from PARENTS’ CHOICE
Ezra Idlet and Keith Grimwood, the duo known as Trout Fishing in America, are the real deal: solid rock ‘n roll and jazz pros who fuel their comic and soulful songs with powerhouse vocal and instrumental stylings (complemented here by musicians Luther Gray, Fred Bogert, David Renko and others). Cautionary messages, with Trout’s trademark tongue-in-cheek delivery, include ‘Too Good to Be True’ — a bebop-cool track involving a found bag of money — and ‘Always Chew Your Food’ (‘It would be so rude if you died choking on your food/You’ll never be invited back again.’) Idlet and Grimwood are equally deft with thoughtful approaches to themes of unity and diversity (the title track and ‘Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks’). The songs’ direct appeal to children comes from first-hand experience: according to the album’s liner notes, many of the tracks were inspired by the duo’s workshops in elementary schools.
©2008 Parents’ Choice
