Catch a Wave: Beach Songs for Kids
It takes a lot of cowabunga (or something!) to rerecord classicBeach Boysfare, beach or no beach. But the makers ofCatch a Wave: Beach Music for Kidscan't be denied, even if their thin voices aren't always quite the match for legendaryBrian Wilsonsongs such as "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" and the immortal "In My Room." Still, kid vocalists Tahkus Ekedal, Bernie Steinberg, and Sudhananda give it a big go and manage to capture the spirit and sentiment of these tunes (if not the perfect wave of sound). Surrounded by other Beach Boys stuff, from "Surfin Safari," "Surfer Girl," and "Fun, Fun, Fun" to "Kokomo," "Dance, Dance, Dance" and other summer songs, lie the predictable versions of "Wipe Out," "Little Old Lady from Pasadena," and "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," novelty pieces made for surf and sand. If nothing else, hearing these kids cover what could well be the soundtrack for the endless summer, grown-ups will want to dust off their old copies of Beach Boy albums or, better yet, update them to CD.--Martin Keller