Bottom Line:
In a strong, equally fun follow-up to A Day On The Farm, Farmer Jason returns, to once again praise and teach all about nature with chipper, sing-a-long tunes for kids of every age. This time Farmer Jason and his merry Little Farmer's Chorus head out for the wild woods, to sing and play with the flora and fauna (and a few guest stars) for a day Rockin' in the Forest. So grab the kids and head out for a great day!
As the lead man of Jason & the Scorchers, Jason Ringenberg has been working in Nashville as a hard-charging, wild rockin' "country punk" singer since 1981, putting down the closest thing to punk-metal that country music's ever seen (their bio calls them "Merle Haggard meets the Ramones") - so would it be surprising to find out this fellow sings cutesy kiddie songs? Sure - but the result is so much fun you'll forget in no time where it's coming from and just sing along with the kids and "Farmer Jason." Start off a day when nothing's going right by heading out to "The Forest Oh!" where you'll meet deer and trees and, of course, the "Punk Rock Skunk" and "Mrs. Mouse." Buddy Todd Snider joins in with Farmer Jason on "He's a Moose on the Loose" and the Little Farmer's Chorus, along with the Ringenberg kids and Molly Felder, are in great voice on "Forest Rhymes." There's an "Ode to a Toad" and the "Catfish Song," as well as "A Butterfly Speaks" and the closing is an ode to the greatest denizen of the forest, "The Old Oak Tree."
Farmer Jason is joined in the studio by George Bradfute on guitars, the incomparable Fats Kaplin playing a slew of instruments, a "Manly Man" Chorus on the hilarious "Punk Rock Skunk" , Steve Ebe on drums, and of course the "Little Farmers Chorus," which includes Ringenberg's daughters Addie and Camille (as well as Marianne and Delia Chase, Chris, Isaac, and Jonas Talbott, and Victor, Holy, Kaila, Adam, Cameron, and Arianna Wooten. Ringenberg wrote all the songs, along with occasional co-writers, such as Paul Needham, Jerry Ringenberg, Fats Kaplin, and George Bradfute. As with their previous outing, the gang here doesn't skimp on musical quality, either, just because it's "kiddie songs." The pickin' and singin' is first-rate, one-hundred-percent country, honest and a whole ton of endless fun (you won't be sorry if you have to listen to this disc a couple of times - or a lot of times!). It does make me sorry we don't have kids of our own, but I know I'm going to be gifting this disc (and its companion, A Day at the Farm with Farmer Jason) to my niece and nephew this Christmas! It's a delight from start to finish.
Song List:
- The Forest Oh!
- Punk Rock Skunk
- Ode to a Toad
- Mrs. Mouse
- Forest Rhymes
- He's a Moose on the Loose (with Todd Snider)
- Arrowhead
- Catfish Song
- Opossum in a Pocket
- A Butterfly Speaks
- The Old Oak Tree
