reviews

MUSIC

with PETER DILLEY

Strictly for children

Whoopah Wahey – Fun And Funky
Praise & Worship For Kids,
by Doug Horley. Kingsway Music,
Enhanced CD £10.99

PROBABLY because I’m not nine, but 39,
I had to steel myself to try this one, especially as I’d heard some of Doug (Duggie Dug Dug) Horley’s children’s songs on his last album.

The promise of “some fantastic funky dance tunes, a stack of wacky fun songs and some great praise and worship songs that will encourage you to be a warrior for Jesus” is an accurate description of the content – Put Your Hands In The Sky fits into the dance category; on the wacky side are the title cut, the controversial Great, Great, Brill, Brill and a few more besides; kid-orientated teaching comes through hip hop-styled I Will Be Yours and the mellower Faith As Small As A Mustard Seed; and there’s an African flavour to the worship songs King Of Love and Jabulani.

And the fun doesn’t stop there – the ‘enhanced’ bit of the CD includes a ten-minute video of Doug’s muppet-like characters Harry & Larry demonstrating “exactly how not to record a CD” – you can imagine what ‘mixing a tape’ involves! To stretch the grey cells (more than the music does) there’s a picture puzzle too.

Enjoy this if you’re a child, or a child at heart.

Worthy of recognition

Strange Blue Thing, by As If …, New Dawn Music, CD £13.99/Cassette £9.99.

I FIRST came across As If... a while back at ‘Rave In The Nave’ in Ely Cathedral, where they told me they had played a number of other similar ‘venues’, including Salisbury and Winchester.

The band’s rustic Appletree Studios, where they cut their latest album Strange Blue Thing, are no doubt more modest, but the facilities are clearly more than adequate for them to turn out a quality release. (Incidentally, As If … frontman Phil Goss also worked with Skellig on their acclaimed Fragile (Handle With Care) there recently, so other bands might like to consider giving it a try).

If 1980s-style pop ever acquires the same retro-chic as that of the preceding decades, As If … will surely be poised for stardom. Not that the Bucks three-piece’s music is entirely a rehash of Tears For Fears, Depeche Mode and the Human League – there’s much more to the fusion of rock, pop and dance grooves than that.

Interesting twists include a flute solo on Heaven, Game On’s Beatles-influenced (Hey Bulldog) riff, and even an instrumental track featuring the creative use of a metal detector.

A popular and enthusiastic live band, whose studio work is just as deserving of recognition.

Copies are available from: As If …, Glebe Farm, Piddington Road, Ludgershall, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP18 9PL. For further information, phone: 01844-237916;
website: www.as-if.co.uk
e-mail: asif@as-if.co.uk

Going Spanish

Llegar A Ti, by Jaci Velásquez. Myrrh Records (Word)
CD £14.99

NOBODY who keeps an eye on the pop music scene can have failed to spot the explosion in popularity of Latin American-influenced sounds – megastardom for Ricky Martin, a massive comeback for Carlos Santana, and even the Spice Girls trying to cash in (Spice Up Your Life and Geri Halliwell’s solo hit Ma Chico Latino). What better time then for a full-blown Spanish language album from teenage Californian starlet Jaci Velásquez, building on foundations already laid in her first two releases?

A Spanish version of Chris Eaton’s God So Loved featured on Jaci’s last album, and previously we’ve also been treated to the semi-Spanish Un Lugar Celestial (A Heavenly Place) as title cut of her debut release – here the backing is unchanged, but out go the English lyrics.

Translated too are the award-winning On My Knees, Look What Love Has Done, Little Voice Inside and Flower In The Rain, but for real Latin spice try the opener Con Tu Amor, one of five new songs penned by producer Rudy Pérez.

With the might of the specialist Sony Discos label behind it, Llegar A Ti has already topped Billboard’s Latin chart. My Spanish is non-existent, but I understand why it’s doing so well.

Peter Dilley is a part-time studio technician and bass guitarist

GAMES

McGee's Kids' Bible (PC/Mac, Sunrise Software, £19.95)

McGee is a chirpy cartoon character emanating from the US-based Tyndale New Media company, who produce the kids video series McGee and Me, so he's a bit of a household name in the States. The rest of us may not be so familiar, but there's no denying that while adults may find him a bit wearing after a while, the 4-7 year-olds he's aimed at may find him plenty of fun.

Billed as "entertainment kids love! Bible teaching parents applaud!", this packed CD-Rom release certainly has plenty to keep your youngster amused and instructed, even if you need to gloss over a few cultural peculiarities far more at home in US Christian culture than slightly more worldly-wise UK.

Six Bible stories are retold in animated mini-movies, there are puzzles, quizzes, narrated and dramatised bible stories, plus music and artistic sections for creating cards (World's Greatest Dad! for instance) and clothing McGee in a range of eye-watering outfits.

It's fun, neatly put together and clearly an electronic way of helping establish Bible stories in your youngsters' minds, as well as giving them ways to apply Bible teaching day by day. The US-UK culture gap grates a little at times, but it's bearable. Good fun.

