CD review Musical Mystery Tour series Hilary James & Simon Mayor

Comprising a selection of the most requested songs and sketches from the four Musical Mystery Tour cassettes, Children's Favourites.. cannot fail to delight either the youngest listener or the most jaded palate.

Needless to say, the musicianship is masterly throughout and the arrangements are as slick and inventive as anything else the duo have produced to date. That's another hallmark of the second category of children's recording - the total absence of condescension. Simon's rendition of Schubert's (slippery slimy) Trout would not have been out of place on his recent Mandolin Album and A Big Surprise is as fine a bit of rock 'n' roll as any recorded of late, albeit about a cow-pat.

This is the first time I've heard the fruits of the James/Mayor song-writing partnership and at first I was a little worried that some of the humour may have gone over many children's heads - but not so. My two love it - though how they know about Baden Baden defeats me.

So, all this and Hilary's voice to boot - songs were never sung as exquisitely as The Road To Banbury on 'Listen With Mother - what more could parents want to give their offspring for Christmas?

 Rock 'n' Reel
What has always impressed me about the recordings of James and Mayor is their unnerving instrumental ability and ingenious, especially on their children's recordings, witty and hypnotic stories that they put to music. The calibre of the tunes and songs drops not one iota throughout this compilation of their 'Musical Mystery Tour' albums, in fact their technique is so excellent that listening is an absolute delight for audiences of all ages.
Children will love to sing along and you'll love to listen along and tap your feet to the irresistible sounds here. The twenty four tracks range from very short comedy sketches to on average three minute, skilful numbers that well display their versatility on double bass, guitar, violin, various members of the mandolin family, banjo, tin whistle, harmonica, ukulele and xylophone and the lovely voice of Hilary James puts the icing on the cake.
A delightful collection that's guaranteed to please.

Folk On Tap
If Folk on Tap were in the position to give out awards, then Hilary James and Simon Mayor would take the Best Album of the Quarter Award for their Musical Mystery Tour 2 - an album which had my kids dancing and singing and asking for repeated plays. And when the kids were in bed, I snuck another couple of private hearings for myself.
Absolutely flawlessly performed, the singing is deadpan and tuneful and done with immaculate precision, while the instrumental playing on guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo etc, well...words fail me.
The lyrics are by Hilary and Simon (others are trad), and are individual and witty. Shades of Spike Jones and his City Slickers inhabit Slippery Slimy Trout: anyone who has heard Jones gargle the William Tell Overture will know what to expect when Mayor and James take on Schubert's Trout Quintet.
Get it, and have a box of Kleenex standing by: it's the best tonic in a very long time.Living Tradition
In the course of having a son and four grandchildren I've heard plenty of 'children's' albums. With very few exceptions I've been unwilling to inflict them on my kids. It wasn't the songs, I had no quarrel with the various White Ducks, and Little Red Engines, they were okay, it was the arrangements that put me off. Some were nauseatingly twee carrying enough sugar to kick-start diabetes. Others had songs rendered by shrill sopranos with cut-glass accents and patronising tones fit to put the kid's newly-cut teeth on edge.

Luckily for all concerned Simon Mayor and Hilary James had their own ideas on music for children and devoted a large part of their career towards getting their stuff into circulation via schools and broadcasting work. Their 'Musical Mystery Tour' shows not only brought out fresh songs but they introduced children to the sight and sound of real people playing real instruments.

I know from my own bit of schools work how some younger children were amazed to see someone simply stand up and sing directly to them. I can well imagine the effect upon children presented with the dazzling virtuosity of this pair.

This album is a gathering of material from their Musical Mystery Tour CDs, with the addition of a track or two from Simon's mandolin albums. It's not all songs; there are dialogue sketches such as 'Simon's Doorbell' and 'King Canute at Cleethorpes', and as you would expect, some instrumental tracks.

The opener, 'Turkish Toetapper' sets the standard, and the last track, a piece of Vivaldi, is just sublime. Not your average 'children's material' I grant you, but all the better for that in my opinion.

The next stop for my copy of 'Children's Favourites' is down to my niece's house where Maisie and Kate will give it their full approval I'm sure.
Roy Harris.

