Boogie on Down with Steve and Blue

This review is part of CaptainD's Challenge Yourself W/O. CaptainD has asked us to challenge ourselves by writing in a category we never have before. Music is a category I've never attempted before because while I do like music (who doesn't?) I usually don't get a chance to listen to it often except when I'm driving around in my car. However, being a mother, some of the music I do get to listen to every day is children's music and so for this write off, I decided to review one of my daughter's CDs, Blue's Clues Boogie

About Blue's Clues Boogie

For Christmas my daughter was given a child's cassette player that has 2 microphones attached to it. It was love at first sight for her because she has seen Steve use a similar looking one on Blue's Clues, which is one of her favorite shows. My husband went out and tried to find some children's cassette tapes to play in it but all he could find were CDs. He bought Blue's Clues Boogie and he also bought Wiggle Bay. When he got home, he made a copy of each one onto a cassette tape and put it in the player and viola! - Courtney had herself some music to play in her new cassette player.

Blue's Clues Boogie is a smorgasbord of different styles of music set to the words of some very familiar Blue's Clues songs. The basic music is also the same but the tempo is different to reflect the style the song is about. This isn't a very long CD so going through the tracks won't take too much time. So, here they are, all 8 songs included on Blue's Clues Boogie:

Hi There/I'm So Happy You Are Here - This song starts off with the familiar theme music that you will find at the beginning of every episode of Blue's Clues....at least the ones that have Steve in it. Steve and the gang not only sing back & forth with each other, they also talk through this song. This song is done in a country style with lots of violin being heard throughout.

Maybe it's the way you sing along
When we share our favorite songs
That makes me so happy
Oh so happy you are here

Can You Help Me Today? - This song is all about helping Steve to find Blue as he asks us to help him call her name out loud. It's done in a very bouncy upbeat tempo and it really makes you tap your foot along to the music!

Can you help me today?
Yes, yes, yes
What did you say?
YES!
Can you help me call Blue?
Just do what I do

Something To Do Stew - I think this is the cutest song! It's all about being bored and it starts out with Mr. Salt complaining that he has nothing to do. Mrs. Pepper then suggests that they do the stew. One by one, everyone grabs an instrument and they join in on the song. Once the song is actually being sung, the lyrics are about different things you can do when you have nothing to do, like ride a bike, draw a picture or play outside. The music to this song is very jazzy but that doesn't come in until later because the beginning of this song is mostly talking between the characters.

Find shapes in the clouds
Play in the sand
Experiment with a flashlight
Play in a band

The Buddy Boogie - This song is your classic blues song except for one thing....no one is sad in this song. The music is bluesy but the words are happy and upbeat. I know that doesn't really go together but then, this is just a children's album meant for the preschool crowd so I think we can excuse the writers just this once.

You're doing the buddy boogie
You're doing the buddy boogie
You shake, slide and shimmy
While you oogie, foogie, woogie
You got it now, you're doing the buddy boogie

Say What I Say - We all know that Sidetable Drawer can sing but did you know that she can rap? Even more surprising is that Tickety Tock can also rap! In this song, both Sidetable and Tickety rap along about a game they like to play called "say what I say". Steve joins in the rapping now and then and sings the chorus as well.

(Tickety) Okay, ready? One two three go
just say what I say
(Sidetable) And sing what I sing
(Tickety) Tick tock tick tock
Ring, R-r-ring

Silly Hat - This is one of mine and Courtney's favorite songs on Blue's Clues Boogie. For those of you who have seen Blue's Big Musical Movie, then this song will be very familiar to you. This is the Silly Hat song from that movie but done in a very Latina/Spanish style. It's also a much longer and more involved song than you'll find in the movie but trust me, you'll still recognize it!

"Aye Aye Aye, just trust me," she said
"You you you need something up on your head
A pork pie, pill box, panama, tiara
Turban, fez, sombrero
Well, let's see if it fits
Hey!"

I Can Be Anything That I Want To Be - This song is exactly the same as the one in Blue's Big Musical Movie. As a recap, it's the song Steve and the gang sang to Slippery when he slipped on stage. It's an uplifting song that tells kids that they can be anything that they want to be (as if you couldn't tell that by the title!).

I can be anything I want to be
I can be anything I want to be
If I don't give up, you know it's true
I can do anything that I want to do

So Long Song - Again, this is the exact same So Long Song from Blue's Big Musical Movie. This is similar to the So Long Song from the television show except that it's longer and at the end of the song you can hear Steve and the gang say "bye" and "thanks for coming".

Now it's time for so long
But we'll sing one more song



Credits

~~Voices~~

Steve - Steve Burns
Blue - Traci Paige Johnson
Magenta - Koyalee Chanda
Tickety - Kelly Nigh & Kathryn Avery
Sidetable - Aleisha Allen & LaNae Allen
Mr. Salt - Nick Balaban
Mrs. Pepper - Spencer Kayden
Paprika - LaNae Allen
Mailbox - Mike Rubin
Shovel - Jonathan Press & Stephen Schmidt
Pail - Olivia Zaro & Marshall Claffy
Green Puppy - Adam Peltzman
Slippery - Cody Ross Pitts & Evan Dorfman
Grandma - Monica Passin
Felicia Felt Friend - Brittney Gonclaves
Periwinkle - Cameron Bowen

~~Musicians~~

Keyboards - Nick Balaban
Guitar - Mike Rubin & Dan Hovey
Percussion - Bill Dubrow
Drums - Walter Pettibone & Micheal Evans
Accordian - Charlie Giordano
Banjo - Orrin Star
Bass - Jim Whitney
Trombone - Walter Hawkes
Alto Saxophone - Lily White
Baritone Saxophone - Claire Daly
Trumpet - John-Erik Kellso
Pedal Steel - John Widgren
Harmonica - Blake Brocksmith
Violin - Kenny Kosek

Blue's Clues Boogie was recorded in 2002 with all the music and lyrics being written by Michael Rubin & Nick Balaban. This CD was published by Tunes by Nickelodeon, Inc.

Why We Recommend Blue's Clues Boogie

Blue's Clues Boogie is really a very fun CD to listen to. I like that it makes Courtney want to dance and it also entertains her in the car. This is a very positive and upbeat CD and a couple of the songs even send a strong message. Such as "I Can Be Anything That I Want To Be" which lets children know that they can reach for the sky and try to fulfill their dreams.

Steve Burns is obviously the main singer throughout Blue's Clues Boogie and he does a fantastic job! He has a very nice voice to listen to and he can seemingly sing any style that they want him to. From country to blues to rap, Steve handled it all without a problem and the result is a children's CD that even parents won't mind listening to. Everyone else sings very well and all in all this is a CD that everyone in my house enjoys and sings along with.

My only complaint about Blue's Clues Boogie is that there are only 8 songs. Why just the 8? I've seen just about every single episode of Blue's Clues and I've heard tons of songs that they sing. Why not throw in a version of The Planet Song or the Mother Nature song that Steve sang with Nell Carter before she passed away? Perhaps those are on other CDs that I don't know about yet but if not those songs then surely, they could have found others.

Overall, Courtney and I really enjoy listening to Blue's Clues Boogie. The songs are nice and varied and the singing is wonderful, we just would have liked to listen to more than 8 songs. Even though I'm complaining about the small amount of songs on this CD, I still have to give it 5 stars because it really is that good!