| First things first: to appreciate The Backyardigans soundtrack, it is absolutely crucial that you have a 2-, 3-, or 4-year-old within footsie-playing distance. Like the soundtracks to virtually every other show on Nick Jr.'s much-adored lineup, this is a disc formulated with scant regard for grown-up sensibilities. But rightly so. After all, preschoolers can't be blamed for having a predilection for the preschoolerish, and who wants to hear fussy, good-for-the-whole-family songs--the musical equivalent of peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat, crusts attached--when Pablo the penguin, Tyrone the moose, and Tasha the hippo are on hand? To its credit, cartoony voices aside, this animated crew kicks out the jams: Uniqua and the gang get down on the disco-fueled "Shake Your Body" and then go gently hip-hopping through the grass to their own "Rad Moves," and minute-long forays into pop, rock, folk, big band, celtic, calypso, klezmer, and even dixieland follow. You may not place as much value on being a princess as the Pepto Bismol-colored Uniqua (see "I Love Being a Princess"), but count on any TV-watching, tiara-wielding kid in your household to know exactly where she's coming from. Here's a disc solid enough to keep on spinning until gigantic singing playthings somehow lose their appeal. --Tammy La Gorce |
