12th September, 2007

JUSTIN MICHAEL

Album: Deliberate Kids – A boom-chaka-laka rockin’ good time!
Artist: Phil Joel
Year: 2007
Label: Indelible
Enhanced: No

In a word: Skivvy-less

Hot on the heals of the reinvention of ex-newsboy Phil Joel as a leader in the deliberate people movement comes the part of Phil you probably suspected was there but never thought you’d see. Yes, it’s Phil Joel the kids entertainer!

This ain’t no Wiggles record and it bears no resemblance to anything Bob the Builder has re-mixed recently. This is indie-pop-rock for kids. This is shout outs, hooky little claps, horn lines and random bells and whistles surrounded by the effervescent pop-melodies Phil is renowned for.

Still, me, I’m a big kid, so I tried this one out on my 18-month-old lad to see if he could catch on to the deliberate kids vibe. Now, Noah can’t say more than "Mummy" and "broom" (in reference to every vehicle on wheels he sees) but his body language was the deadset giveaway that Joel may just deliver on his promise of a "boom-chaka-laka rockin’ good time"!

There was hand waving, head nodding, big grins and a few dance moves I don’t think have been invented yet...or maybe they just were.

The songs? Well there’s the New Testament done the way the John Spencer Trio might, the whistle-n-clap take on The "Love" Song from 1 Corinthians 13 focusing on the first commandment, the slightly lads infused When I Obey, and then there’s those woo-hoo kind of lyrics throughout that are firmly grounded in the stadium pop of the newsboys.

This is the kind of CD you may just enjoy playing more than once on a long road trip to keep the kids happy. It’s full of great melodies, enough musical detail that most mum’s n dad’s will dig it and it’s full of Biblical truths that your kids can learn by singing.

I love the tunes, the lyrics and the deliberate intent to expose kids to the truth of the word. All Phil needs now is a skivvy colour of his own.