RANDY KAPLAN: Loquat Rooftop

Randy Kaplan

Loquat Rooftop

© 2008 Randall Leigh Kaplan (828697002127)

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On his second not-just-for kids CD, rock 'n' roll, country, and Broadway classics alternate with romps about Laundry Camp, Randy's pet monkey, and a ladybug without spots. Just as fun, rollicking, and original as 5¢ Piece.

tracks

1 Good Morning Blues
2 Clothes Dryer
3 Mazal Mazal
4 No Nothing
5 Charlie Brown
6 Move It On Over
7 The Fire Engine
8 Sweetie Pie Honeycake
9 The Ladybug Without Spots
10 Boogie Woogie Washer Woman
11 Loquat Rooftop
12 The Sour Song
13 Go Tell Aunt Rhody
14 (Don't Say) Anything At All
15 Tomorrow
16 Gotta Get Gone

notes

“One of the most exciting newcomers to kids’ music since Dan Zanes.”

-PARENTING MAGAZINE


After recording his first acclaimed children’s CD, Five Cent Piece, with Mike West in 2006 Randy again turned to the Kansas bluegrass master to produce Loquat Rooftop. This new record (not just) for kids features all-time classics like Charlie Brown, Move It On Over, and Tomorrow (from Annie) and original songs like No Nothing (the tale of the depraved cat “Nothing” and the hungry monkey “Kqxhc” – you’ll have to hear the song to see how his name’s pronounced!), The Ladybug Without Spots (after an ill-advised watermelon seed gluing spree a ladybug devoid of polka dots learns to accept her spotless self), and Loquat Rooftop (loquats are bigger than yellow jackets and bumble bees – learn these and other vital facts about the Asian fruit in this eponymous and enchanting ballad), and many more! The album artwork features drawings by Randy.


“He doesn’t dumb it down for the kids… He just expects them to come along for the ride. And they do.”

-TIME OUT NEW YORK KIDS


In his songs for children and their families Randy Kaplan blends American Roots, Folk, Alternative, and Pop. He intricately finger-picks and strums his way through unpredictable live shows which, in addition to his original compositions, include Tin Pan Alley gems, Broadway numbers, and Delta Blues songs. He is as indebted to I.B. Singer, Maurice Sendak, and Ogden Nash as he is to Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, and Dave Van Ronk. He just never imagined that so many of his groupies would be under the age of five.


Reviews for Loquat Rooftop, as they roll in:

"Randy Kaplan's debut kids' album, Five Cent Piece, was one of the coolest totally out-of-left-field things I've discovered since doing this blog... Randy always adds much of his own originality and personality and style and humor...and I can't imagine anyone else doing that kind of thing as well as Randy does for a kids audience... Like its predecessor, Loquat Rooftop includes some originals and some covers...but a significant thing about this new album is that the originals are the real standouts this time around... The feeling of enjoyment is always first and foremost with these originals...And some of the new originals are more straightforward sounding and are quite beautiful, like the title track (the melody of which reminds me a lot of a song that I'm not sure I've ever heard before), "(Don't Say) Anything At All" (I love how he demonstrates what he's talking about with his little kid voices between the verses) and "Gotta Get Gone", the bluesy closing number.

"A great thing about Randy is that he is not afraid to be downright silly with his voices and jokes when he knows that will serve the material and the intended audience. And by the intended audience, I don't just mean kids... adults eat up well-crafted goofiness, too (Monty Python, Steve Martin during his standup career, the Airplane!/Naked Gun movies, etc.). Certainly, this adult and his wife have laughed out loud many times while listening to this album. Some things like "The Sour Song" are kind of one-time laughs, as brilliant as they are, but other things are funny again and again, and Randy's eloquently witty wordplay and vocal phrasing is always a joy to listen to. He has a real knack for comedy and entertaining through his music, and I can't wait to hear what he'll come up with next."

-cooltunesforkids.com / Eric Herman


"It is possible that Brooklyn-based Randy Kaplan could become, if he wanted to, the next Dan Zanes, playing for the moms and dads a mixture of blues and rock that works well for both the kids and adults. But on Loquat Rooftop, his second album for kids, Kaplan continues to follow his own idiosyncratic path that...shows off both his musical and storytelling chops...Loquat Rooftop's mixture of blues and folk-rock, laced with good humor and heart, will appeal to many kids and their adults. Definitely recommended."

-zooglobble.com / S.A. Shepherd


"Some people go into a kids' album project with the idea that they have to become this goofy alter ego in order to appease the "children's music" preconception. Not so Randy Kaplan. No, Kaplan has a unique style, musically and lyrically, that translates smoothly to the kids' music world without having to change a thing... Randy is a storyteller at heart, and it really shows on Loquat Rooftop.

"As with "Over the Rainbow" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" on last year's Five Cent Piece, Kaplan knows how to pick just the right cover songs, tunes that you think would be too hokey to make the cut on a kids' record, but are somehow transformed into classic singalongs. This time 'round, "Tomorrow", from Annie, is given the sweetest treatment you'll ever hear, while versions of Leadbelly's "Good Morning Blues", Leiber & Stoller's "Charlie Brown" and Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" rock enough to make yer kids wanna explore the originals...

"Loquat Rooftop is Kaplan at his best: Memories; images, figurative and literal; sights, sounds, smells, flavors, textures; humor and fun ... all in the form of a song. Randy is one of Brooklyn's hidden gems in the world of kids' music. Get to know him before he breaks out bigtime."

-kidsmusicthatrocks.com / Warren Truitt


"The songs of Randy Kaplan are surreal, familiar and fun. Deceptively folk and blues based children's songs, the tunes on "Loquat Rooftop" feature both adept finger-picking as well as lyrics that do not dumb down to his audience. That respect for storytelling and of kid's ability to "get it" is what makes Kaplan's music powerful and fun. It is in the tradition of folkies like Guthrie and Seeger, who spoke truth to power but also wrote songs for kids that let them in on the truth too...

"Throughout the sixteen song set, Kaplan's playing shows he has absorbed American folk, blues and country styles, and delivers his own history lessons with depth and passion. Loquat Rooftop is a fun summer record that the whole family can enjoy, one with wit and bite, and enough wisdom and daring to appease even the most jaded listener."

-musicemissions.com / Mike Wood

reviews

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  • Loquat Rooftop
    author: Hope Levav

    Randy is tops in our house! Singable, danceable, and just plain fun for kids and their parents. Our family favorite: "No Nothing," the tale of two cats (one well-behaved and one depraved) and a very, very, very hungry monkey. If you know a kid between the ages of 3-8, make sure this music gets into his/her hands!! And if you ever have a chance to see Randy in concert, don't miss it!

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