Jungle Gym

Has a few good songs but not as many as Pop Fly album. Still, the kids enjoy it and we are all fans of Justin Roberts. We see him every year now at the LA Times Festival of books at the Target stage.

While we have enjoyed Justin's other cds, this one is almost entirely focused on school. We are homeschoolers and unschoolers and choose not to participate in school for many of the reasons he outlines in his songs and more. There is much more to the world than being stuck in a classroom for 13+ years of your life!

There's a fallacy that fans of Justin Roberts (a group that includes child and enthusiastic adults alike) quickly recognize and discard: effective children's music must follow certain formulas. Kid's music, the fallacy states, must either consist of simple lullaby-esque modalities, be brought to life by annoying cartoon character voices or sound like circus music from a flu dream. Thankfully, artists such as Justin Roberts have proven to us that children's music can be peppy, complex and, at times, even profound.Almost every review of a Justin Robert's album will rightly report that adults have been surprised to find their head bopping along to the music or find themselves humming (or outright belting) along to the insanely catchy hooks but, for this parent, Mr. Roberts and co. have managed to take it to another level by capturing a place of imagination and memory that had become dormant. Whether it's playing out the story of a song in my imagination (i.e., Never Getting Lost) or shaking loose some memory of a universal and timeless elementary school student habit (when exactly did I stop counting double time at the water fountain?), Justin Robert's songs take me beyond the usual themes of 123, ABC and clowns and flu dreams. Musically, Jungle Gym, like Meltdown! and Pop Fly before it, contains mostly upbeat songs showcasing catchy alliterative hooks with a few slower-I-double-dog-dare-you-to-get-misty numbers. Jungle Gym is a bit more musically ambitious than previous releases with major tempo changes befitting a rock opera (We Go Duck and Obsessed By Trucks), complex Costello-like arrangements (Fire Drill - my personal fav) and fun key-changing anthems (Snow Day). The musicianship is top notch (I particularly enjoy the bass player and drummer). From beginning to end, the album is immensely enjoyable.So you may be thinking, "Ok, yeah, this weirdo likes the album, but uh, what about his 18 month old?" She loves it! It takes nanoseconds for her to light up once the music starts; she gyrates, she bounces, she sings "tra, tra, tra" ("tricker, tricker, tricker" on Trick or Treat). This is her ringing endorsement.If you or your little one are already a Justin Roberts fan, then Jungle Gym is a no brainer. If you are on the hunt for new children's music that is more than sonic chewing gum for your kids, you can't do better than starting here. As an added bonus, Mr. Roberts, unlike many musicians who write a children's album as a side project, tours regularly and is likely to be in your neck of the country in the near future. Rather than taking your kids to an over-priced arena show to see the singing cartoon of the month, take them to see actual musicians (Justin and the Not Ready for Naptime Players) for a reasonable price at a venue that does not require your children to use binoculars.

After repeated listening in the car to our newly purchased Jungle Gym CD, we are now singing along with all the songs, just like we do with the songs we know so well from the other six--just as awesome-- Justin Roberts CD's. We particularly like rocking out to "Obsessed By Trucks", "We Go Duck" and "Trick or Treat." My 5yo finds something special, as do I, in the song about getting lost/found in the mall. And the final song "2 x 4" stirs a kind of nostalgic, lyrical sentiment about the freedom of childhood and summer. All of the songs on the CD are fun. Jungle Gym has the same top-notch production values as the rest of Justin's well-polished CDs, featuring a tight band skilled at performing just about any musical style. The music always has a bit of familiarity to it, as it deftly plays out many of the sounds I've enjoyed since childhood in the rock/alt rock/folk rock genres. The lyrics to all of Justin Roberts' songs are worth close attention, and you'll learn them soon enough with his catchy musical phrases: they capture very specific snapshots of childhood in ways that are ingenious, clever, intelligent, and often quite humorous. Besides the sheer joy of having tunes to share and rock out to with my child, what I appreciate most of all about Justin's music--what sets him apart--is his ability to move me with songs that reflect honesty and a depth of heart and thought. I feel an emotional resonance with some of his surprisingly profound songs scattered throughout his repertoire. And that is the undeniable gift of a great artist--it's the creative gift he possesses and the gift of a musical experience that's given to us, the listeners, for those everyday moments. Once you and your kid/s enjoy the CDs, look for concerts in your area--Justin Roberts tours all over the country.

I ignorantly did not preview any of the song selections before buying and therefor was stuck listening to Justin Whining his way through every song. Regretful purchase, very regretful. I understand the music is for the kids, however parents are still listening and I hated it.

Okay - so my wife and I have a secret obsession with Justin Roberts' music. Fortunately, we're parents so we can pretend it's all for our son. I'm not sure which came first during our car rides - him asking for Justin's tunes or us just telling him that we're listening to them, but seven albums is enough for any trip!If you're reading these reviews because you haven't heard his music and are still deciding about the purchase, stop thinking about it. Justin puts out the best children's music (credit Liam too). We've heard every major artist on Pandora or from borrowed music through our local library. Justin Roberts' music is the only music that we've consistently purchased - seven albums and counting. He even has an adult album if you can track it down.We catch his tour stops whenever he's in the Boston/Cambridge area, and the live shows confirm everything we love about his music - smart, relevant, and catchy. Look, I know that we're just talking about Children's Music but it's more than that. It's an experience with your child/children that you can share, remember, and love.Hopefully, you'll make this your secret obsession too!

I was excited after reading the reviews to get this CD. However I was very disappointed, It was cool that they were all original songs, but I was not a big fan of the singing. I wish I would have tried just on of the songs first before I bought the whole CD.