Family music is some of the most underrated content offered to audiences year to year. If people can get past the stigma that has been created (and is maintained to this day, sadly), they will see for themselves just how much family music has to offer. The lyrical themes in many family music albums will appeal just as much to grown-ups as to children, believe it or not. Much of the music that accompanies that far-reaching lyrical content makes for its own appeal, too. Again, audiences will find this for themselves when they give the music a chance.
This year’s field of new family music albums do just as much to support the noted statements as records released in the past few years or so. From the rock leanings of Howdytoons’ latest dinosaur-centric record, Dinosaurs & Monsters, to the neo-folk sounds of Martin & Rose Music’s new album, Dear Heart to the wide range of sounds and styles of music from Tom Knight in his new album, Look Both Ways alongside its lyrical content that will appeal to kids, and so many others, this year’s crop of new family music albums offered families much to enjoy.
To that end, Phil’s Picks is offering up the list of this year’s top new Family Music albums. As with each list, this one offers up the year’s top 10 new albums and five additional honorable mention titles for a total of 15 records. The honorable mention titles are just as enjoyable as the Top 10 records in their own right, so there is no intent to lessen any one album over the others. Without any further ado, here is Phil’s Picks 2022 Top 10 New Family Music Albums.
PHIL’S PICKS 2022 TOP 10 NEW FAMILY MUSIC ALBUMS
Tom Knight – Look Both Ways
Eric Herman and the Puppy Dogs – Magic Beans
Martin & Rose Music – Dear Heart
Katie Dwyer – Let’s Move
Greg Lato – Adults These Days
Kelli Welli – Robots Don’t Tell Jokes
Jesse Jukebox – Just A Minute
Jenn Cleary – Happy Day
Howdytoons – Dinosaurs & Monsters
Raffi & Lindsay Munroe – Nursery Rhymes for Kinder Times
The Wiggles – Super Wiggles
Nicole Porter – You and Us
Triple Rainbow – You Are Magic
Again Again – Your Voice is Magic
You and Us – For Children of All Ages
That’s it for this list, but there is still more to go before the final seconds of 2022 tick away, with a list for the year’s top new World Music albums, Top New Jazz Albums, Top New Independent Albums and Top New Albums Overall. Stay tuned!
Family music entertainer Jesse Friedberg (a.k.a. Jesse Jukebox) released his latest album, Just a Minute early this month. His fourth album, it is a fun new offering for the whole family regardless of audiences’ familiarity with Friedberg and his work. That is due in part to the album’s musical content, which will be discussed shortly. The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical material is just as important to the album’s presentation as that primary content. It will be discussed a little later. The record’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements and finishes the album’s presentation. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the record. All things considered they make Just a Minute a presentation whose 28-minute run time is worth every second.
Just a Minute, Jesse Friedberg’s fourth album, is a fun album for the whole family, regardless of audiences’ familiarity with him and his work. The record’s enjoyment comes in part through its musical arrangements. Right from the album’s outset, audiences get an intriguing work in ‘One Minute Song.’ The instrumentation is a garage punk style work that throws back to the sounds of the late 80s and early 90s. Meanwhile, Friedberg’s vocals are akin to those of the late great Tom Petty. It is an intriguing mix that somehow works. Right after that, audiences get a work in the vein of Sugar Ray in ‘How Long?’ ‘Groovy Kangaroo’ meanwhile gives audiences a touch of funk. Throughout the course of the album’s remaining songs (there are 28 songs in all), the diversity in the sounds and styles continues solidly from one to the next. There’s literally a polka at the center of ‘Pierogi Polka,’ a touch of hip-hop in ‘The Beat is Back’ and some rockabilly a la Rev. Horton Heat in ‘(Swindled By a) Possum.’ Again, what audiences get in this record’s musical content is so much diversity in the album’s musical side. To that end, that diversity makes for more than enough reason for families to take in this record.
