He’s well into his second career as a kids’ musician, but Dan Zanes didn’t show up on my radar until a promo copy of his latest work, Little Nut Tree, showed up on my doorstep just a few months after adopting our son Elijah. For those of us who straddle the Gen-X and Baby Boom generations, it’s heartening to hear the former Del Fuegos frontman in this new vein. A prominent figure in my indie-rock awakening back in the mid-1980s, Del Fuegos tempered their street cred (along with the Long Ryders) by agreeing to appear in a series of Miller Lite ads. (Remember those?)
What’s amazing is how seamlessly Zanes has made the transition from garage rocker to children’s music pied piper, but maybe that’s because neither label suits him quite so easily. But in either mode, Zanes displays a respect for roots music, and on Little Nut Tree, that respect feels international in scope.
That’s partly due to the “friends” in the “… and Friends.” Besides guest appearances by violinist Andrew Bird and vocalists Sharon Jones (of the Dap Kings) and Joan Osborne, Zanes also welcomed the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars for the title track — itself a cover of the Melodians’ hit. Jones’ guest turn on the opening track, “Down in the Basement,” is indeed exactly like it was recorded in Zanes’ homey Brooklyn studio, with kids yelping in the background. But things get rootsier quickly, and soon we’re getting a dash of reggae (courtesy of guest Father Goose) on “Jim Along Josie,” a dollop of shanty sing-along fun with “John Kanakanaka,” and even a little Dixieland with the original “I Don’t Need Sunny Skies” (with Bird on violin).
The album hits an emotional peak on the penultimate track, “Beautiful Isle of Somewhere,” which Zanes recorded in Los Angeles with the youth orchestra of The Harmony (an inner-city nonprofit), marked by a melancholic violin and laidback harmonies. (Check out the video on YouTube.)
By the time the album’s over, it’s clear that at his best, Zanes can be appreciated by kids and adults alike. Not a bad way for some of us to grow up.
Hear samples from Little Nut Tree and buy it at www.danzanes.com.