 Dirty Linen (USA)
This recording includes a generous 24 tracks of original, traditional, and cleverly arranged classical pieces, performed by two of the United Kingdom’s outstanding songsmiths and instrumentalists, who oddly enough, have chosen to work in the arena of children’s music.

James and Mayor have recorded 20 albums for adults and children, including Mayor’s mandolin solo sides. This compilation gathers the favorite tracks from among the children’s CDs and child-appropriate material not usually associated with kid’s music - but it all woks out fabulously.

Superb instrumentalists, Mayor is an acclaimed mandolin virtuoso, as well as a fine guitarist and fiddler, and James plays mandobass, semi-acoustic double bass and guitar. her elegant, articulate voice, however, is her greatest asset and a compliment to Mayor’s gentle, friendly baritone.

Among the standout tracks is the original “Magpie sitting on a Broken Chair.” James’ lilting soprano delivers a gentle message of conservation in this charming story about nature’s eminent recycler. The infectious melody and touching imagery are ornamented by Mayor’s expressive mandolin and fiddle. This cut had me hitting repeat so often, it took a few days to get to the rest of the CD. Best of all, it passed the road test: You know you have something special when a seven-year old admits, “I can’t get that song out of my head!”

Not just a C for kids, this recording was on loan for a day to a group of junior high students at a camp this summer. I gave them the CD, my player, and six brand-new-C-batteries. At the end of the day, they dutifully returned my CD, the player - and six dead batteries.

It takes real skill to produce such a well-conceived, varied, and superbly performed collection - but it takes an act of God to appeal to middle-schoolers!

Children’s Favourites gets an A+!
Linda J. Morris, Pennsylvania

Rambles
When I listen to this CD, words like charming, refreshing, playful and irresistible pop up in my head. I may be 53 years old, but if this is only meant for children to listen to, then count me in that category.

Children's Favourites is a collection of songs and instrumentals recorded especially with children in mind. There are a few pieces of "classical" music on it, like a hornpipe from "Water Music" by Handel and the first movement from Vivaldi's "Concerto for Mandolins". And Mayor sings a lovely new lyric to Schubert's "The Trout," renamed "The Slippery Slimy Trout." Then there are some traditional ones. James sings "Lavender's Blue" in a very slow fashion, bringing out the songs original use as a lullaby. Then there is a French lullaby, "Fais Dodo," sung in the original language. And they have rewritten "As I Was Going to Banbury," reworking the lyrics and changing the tune. Here it is called "The Road to Banbury."

And interspersed between the songs are small sketches, featuring Mayor and James doing small introductory dialogues. But what impresses me most about this collection is their ability to write new songs for children. I must say I have a very critical mind when it comes to newly written children's songs. During my short stint as a music teacher, I avoided many of them. Often I found them underestimating the children who were supposed to sing them. After all, children do not want to be small. Their wish is to grow up and to be taken seriously by their elders.

James and Mayor have the ability to write songs that appeal to children and to the child within adults without ever sounding childish. They do not oversimplify things, but trust their audience to be able to pick up on clever musical passages and word games in the lyrics.

"The Snowman's Song" tells of the dangers of being a snowman. Either you have to freeze, or else you melt away. And can a snowman fall in love, or will the warm feelings melt him? "The Spider in the Shed" describes in detail how a spider chews his prey. "My Bike" is James's description of how any sport but cycling is too dangerous. And "The Farmyard Tango" cleverly includes a bit of can-can while describing the difficulty experienced by some of the animals at the farm ballroom dance.

Well, I could mention all the tracks on it. I really enjoy it, but you have already guessed that, haven't you? And the label on the cover "Real Music, Real Instruments" tells it all really. Guitars, mandolins (of course), percussion, whistles, vocals and sound effects. Everything is superbly executed and it all fits in. I have only one question. Will we parents (and grandparents) really pass it on to our children (and grandchildren)? Or will we keep it for ourselves? I am in luck, my grandchildren do not understand Swedish, so...
Lars Nilsson

Evening Herald – Dublin 
For over twenty years, English singer/songwriters Hilary James and Simon Mayor have been leading the crusade against the saccharine rubbish that often passes for children's music.