The Christian Family Network team

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		MUSIC with PETER DILLEY Strictly for children Whoopah Wahey – Fun And Funky Praise & Worship For Kids, by Doug Horley. Kingsway Music, Enhanced CD £10.99 PROBABLY because I’m not nine, but 39, I had to steel myself to try this one, especially as I’d heard some of Doug (Duggie Dug Dug) Horley’s children’s songs on his last album. The promise of “some fantastic funky dance tunes, a stack of wacky fun songs and some great praise and worship songs that will encourage you to be a warrior for Jesus” is an accurate description of the content – Put Your Hands In The Sky fits into the dance category; on the wacky side are the title cut, the controversial Great, Great, Brill, Brill and a few more besides; kid-orientated teaching comes through hip hop-styled I Will Be Yours and the mellower Faith As Small As A Mustard Seed; and there’s an African flavour to the worship songs King Of Love and Jabulani. And the fun doesn’t stop there – the ‘enhanced’ bit of the CD includes a ten-minute video of Doug’s muppet-like characters Harry & Larry demonstrating “exactly how not to record a CD” – you can imagine what ‘mixing a tape’ involves! To stretch the grey cells (more than the music does) there’s a picture puzzle too. Enjoy this if you’re a child, or a child at heart. Worthy of recognition Strange Blue Thing, by As If …, New Dawn Music, CD £13.99/Cassette £9.99. I FIRST came across As If... a while back at ‘Rave In The Nave’ in Ely Cathedral, where they told me they had played a number of other similar ‘venues’, including Salisbury and Winchester. The band’s rustic Appletree Studios, where they cut their latest album Strange Blue Thing, are no doubt more modest, but the facilities are clearly more than adequate for them to turn out a quality release. (Incidentally, As If … frontman Phil Goss also worked with Skellig on their acclaimed Fragile (Handle With Care) there recently, so other bands might like to consider giving it a try). If 1980s-style pop ever acquires the same retro-chic as that of the preceding decades, As If … will surely be poised for stardom. Not that the Bucks three-piece’s music is entirely a rehash of Tears For Fears, Depeche Mode and the Human League – there’s much more to the fusion of rock, pop and dance grooves than that. Interesting twists include a flute solo on Heaven, Game On’s Beatles-influenced (Hey Bulldog) riff, and even an instrumental track featuring the creative use of a metal detector. A popular and enthusiastic live band, whose studio work is just as deserving of recognition. Copies are available from: As If …, Glebe Farm, Piddington Road, Ludgershall, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP18 9PL. For further information, phone: 01844-237916; website: www.as-if.co.uk e-mail: asif@as-if.co.uk Going Spanish Llegar A Ti, by Jaci Velásquez. Myrrh Records (Word) CD £14.99 NOBODY who keeps an eye on the pop music scene can have failed to spot the explosion in popularity of Latin American-influenced sounds – megastardom for Ricky Martin, a massive comeback for Carlos Santana, and even the Spice Girls trying to cash in (Spice Up Your Life and Geri Halliwell’s solo hit Ma Chico Latino). What better time then for a full-blown Spanish language album from teenage Californian starlet Jaci Velásquez, building on foundations already laid in her first two releases? A Spanish version of Chris Eaton’s God So Loved featured on Jaci’s last album, and previously we’ve also been treated to the semi-Spanish Un Lugar Celestial (A Heavenly Place) as title cut of her debut release – here the backing is unchanged, but out go the English lyrics. Translated too are the award-winning On My Knees, Look What Love Has Done, Little Voice Inside and Flower In The Rain, but for real Latin spice try the opener Con Tu Amor, one of five new songs penned by producer Rudy Pérez. With the might of the specialist Sony Discos label behind it, Llegar A Ti has already topped Billboard’s Latin chart. My Spanish is non-existent, but I understand why it’s doing so well. Peter Dilley is a part-time studio technician and bass guitarist GAMES McGee's Kids' Bible (PC/Mac, Sunrise Software, £19.95) McGee is a chirpy cartoon character emanating from the US-based Tyndale New Media company, who produce the kids video series McGee and Me, so he's a bit of a household name in the States. The rest of us may not be so familiar, but there's no denying that while adults may find him a bit wearing after a while, the 4-7 year-olds he's aimed at may find him plenty of fun. Billed as "entertainment kids love! Bible teaching parents applaud!", this packed CD-Rom release certainly has plenty to keep your youngster amused and instructed, even if you need to gloss over a few cultural peculiarities far more at home in US Christian culture than slightly more worldly-wise UK. Six Bible stories are retold in animated mini-movies, there are puzzles, quizzes, narrated and dramatised bible stories, plus music and artistic sections for creating cards (World's Greatest Dad! for instance) and clothing McGee in a range of eye-watering outfits. It's fun, neatly put together and clearly an electronic way of helping establish Bible stories in your youngsters' minds, as well as giving them ways to apply Bible teaching day by day. The US-UK culture gap grates a little at times, but it's bearable. Good fun. The Christian Family Network team © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.