Green Gorilla Monster & Me
We should be sick of Ralph Covert--the lone inhabitant of Ralph's World--by now. In only five years, he's put out six discs' worth of mostly the same hoot-worthy, hand-clappy, good-time, anytime, play-it-loud stuff. But here's the thing: Ralph never gets it wrong. As kids' musicians go, he's as close to the Beatles as they get, both in terms of sound and sheer brilliance. Which makes it almost tedious to report thatGreen Gorilla, Monster & Meis, within its genre, a minor masterpiece. "Monster," a monster of a party song about an adopted mutt who's both "the softest snuggler on the couch" and "the wettest kisser on the mouth," manages to sketch out Ralph's mojo in the span of three minutes; "I Don't Wanna" reinforces it by way of a whip-smart lesson in Punk 101; and "Old Red Number 7" brings it home with a classic, thoughtfully sung slice of nostalgia. As redundant as it is to spread the word that Ralph rules, then, he leaves us little choice--parents of preschoolers from Shreveport to Saskatchewan will never be so eager to welcome a green gorilla into their play basements.--Tammy La Gorce