Their latest album 'Children's Favourites' features a selection of highlights from their previous CDs, linked by sketches that serve chiefly as a vehicle for wince-inducing puns, jokes and slapstick humour.

James and Mayor are superb vocalists and musicians, playing a bewildering battery of instruments between them -- and no soggy synthesisers, thank heavens. Kids will love deliciously disgusting ditties like 'The Spider In The Shed', complete with appropriately repulsive sound effects, and 'The Slippery Slimy Trout'.  
Sarah McQuaid

BBC Website
Classics, original songs, tunes and sketches delivered with charm, wit and expert musicianship.

Kevin's Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews
Here is a “Greatest Hits” from Mayor & James. The duo also has a long tradition of recording albums aimed at children. And they have particularly raided the back catalogue of those kids’ CDs to come up with a fine selection that offers astonishing value as it delivers 1 hour and 13 minutes of music and comedy.
I have said in a previous review of their work that “they are ultra-talented, multi-instrumental musicians, and both are vocalists who can safely negotiate the minefield that an ostensibly simple lullaby can represent”. That holds true as much for this album as the previous one.
My favourite cuts were “A Magpie Sitting On A Broken Chair” (one of their own compositions), the traditional “Lavender’s Blue”, Vivaldi’s “Concerto for Mandolins ­ First Movement” and the blisteringly-good all-hands-to-the-instruments “Hornpipe from Handel’s Water Music”. The occasional comedy sketches are pretty good and relevant to the song that follows them, but I guess these sketches would register more with your average 8 year old than 80 year old. But the songs and instrumentals will register with ALL of us.
Recommended.
Dai Woosnam

Ciao
Up in a Big Balloon is the second record in the Musical Mystery Tour, a series of lighthearted records aimed (not solely) at Children from folk duo Simon Mayor and Hilary James. It's guaranteed to have children singing, rather than screaming, all the way to the car's destination, leaving the adults free to... well... sing along as well.
Catchy is the operative term here. Quick one-liners, simple structures and lyrics, tenuous rhymes to die for; you can't but fall in love with James and Mayor's offering on the first listening. Naturally, the main genre is folk, mandolins, couble basses guitars are the running musical theme. However, everything is covered (in both senses of the word), from classical to country and western.
The songs are interspersed by merry banter between the couple, who assume various roles connected with the following song. While their acting roles are not quite up to their musical expertise, a child is barely likely to notice, and the jokes are there; it's by no means dull.
A few highlights:
I love all the Fruit - A calypso style number opens the LP, it is about eating in the jungle. I suppose the titles are pretty self-explanatory. Tarzan gets a mention. Sound effects sure to make the children laugh.
Hum Hum Hum - A song about a hummingbird, who is glum for the reason that he "...knows the tune but not the words". No prizes for guessing what that line was rhymed off with.
Slippery Slimy Trout - A neat, clever, parody of Schubert's trout quintet about, well, a trout. Such was the impact of this song as a child, that I truly believed for many years, as a child (just to clarify) , that this version was written first.
Old Dan Tucker's Song - A country song about a wife whose husband is never home and is out playing the mandolin. A showcase of Mayor's mandolin skills, which are as highly rated as anyone else's in the country. Preceded by the funniest pre-able on the record, James' screeching "ooooolll Daaaan Tucker!" has stuck in our family as a bit of an in-joke for years.
And this is the beauty of the album - it can be enjoyed by adults and children - and not in the usual jokes for the adult, jokes for the children way - the same quips, musical clichés and playing are appreciated by both parties alike. As an eighteen year-old who has just rediscovered the discs dug out for the first time since aged nine, I can honestly say that yes, no jokes are new, but they're just as funny. But what's impressed me is that they're funny in a non-nostalgic way; yes, it's nice to think of what fun I had as a child listening to this, but, call me sad if you wish, I can see myself listening to this with no child in sight.

Acoustics Records
PO Box 350
Reading RG6 7DQ
England
Tel: +44 (0)118 926 8615
www.acousticsrecords.co.uk