Send "Laura Veirs " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Bbc |
 Of course Oregon's Laura Veirs is not the first artist to record a children's record – arguably 1999's Lead Belly Sings for Children (and amalgamation of his Negro Folk Songs for Young People from 1960 and Play Parties in Song and Dance from 1941) paved the way, but it's not so very long since the Songs for the Young at Heart compilation which saw contributions from Jarvis Cocker, Cerys Matthews and Stuart Staples amongst many, as well as Mick Cooke of Belle & Sebastian's Colours Are Brighter, and Saint Etienne's Up the Wooden Hills EP. But Veirs' offering has a lustre and sleepy delightfulness that owes much to her lilting charm of her voice and her ear for a sublime melody.Tumble Bee began with the birth of Veirs' son, and became a project with her long-time collaborator, the producer Tucker Martine. Veirs had grown increasingly interested in the history of American children's music, and together she and Martine trawled archived collections of lullabies, clapping songs, skipping songs and playground chants, some long-forgotten, some set down in Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. The result is a merry collection of covers and re-compositions, from the ballads of Jimmie Rodgers, Woody Guthrie and Peggy Seeger to work songs, field songs and schoolyard ditties of the last century. Along the way come contributions from Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) and Jim James (My Morning Jacket) as well as Bela Fleck and Bob Dylan's drummer Brian Blade. As anyone familiar with the work of Veirs and Martine might expect, one of the most striking qualities of Tumble Bee is its musical richness – Veirs' strong, sweet voice swollen with brass and banjo for the album's opener, buoyed by dusty piano and distant fiddle elsewhere, and riding brightly alongside the punchily percussive title-track. But it's never distractingly busy; at other times that voice is allowed to stand near-naked as banjo, strings, and sleigh bells build slowly behind her....full text |
| Musicomh |
| Alternative acts releasing albums intended primarily for the ears of children has become more commonplace over recent years, as artists try to give music-loving parents the chance escape the occasional tedium and over-familiarity of traditional nursery rhymes and introduce their little ones to music that shares more with what they listen to. Laura Veirs’ recent personal entry into the world of motherhood inspired her to investigate the history of children’s music and consequently record Tumble Bee, a collection of traditional American folk songs refreshed and reinterpreted for youngsters. Her voice has always held a kind of doe-eyed, youthful innocence and she puts it to excellent use here with able assistance from My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Bela Fleck and Basia Bulat amongst others. Musically, Tumble Bee is not too far removed from the bucolic, pastoral folk-pop of July Flame, Veirs’ somewhat unfairly overlooked album of 2010 although the predominantly wistful, melancholic feel of that record has been supplanted here by a lighthearted joie de vivre. Above all, the album delivers good old-fashioned fun in bountiful quantities. Little Lap-Dog Lullaby kicks things off, unobtrusive arrangements and simple, repeated lyrics combining to form a prominent chorus. The album continues in similar style with Prairie Lullaby, which exhibits a distinct country feel and even sees Veirs indulging in some mild yodelling. It’s a gentle and soothing listen and it’s not difficult to imagine little ones drifting off to sleep as this plays out. All The Pretty Little Horses completes the trio of dreamy lullabies. However, the highlights of the album undoubtedly occur when the pace quickens. The first we see of this is on Jack Can I Rider, a jovial, carefree sprint, aided by wobbly piano and violin. Her version of King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O canters along breezily, replete with whistles and finger-picking guitar whilst her cover of Harry Belafonte’s Jump Down Spin Around is a pleasingly foot-stomping, old-timey sing-along jaunt. All three tracks possess the kind of insistent melody that lodges itself firmly into your head, stubbornly refusing to move. Lyrically they are all simple affairs, each song featuring various members of the animal kingdom - elephants, butterflies, bees, mice and horses all getting a look in. Elsewhere, the lyrical silliness of Why Oh Why overruns the tune, appearing to have been intentionally shoehorned in, whilst the smooth melodic flow of Karl Blau’s Tumblebee is an example of something that may find greater favour with adults familiar with Veirs’ back catalogue. Indeed, it could be said that as well as being an album for kids, it’s equally an album for adults who retain a sense of being kids at heart. The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy adds vocals to Soldier Joy and the album draws to a close with Jamaica Farewell, imparting a suitably melancholic, lilting feel....full text |
| Popmatters |
| Laura Veirs follows in the footsteps of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and others with Tumble Bee, a collection of songs for children. The half-hour set is sweet start to finish, with Veirs and long-time producer and collaborator Tucker Martine, giving these songs simple but lush instrumentation that keep classic children’s songs fresh. She is alternately comforting (“Prairie Lullaby”) and playful (the tack piano romp of “Jack Can I Ride?”). Her take on “Jamaican Farewell”, with its thick strings, is surprisingly affecting, while her duet with Colin Meloy on “Soldier’s Joy” is a purely fun thigh-slapper with great fiddle work. Tumble Bee. is well-executed throughout, but it’s probably better to call these “songs intended for children”, because the folk-pop here is surely bright and catchy enough for kids to enjoy, but perhaps too subtle for them to really latch onto. In the end, it’s a record as much for the parents as the kids, a way to make nap time relaxing for both parties, which is fine. Veirs does justice to tunes Seeger and Guthrie wrote, as well as other traditional tunes, and never overdoes them. So whether or not it’s really “for” children, this record still succeeds in all the ways it wants to, and Veirs charm comes across at every turn....full text |
Laura Veirs lyrics
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