Published on Apr 25, 1999
My daughter turns three years old at the end of the month, and
like most toddlers her age, she is really getting into all things
Disney. She has had a love affair with Winnie-The-Pooh for well
over a year now (even leading Grandpa Thelen to buy her the “My
Interactive Pooh” for the times I’m not on the computer). My wife
and I are slowly building a collection of Disney movies for her to
watch over and over again (guess which one is her favorite?). And,
recently my wife found “Radio Disney” on the dial, giving my
daughter her own radio station to fall in love with.
Now, for the kids who can’t get enough of the station (and for
those of us who find their radio dials otherwise occupied on the
daily commute to and from work),
Radio Disney Kid Jams is out on CD. While some might be
compelled to brush it off as a “best-of-today” compilation, it
turns out to be a very respectable compilation for kids of all
ages.
One prerequisite, of course, is that you have to enjoy hip-hop
and a light dose of rap. The inclusion of 2 Unlimited (someone name
me one compilation album that “Get Ready For This” isn’t on these
days), Technotronic (“Pump Up The Jam”) and M.C. Hammer (“U Can’t
Touch This” – it really wasn’t that bad a song, just overplayed in
1990) make sure these bases are well-covered.
A surprise inclusion is the original – and I do mean
original – version of “Macarena” from Los Del Rio. Gone are
the teeny-bopper voices making up the verses; this entire song is
in Spanish, and even features some key changes that I wasn’t
expecting. This is a pleasant surprise to include on
Radio Disney Kid Jams, and the album’s producers should be
commended for putting this particular version on the CD.
There are a few other surprises in store on
Radio Disney Kid Jams, such as “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Star
Wars tribute, “Yoda”. When I was a teenager, I was big into
Yankovic’s music, but I fell away quickly. This track shows me that
Yankovic is still the master parody artist of our time. Likewise,
giving Steve Vai a chance to shred on his cover of “Wipeout” is
interesting, if not the real head-scratching inclusion. (Something
for the older listeners, nearing the pre-teen years, perhaps?)
Being a product from Disney, the inclusion of tracks from a
soundtrack or two is inevitable. Fortunately, they chose well with
“Hakuna Matata” from
The Lion King (a little something for the younger kiddies)
and Donny Osmond’s “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” from
Mulan.
Whether you’re within sniffing distance of your thirties (“I Got
You (I Feel Good)” from James Brown, “Ghostbusters” from Ray
Parker, Jr.) or you’re young and bopping along to today’s
superstars (Hanson’s “River” – which sound a bit like Hootie &
The Blowfish – and Backstreet Boys’s “Quit Playing Games With My
Heart”), there has to be something on
Radio Disney Kid Jams that will make you smile and get your
feet tapping. This disc proves that just because you grow older,
you don’t necessarily have to grow up.