Megson
Album: When I Was A Lad - A Collection Of Children's Folk Songs
Label: EDJ
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.megsonmusic.co.uk

Folk music has a long association with music for younger people. Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner provided the music for Bagpuss, Martin Carthy produced a number of cassettes and videos of nursery rhymes as did Ralph McTell who also famously recorded Alphabet Zoo, Kenny The Bush Kangaroo being a personal favourite, well it's time to add Megson to that august list with their latest album, "When I Was A Lad…A Collection Of Children's Folk Songs".

One of the things I like about this compilation by Megson is that Stu and Debbie haven't been afraid to add their own songs into the more familiar songs and nursery rhymes, adding new songs for children to sing along to as their introduction to music, in fact my personal favourite on the album, "All The Shops Have Fallen Down" is one of theirs.

The reason I love it is because it incorporates the important things about nursery rhymes, that they absorb the spirit of the time. The song is a rhyming list of shops that should be on the high street, but times are hard and the shops are struggling and the mayor is a little bit dodgy. It's very easy to learn and sing-a-long to. Now before anyone gets on a high horse, can I remind you that nursery songs have always been political, Humpty Dumpty, The Grand Old Duke Of York, Mary Mary Quite Contrary, none of which are on the album and Dance To Your Daddy, which is, all had political overtones when they were written.

Ultimately though it's not my opinion as an adult that matters. My kids are a little too old to be test subjects for the target audience, but fortunately I got a colleague that has a couple of kids at nursery school so a pleasant afternoon was spent with most of the adults in the garden and Adam, Amy and friends in the playroom and a highly successful test. Had we waited until Sunday we'd have been soaked, Megson even make the weather better :

As you would expect the album comes with the lyrics so that mum and dad can sing-a-long and begin the process of indoctrinating their children into music. "When I Was A Lad…A Collection Of Children's Folk Songs" is a grand recording and one that genuinely does reach across the generations as well as being a great way of making a long car journey that bit louder and a lot more fun.

Neil King