Album Review

by Mark Deming, AllMusic.com

Jason Ringenberg is best known as the firebrand frontman of Jason & the Scorchers, but he's also a parent, and, like most dads, he's more than a little tired of Barney the dinosaur and whatever other character Disney is hawking this month dominating the listening habits of his kids (as well as those of fellow parents around him). Literally taking the bull by the horns, Ringenberg has cut an album for children which takes the form of a musical day on the farm, in which "Farmer Jason" introduces us to various barnyard critters, takes us on a tractor ride, and tells us all about life on the back-40 (which, since Ringenberg owns a farm, is something he knows a bit about). While Ringenberg is obviously mindful of his youthful target audience on A Day at the Farm With Farmer Jason, both lyrically and musically (especially on "The Doggie Dance" and "Hey, Little Lamb"), there's more than a bit of the revved-up country-rock that's become Ringenberg's trademark, with "I'm A Hog Hog Hog" and "Guitar Pickin' Chicken" kicking up more dust than you'd expect from an album for tots, and even the less challenging numbers boast some fine picking from multi-instrumentalist George Bradfute and enthusiastic performances from Ringenberg. While he keeps the tone light, Ringenberg also sounds like a guy who's had some real world experience with kids, and this album drops the saccharine overtone of most children's albums in favor of a hootenanny for young people that speaks to its audience on their own level. Besides, which would you rather sing along with your kids: "I love you, you love me," or "I'm an old cow, I only have two speeds/Slow or slower, they work just fine for me"? Highly recommended for alt country fans with small-fry around the house or parents whose kids like to sing along with mom and dad's country discs.