Thursday, April 23, 2009

Parent's Choice review

Here be the official review of Emphatical Piratical by Parent's Choice:

The Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise has done more to awaken people to the colorful mythology of pirates than even Robert Louis Stevenson could have imagined. Since there is no traditional pirate music to rediscover, artists such as Captain Bogg & Salty have had to invent their own. Formed in 1998 by the pairing of Kevin Hendrickson of the popular Portland rock band Pirate Jenny, with 3rd Floor sketch comedy troupe actor and writer Loren Hoskins; they are now in their tenth year (no mere hobby this) of making pirate music. Emphatical Piratical represents both their forth and latest album of music for kids. So how far can the pirate theme go? Well, with witty writers and skillful musicians as these, apparently there is no limit. The opening title track sets the tone by combining equal parts of Popeye's swagger, The Bowery Boys' penchant for malapropos, and music "pirated" from the operetta Orpheus in the Underworld. Elsewhere, "Don't Drink Your Seawater" is a nonsense song, set to Pogues-like Celtic rock, while "Portside," teaches the nautical stations of a ship by employing electro Hip Hop beats. "Trading The Seas For Pirate Gold"; and "Frogg Island" both use Reggae and Caribbean rhythms by people who actually know how to play them. "The Purple Tiki" is a great bit of Spike Jones style lunacy, complete with tribal drums and rhymes that would impress even Gilbert and Sullivan.