As much as the musical content does for Just a Minute, it is just one part of what makes the album so enjoyable. The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical content make for their own interest. That is due to their own diversity. Throughout the course of the album’s nearly 30-minute run time, Friedberg presents audiences with so many themes. ‘It’s OK to Not Be Ok’ is exactly what the song’s title infers. It addresses the ongoing mental health concerns plaguing the world. What’s more he does it in a way that makes it fully accessible to young audiences and does so in barely more than a minute. On another note, Friedberg encourages his young audiences to embrace themselves in terms of their personalities. In short he presents a song here that focuses on the all too familiar topic of self-confidence. This as he tells young listeners that “it’s okay to be weird.” This, interestingly enough, ties directly into the noted topic of mental health among children. On yet another note, Friedberg tackles the topic of childhood literacy in ‘Library.’ On the surface, the song finds Friedberg singing about the joy of going to a library and picking out a book, reading it in one’s little nook there at the building. He sings about the different kinds of books from which readers can choose. It is just one more example of the diversity in the album’s lyrical themes. When these themes are considered alongside the rest of the album’s themes, the whole strengthens the album’s presentation that much more.
Keeping in mind all that the album’s primary and secondary content does for the record’s presentation, there is still one more item to examine. That item is the sequencing of that content. The sequencing is important to note because of its role in the album’s general effect. It takes into account, the diversity of the overall content and ensures that as the album progresses, the energy in the album’s musical content remains stable even as the sounds and styles change. At the same time, it also ensures that the lyrical themes change up from one to the next throughout. The end result is a presentation that succeeds just as much for the presentation of its content as for its content. To that end, the album in whole proves to be yet another welcome addition to this year’s field of new family music albums.
Just a Minute, the latest album from Jesse Jukebox (a.k.a. Jesse Friedberg), is an enjoyable new offering from Friedberg that the whole family will appreciate. That is due in part to the diversity featured in the album’s musical arrangements. The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical content are just as diverse as said material. It makes for its own interest. The sequencing of that content brings everything together and completes the album’s presentation. When it and the content are all considered together, the whole makes the album overall another welcome addition to this year’s field of new family music albums that the entire family will enjoy and appreciate.
Just a Minute is available now. More information on the album is available along with all of Jesse Jukebox’s latest news at:
Courtesy: Blue Engine Records/Jazz AT Lincoln Center
Family Music, otherwise known to most audiences as children’s music, is one of the most underrated genres in the musical universe. The genre often-times gets a very bad reputation due to stereotypes created by audiences who are less educated than others about said genre. Those who are more educated know that the world of Family Music offers perhaps more variety and originality than any mainstream genre. The variety of albums released in this year’s field of Family Music albums clearly supports that statement. From the Lincoln Center Orchestra performing its own surprisingly enjoyable takes on classic children’s songs, to the distinct presentation of Paul Winter Consort to even a Backstreet Boy’s own unique Family Music debut, this year’s field of new Family Music records has proven once again that said genre deserves far more respect than it gets. That is why Phil’s Picks does its best each year to delve into that genre.
The Lincoln Center Orchestra tops this year’s list of new Family Music albums with its new recording Jazz For Kids. It is just one of the interesting releases this year that the whole family will enjoy. The Paul Winter Consort’s latest album can be considered not only Family Music, but possibly even World Music in its own right. Former Backstreet Boy Howie D. offered one more of the year’s biggest surprises with his debut Family Music album, making it worthy in its own right on addition to this year’s list of top new Family Music albums. It is joined by many others. In fact, the list features the 10 top new Family Music albums along with five honorable mentions for a total of 15 titles. noting again the variety of content featured across the Family Music genre, it made arranging this list anything but easy, but the final list here is that final choice. Without any further ado here is this year’s Phil’s Picks Top 10 Family Music Albums.
PHIL’ PICKS 2019 TOP 10 FAMILY MUSIC ALBUMS
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis — Jazz For Kids
Thank You, Mr. Rogers — Music & Memories
Diana Panton — A Cheerful Little Earful
Paul Winter Consort & Friends — Everybody Under The Sun: Voices of Solstice — Volume 1
The Shazzbots — Light Speed
Howie D. — Which One Am I?
Dog on Fleas — I’m An Optimist
Johnette Downing with Scott Billington — Swamp Romp
Moozika! — Moove to the Mouzika
Sharon & Bram: Sharon & Bram and Friends
Parker & Alexander — All Of Us: Bible Songs For Everyone
Jesse Jukebox — Awesome
The Laurie Berkner Band — Waiting for the Elevator
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