You may have read my preliminary review of “The Sunny Side of the Street,” the new CD from John Lithgow which is set to be released August 29th, 2006. I have always loved John Lithgow’s voice — there is just something about it that has a familiar friendliness to it. However, until I heard about “Sunny Side,” I never even knew that he performed children’s music. Well, I received a promo copy of the CD from those wonderful people at Razor & Tie, and I have to tell you — it’s everything I hoped it would be!
“The Sunny Side of the Street” is full of style, pep, and good old American favorites. I decided to play the CD in the car for my daughter while we were running errands yesterday. Once the first bar of “Getting to Know You” began to play, Ciera started swaying back and forth in her car seat and slowly clapping her hands. She smiled at me when the children began singing along with John.
The best part is that many of the lyrics have been changed by John to make them more kid related. For example, “On the Sunny Side of the Street” starts off with a child going to his first day of first grade. He is scared until his mother says to him, “Grab your coat and get your hat, leave your worries on the doorstep. Life can be so sweet, on the sunny side of the street.” The chorus is sung by Madeleine Peyroux who has a voice as buttery as Billie Holiday. “Ya Gotta Have Pep” seems to be the jumpy song on the album. It is all about eating right and exercising so that you can be healthy and energetic. From the first, “Ya gotta have pep, WOO!” the kids will be hooked.
“The Sunny Side of the Street” will be available in stores on August 29th, 2006, and is available for pre-order from MusicSpace, Amazon, and Best Buy.
By the way, here are a couple of links that you might like. The first is video of part of the documentary that I mentioned in my last blog about this CD. The second link is the video for “Ya Gotta Have Pep.” Enjoy!
“The Sunny Side of the Street” Track Listing
1. Getting To Know You
2. On The Sunny Side (featuring Madeleine Peyroux)
3. Pick Yourself Up
4. Baby (featuring Maude Maggart)
5. Be Human
6. You Got To Have Pep
7. Everyone Says I Love You
8. Inka Dinka Doo (featuring Wayne Knight)
9. I Always Say Hello To A Flower
10. The Laughing Policeman
11. Song Of The Sewer (featuring Wayne Knight)
12. I’m a Manatee
13. Lullaby in Ragtime (featuring Sherie Rene Scott)