This is a rare find, a children's album parents (or anyone, pretty much) will enjoy after spin, too.

    Opening track "Bathtub Boy" is a squeaky-clean fun jam about a preference for bathing over showering. This segues nicely into the Allstars' old tune "He's Okay (The Spider Song)," my favorite song by the happy-go-lucky band. This song is a natural fit for a children's music album and just a hoot all around, except for a few hard-line spider-haters. There's good use of the band's characteristic Hammond organ on this track and the next, an ode to grandparents that isn't stingy with funk. "Poppy and Mee Maw" the duo just can't resist a reference to the tasty, fresh-from-the-oven crumbly yellow baked goods that were the subject of one of the most popular tracks on Dos Machos released in 2005. Of course not all grandarents may "love cornbread and Hee Haw," as Wiser sings, but the whole thing's so catchy you won't mind.

    "Petting Zoo" is a jaunty tune that blends a how-to for children with a hefty helping of nostalgia. This one's the best fit for lazy summer days on the album and may make you go visit one of these animal-visitation establishments while the weather's warm. For kicks, I "cat-tested" "It's P. Kitty Time," a neat song about the titular feline (who also adorns the CD). It made my cats yawn and stretch, but then a lot of things seem to do that. "Banana Pudding" is another song about a sweet subject beloved by Wiser. This continues to bop around in my head and it's a matter of days or maybe hours until it will be time for a late-night grocery-and-cooking run to concoct that thixotropic tropical trea, complete with vanilla wafer cookies.

    "Stinky" gives "He's Okay" a run for its money in the fun for all ages category. Whether you're 5, 15 or 50, this one will remind you of someone or something that really stuck out in this category. For me it conjured up grade-school locker rooms, a college friend who decorated his place in a style I'll call "Beer cans, pizza boxes and socks Provincial" and Fourme d'Ambert bleu cheese. That last one is salty, musky and so smoky-it's a bit like eating a fine cigar-in that mixed good/bad way. Closing track "Buck Up Little Camper" throws in a reference to Norman's Lake Thunderbird nicely along with its sunny, optimistic exhortations that had me fast-marching in my chair like a geek and not caring who was. Eat your porous cheerful heart out, SpongeBob.

-Adam Scott
www.normantranscript.com