by Adrian Zupp
Folkie Lisa Loeb has followed the lead of other adult-music artists (including Kenny Loggins and her co-pilot on this album, Elizabeth Mitchell) in making a disc of children's music that can be enjoyed by all ages. Some of the songs are lyrically pitched exclusively to the toddlers (e.g., the traditional number &Little Red Caboose& and the traditional adaptation of&Big Rock Candy Mountain&) while others are a tad more sophisticated (a nicely revamped version of &Oh Susanna& and a lovely take on Bob Dylan's &New Morning&). Then there is the laudable ethnic content: &La Manita& (Spanish traditional), &Donguri/Rolling Acorn& (Japanese traditional), and &Fais Do Do& (French traditional). The original song &Stop and Go& is a &rocky& participation number and tons of fun, while &Catch the Moon& (also original) is dreamily poetic. And there's never been a tenderer version of &Twinkle Twinkle Little Star& than the one found here. The songs are rendered in a folk/country acoustic minimalism that is, in a word, enchanting. And the CD comes encased in a children's board book written by Erin Courtney and illustrated by Bonnie Brooke Mitchell. Catch the Moon is a record that the young ones can enjoy (or go to sleep to) while also being entertaining for the rest of the family, even after many plays.