For a folk singer/songwriter one of whose best-known songs is "A Place in the Choir," a list of "all God's critters" and the sounds they make,
Bill Staines understandably has been solicited over the years to make a full-fledged children's album, and with
The Happy Wanderer, he has finally acquiesced. But, in his liner notes to the collection, he acknowledges a shift in emphasis in the disc's planning stages. "I had originally intended that the album be specifically for kids but as I began to choose the material for the recording, I felt the project become more of an offering for the whole family," he writes. Indeed, the resulting album, despite its subtitle, "Songs for Kids, Cars, and Campfires...," isn't really all that different from a typical
Staines collection. True, animals inhabit the subject matter of such selections as the singer's own "This Song Is for the Birds," "Kookaburra," "Little Brown Dog," "The Hound Dog Song," and, inevitably, "A Place in the Choir." And there is a childlike tone to some of the other material, notably "Sweet Potato." But, except for being familiar, such songs as "Home on the Range" and "The Gypsy Rover" are not really for children, and others, such as
Staines' "I Can Feel the Sweet Winds Blowing (Bless My Soul)," could fit on any of his albums, having nothing to do with the collection's ostensible theme. On the whole,
The Happy Wanderer might be described as
Bill Staines lite, and his fans certainly will be happy to put it on while spending time with their families. But it's hard to imagine children finding much here to get excited about. ~ William Ruhlmann