Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World

Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World is a soundtrack album to the children's television game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Five of its ten songs, as well as the spoken track "A Brief Disclaimer," were performed by the show's host, Greg Lee. Lynne Thigpen, who co-starred on the show as The Chief, also contributed a song, as did the show's house band, Rockapella. Unlike its predecessor, it was marketed to both children and adults, owing to the inclusion of rock bands XTC and They Might Be Giants.[1]

Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
ReleasedMarch 29, 1994[1]
GenrePop, indie rock, children's
Length32:34[2]
LabelBMG Kidz, Zoom Express, Fight Records
ProducerSean Altman, David Yazbek, Billy Straus
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? chronology
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
(1992)		 Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World
(1994)

The song "Change My World," credited to "Johnny Nexdor & His Neighbors," was actually performed by Rockapella member and album producer Sean Altman, mimicking the style of XTC.[3] In turn, XTC's "Cherry in Your Tree" was recorded for the album after producer David Yazbek, knowing of the lead singer Andy Partridge's unreleased "bubblegum" songs, suggested they contribute one to the album.[1] They Must Be Giants' "Why Does the Sun Shine," a cover of a 1959 song by Tom Glazer, was taken from their EP of the same name.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."Half a World Away"Billy StrausGreg Lee with 3 Brave Woodsmen3:59
2."Big Wet Rag"David YazbekRockapella2:39
3."Cherry in Your Tree"Andy PartridgeXTC2:53
4."A Brief Disclaimer"Greg LeeGreg Lee0:32
5."Cake for Breakfast"YazbekGreg Lee3:33
6."My Parents' Son"Sean AltmanGreg Lee3:45
7."Change My World"Straus, YazbekJohnny Nexdor & His Neighbors2:35
8."Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)"Hy Zaret, Lou SingerThey Might Be Giants2:50
9."Bugs"YazbekGreg Lee3:50
10."Back to Chicago"AltmanLynne Thigpen2:47
11."Carmen's Song"Yazbek, AltmanGreg Lee3:11

Personnel
  • Sean Altman, David Yazbek - Producers (except "Why Does the Sun Shine?")
  • Billy Straus - Producer, engineer, mixer (except "Why Does the Sun Shine?"); guitar, bass guitar ("Half a World Away")
  • Julio Peralta, Raging Dave Robbins, Suzanne Dyer - Assistant engineers (except "Why Does the Sun Shine?")
  • Jed Alpert - Executive producer
  • 3 Brave Woodsmen - Vocals ("Half a World Away")
Burl Mann
Ian Jaeger
Norm Raposbec
Scott Leonard - High tenor
Sean Altman - Tenor
Elliott Kerman - Baritone
Barry Carl - Bass
Jeff Thacher - Vocal percussionist
  • XTC ("Cherry in Your Tree")
Andy Partridge - Vocals, guitar
Colin Moulding - Vocals, bass guitar
Terry Chambers - Drums
Barry Andrews - Vocals, keyboard
Dave Gregory - Guitar
John Linnell - Accordion, saxophone, bass clarinet, vocals, producer
John Flansburgh - Electric guitar, vocals, producer

Critical reception

Allmusic gave the album an editor rating of 3 stars out of 5.[2]

The Toledo Blade's Allan Detrich suggested that artists like XTC and They Might Be Giants were used to appeal to a younger demographic. He added that some of the songs have "fun lyrics and make even older listeners smile."[4]

References
  1. Botton, Sari (April 2, 1994). "Zoom Goes Pop with Sandiego". Billboard.
  2. "Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World (CD - Zoom Express #30041-2)".
  3. "SeanSongs - Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World".
  4. Detrich, Allan (April 24, 1994). "Sounds: Carmen Sandiego, Out of This World". The Blade. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.