Putumayo Presents - French Playground [CD]

0790248024226. New condition. CD. Following a lineage of excellent children's albums on Putumayo, French Playground has a fair bit to live up to. As such, it goes into the endeavor fully, pulling out Francophone works from each region possible (nearly). There are pieces from France primarily, but also from Haiti, Mauritius, and Quebec (the New Orleans area is arguably the only major Francophone music culture left out). The focus is really on the end of France, however, with chanson, French kids artists, and references to the old gypsy jazz traditions nearly throughout. There's a constant connection of song to song through a light, lilting style reminiscent of much of French music and nearly every French café stereotype heard in the rest of the media (American movies, for instance). With full bilingual lyrics for every song included in the liner notes, the album makes an excellent pick for a bit of enrichment that disguises itself as simple, fun music for kids. ~ Adam Greenberg, Rovi