Search - Peter Himmelman :: My Trampoline (Dig)

The "Himmelator" strikes again!

Alan Hutchins | Denver, CO | 12/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""My Trampoline" is Peter Himmelman's 5th "My" CD aimed primarily at children. In chronological order, the previous four were My Best Friend Is a Salamander, My Fabulous Plum (Dig) My Lemonade Stand (Dig) and My Green Kite. Although Peter doesn't exactly repeat himself here, those familiar with these prior discs will find some earlier patterns continued in this most recent offering.



Here, there's an ode to another Himmelman household pet ("King Ferdinand" the tortise), songs praising nature's bounty ("Florie Loves Flowers", "Endless Green"), a piano-based philosphical musing about the lawn("Ten Billion Blades of Grass"),and a zen-like examination of roles hidden in food analogies("Main Dish"). This song is a great example of how Peter likes to be at lot more subtle about "the message" than most kid-oriented songwriters. He pokes fun at himself for his former "picky eater" antics with "Peter the Pinhead". Almost every disc has one primarily spoken-voice throwaway track; here's it's "Statistical Factoids", which is pretty much what it says it is but with a nifty synth backing track and some pretty funny alleged facts listed. Humor is always a big element to Peter's kid discs, but it's a bit more scarce overall in "My Trampoline", although "Are There Any Kids Named Steve Anymore?" is a hoot and the opener, "Imagination" is a pretty funny Calvin-and-Hobbes-like exploration of kids' abilities to envision all sorts of stuff from humble surroundings. The musical settings to the songs are highly tasteful and continue to demonstrate Peter's excellence in crafting melodies and producing a full, rich musical backdrop appropriate to each song.



This disc continues to demonstrate what is true about all of Peter's "children's" discs---they are NOT just for kids. It would be hard to find a grown-up who would not get just as much of a kick out of the music and lyrics of this (or any of the "My" discs) as most kids in the target audience would. Listen for yourself and prepare to become a Himmelman junkie once you do. Did I mention his whole other non-kid oriented, quarter-of-a-century-long-and-counting solo career studded with musical highlights, or his extensive TV-and-Movie music resume? Some other time, maybe.



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Great music for the whole family

D. Vendt | Los Angeles, CA | 08/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most kids music tends to annoy the heck out of adults. Not so with Peter- his music is friendly for both little kids and bigger kids like me! I'm hoping this CD will give me a well-needed respite from Miley on our next car trip."