A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule LP by The Oot n’ Oots. I confess that I have sat on this review (or rather, have dragged my feet on writing this review) for an unreasonably long time. A lot of that had to do with the fact that I honestly had no idea how to approach it; The Oot N’ Oots (the band itself) and Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule (the album) are intended to be childrens’ music and while no one would question that I’m immature, it hasn’t been easy for me to approach children’s music on its own terms – when Tiny Masters of Today (a band comprised of children) and the Mushpot Records stable of artists sent me music for review years ago, that was comparatively simple because it was kids making music older than their years. How to approach the album without coming off like a cynical critic evaded me for a while but, after running front-to-back on the album with me, my youngest daughter told me, “That album is fun and cute Dad. I enjoyed it, you can too.”
With that endorsement in hand, I took my daughter’s advice and just had fun with Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule. This is what I found.
It’s absolutely impossible for one’s eyes to not start sparkling with delight as soon as needle catches groove on the A-side of Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule. As soon as “PJs All Day” opens the side, a very tight snare drum and a very sly set of horns slip and slide along brightly to compliment a lyric which details an easy-living vibe. Lines like, “If I want to be comfy and I’m staying at home/ We don’t put on no jeans, nah, ’cause that would be wrong/ I’m wearing my PJs all day baby/ Pjs all day, baby” tell listeners all they need to know and exactly how to feel about it (if you hadn’t already figured it out), and those listeners who are having difficulty falling into rhythm with it just need to relax; the first notes here are easy as long as listeners are willing to just let the album take the wheel (like every kid is told to do – under the age of sixteen), and those who do will get both the song’s and the album’s greatest reward.
After “PJs All Day” sets the precedent for the album, “Thank You Universe” shows listeners how to be thankful for the simple things in life – like cookies, the freedom to just be yourself and a beat you can play by stomping on the floor and clapping your hands – without getting too existential about it before “The Golden Rule” serenades a healthy love of bugs and also becomes a little stream-of-consciousness for grins in “The Bird, The Monkey and Me” before finally closing out the side by extolling all the things which make every kid under the age of ten smile (both “Pets” and “Teeny Tiny Things” are self-explanatory). Simply said, every adult will find themselves sighing, “Aw, that’s cute” when the needle lifts, and renewing the play on the second side won’t feel like a chore because they’ll have no trouble figuring out where the band’s head is. Unlike similiar albums like those by Raffi (who is the closest comparison, here) The Oot N’ Oots don’t try to sculpt little psyches or present themselves as somehow psychologically or intellectually above or beyond anyone, they’re just appealing to kids by playing truly and genuinely to the things they like.
The B-side of the album continues on exactly the same trail as the A-side before it and (not surprisingly) yields exactly the same kind of results. The album’s title track opens the B-side by sleepily presenting an airy ode to a girl with a funny name before almost locking into a reggae rhythm that is “Special Because” before slowing down to come at least close to nap time for “Once Upon A Time Dream” (which, comparatively, really misdirects the enduring energy of the album) and going out to the country to visit the farm for “Give What You Have to Bring” (which any adult will recognize as being similar toe the kindergarten song in Billy Madison) before extolling the joys of both snack time and breakfast through “Waffles” and then finally closing out the album with a soft and warm ode to togetherness called “We” – which lays out the beauty of family love and togetherness.
…And that’s it. After “We,” there is no show-stopping, “All together now” singalong moment, “We” marks the end and the needle lifts. Clocking in at almost exactly thirty-five minutes total, the album runs about the same length as the average cartoon with commercial breaks included, and never leaves anything hanging out in the end – so it’s ideal for the repeated listens that kids will definitely ask for, but, never really leaves little things hanging out where kids will ask adults to cherry-pick cuts – which would lead to a shorter lifespan for the record. Because of that, vinyl copies of Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule may be the ones that kids who hear it will keep dearly, and give to their own kids, someday. [Bill Adams]
Artist:
https://theootnoots.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.facebook.com/ootnoots
https://www.instagram.com/ootnoots/?hl=en
Album:
The Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule LP is out now on vinyl, CD and digital download. Buy it here on The Oot N’ Oots’ official bandcamp page.
