Muffins are for kids, too

It’s really quite interesting that sometimes an artist (meaning musician, in this case) settles down (so to speak) and has a child or two and decides at that time that they’ll craft an album for kids.    I mean really, it makes sense since songwriters usually take their inspiration from what’s around them at any given time and so it seems natural they would choose to write some songs inspired by or written for their children.  

Fortunately, if it’s an artist that you already like, chances are you’ll like their interpretation of kid-friendly tunes.   And, in this particular case, I certainly enjoyed it.

Some of you know who Martha and the Muffins are.  Although most of you are probably familiar with their hit “Echo Beach”, they have had a number of other releases over the years with some really interesting musical explorations.   In fact, there’s a new release out now called Delicate and I’ve been listening to it for a few weeks now.  Love it.  But, I digress...

Apparently, Martha Johnson released a children's album back in 1995 called Songs from the Tree House.  And she sent me a copy!   How cool is that?  

So, I received this copy of Songs from the Tree House and the kids and I have been giving it a listen ever since.   Now it was released in 1995 so it has a 90s flavour to the sound, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing!  There are nineteen tracks on this album and they take us from soothing sounds to traditional ditties and some quirky tunes thrown in for good measure. 

Suvi's favourite (since my kids always pick favourites on cds) is the The Golden Rule which has a reggae sound and is fun to groove around the room to.  Max always chooses the ones that seem to relate directly to his own life experiences so his personal fave is a jazzy little tune called It Was an Accident.  Go figure.   Finn thinks Martha's interpretation of Itsy Bitsy Spider is way fun.  

Songs from the Tree House is still available online here if you're interested.  You can listen to previews of most of tracks on that site (CD Baby).  It's a fun album that is quite perfect for the under 6 crowd, I'd say.  Thanks, Martha!