained my interest almost throughout its entire length - perhaps that was due to the involvement of two other people besides Dunaway. Believe me, it's not that I'm at all shocked or dismayed by the use of unusual sound sources; I've got some past experience making all manner of strange noises with unusual sources. But as Brian Eno (who used to know how to make interesting sounds himself) once said, originality in music is not in and of itself sufficient if the end results don't sound interesting.

Oh, well, I guess I should have been forewarned by the description of Dunaway as an "experimental guitarist."

Correction! And More...........2001-07-02

Joseph R. Dalton is NOT a performer on this CD! He is the Executive Producer. All pieces are performed by Judy Dunaway. "Bluebird" is a collaboration with Fluxus legend Yasunao Tone. "Champagne in Mexico City" (1&2) is a collaboration with film music editor Dan Evans Farkas (music editor for "Fargo" and many other great films). For more information about Judy Dunaway and her work, go to her website:

A truly classic album - challenging and full of beauty........1999-07-17

Judy Dunaway, the experimental guitarist, lays down her axe for an album of pieces created entirely using balloons played as instruments. It is a simple idea, almost the idea for a "novelty" album good for a few laughs and not much more. But far from frivolous, this record instead is a classic of soundwork, exploring unique areas with wit and passion. From the first minute of "Piece for Solo Tenor Balloon", we enter a sonic space of intricate textures and profoundly evocative phrasing. This kind of music is intense and exhilirating, and like all truly worthwhile music it requires effort from the listener. This album belongs in every music collection!

Average customer rating:

Patchwork Quilt
Peggo & Paul
Manufacturer: Fountainbleu Ent.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005A8GX
Release Date: 2001-02-27

Tracks:

Patchwork Quilt
Simple Gifts
This Little Light of Mine
Green Green Rocky Road/Follow the Drinking Gourd
Lakes of Ponchetrain
Acres of Clams
Lehigh Valley
Hodes, P.A
Soaring Like the Wind
Get Along, Little Dogies
Oh, Shenandoah
America the Beautiful!
Stand up, Speak Out!
Amazing Grace

Average customer rating:

Prairieland
Patti Ecker
Manufacturer: Ovenbird Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAFYXQ
Release Date: 2002-06-04

Tracks:

El-A-Noy
Shuckin' of the Corn
Sweet Betsy from Pike
Old Dan Tucker
Oh, Susanna!
Bile Dat Cabbage Down
Polly Wolly Doodle
Follow the Drinkin' Gourd
Wabash Cannonball
Paddy Works on the Railway
Old Grimes
Lincoln and Liberty
Uncle Joe
Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight
El-A-Noy (Reprise)

Grandma's Patchwork Quilt: A Children's Sampler

Average customer rating:

I keep listening to this even after the kids get out of the car!

Grandma's Patchwork Quilt: A Children's Sampler
Various Artists
Manufacturer: American Melody
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music

Folk Music | Children's Music | Styles | Music

1990s | By Decade | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Traditional | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - Cathy Fink
Three Blind Mice - Jonathan Edwards
I'm a Little Cookie - Larry Penn
Pumpkin Man - John McCutcheon
Duck Named Earl - Phil Rosenthal
Oh, Susannah - Jonathan Edwards
There's a Hole in My Back Yard [*] - Larry Penn
You Can't Make a Turtle Come Out - Cathy Fink
Down the Mountainside We Go - Naomi Summers
Awful Hilly, Daddy-Willie Trip - John McCutcheon
On Grandma's Patchwork Quilt - Larry Penn
Buffalo Gals - Cathy Fink

Customer Reviews:

I keep listening to this even after the kids get out of the car!.......2006-11-29

Great CD! The songs are wonderfully done. My 4 year old LOVES A Duck Named Earl and There's Something In My Garden. She asks for them again and again. The artists are all wonderful and altogether it's a very enjoyable listening experience. I find myself listening to it after the kids are out of the car. It's not just the same old musical drivel that passes as children's music.

Average customer rating:

Patchwork Quilt
Peggo & Paul
Manufacturer: The Orchard
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00003TL11
Release Date: 2000-03-31

Tracks:

Patchwork Quilt
Simple Gifts
This Little Light Of Mine
Green Green Rocky Road & Follow The Drinking Gourd
Lakes Of Ponchetrain
Acres Of Clams
Lehigh Valley 353
Tell My Why
Soaring Like The Wind
Git Along, Little Dogies
Oh, Shenandoah
America The Beautiful
Stand Up, Speak Out!
Amazing Grace

Music:

Music

Music