Music Review: Christian Hit Music by VeggieTales

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Some fun laughs with the characters
Cons: Some of the dialog just doesn't work, "Smellin' Coffee"
The Bottom Line:
Hit Christian music
All can enjoy together
Having kids does help




An Adult Fan Looks on as VeggieTales Covers Adult Christian Music

All my friends are constantly amazed at how much kids stuff I have and genuinely enjoy. But every so often, I find myself running smack dab into something aimed at kids I don't like. When that happens, I try to look at it from the point of view of the intended audience. And if that doesn't help, I wind up feeling like a huge grump. And such is the case with Christian Hit Music, one of the recent music offerings from VeggieTales.

For those not familiar with the franchise, it was originally a series of straight to video computer animated shorts that used talking vegetables to teach Biblical lessons. From the very first video, they incorporated songs to help tell the story. Those songs eventually found their way to CD, and from there other CD's began to be released.

This particular CD finds the Veggie characters covering classic Christian songs from the last several decades. Most of the songs are from the 90's or 00's, but they do slip back further occasionally.

Now let me make one thing clear up front. These songs sound like the originals. If it weren't for the credits in the linear booklet, I'd say they just used the original tracks. I know many of these songs quite well, and I can't hear one note different. The only difference is that cartoon characters are singing instead of real people. The exception to that rule is "Smellin' Coffee." This Chris Rice song goes from folk to rock, and suffers for the transition.

And my complaint with the disc has nothing to do with the cartoon character voices. They have always done a good job with the singing on the videos, and I can't complain here. That's especially true any time that Jr. Asparagus is singing.

What doesn't work for me is some of the added dialog. The songs are presented without any connecting storyline or dialog, but they do occasionally talk during the songs. And even here I am being fickle. Mr. Lunt's adlibs during the end of "In the Light" are hilarious. And his complaining about Pa Grape adding the accordion to his moody song ("Flood") cracks me up. Yes, some of this stuff is cheesy, but I don't mind cheese. At times, however, they cross the line even for me. Bob the Tomato tells Larry and Peter Furler they are doing a good job while covering newsboys "Shine." Archibald Asparagus has some rather stupid lines during "Dive." And don't get me started on the French Peas complaining about "Meant to Live" being too loud and rocky.

But when I focus on the actual songs, there is plenty to enjoy. It does help that I really do enjoy many of these songs anywhere. And they sound so good here. "In the Light" is the guitar driven rock song I have always loved. This is the lighter Charlie Peacock version, not the harder version dc Talk did years later. Jr. Asparagus has two covers on two ballads, and both are awesome. "I Can Only Imagine" retains the soft piano opening and quiet instruments that made it such a hit. And disc closer "Place in This World" is the piano driven power pop ballad hit from the early 90's. Even when they get really rocky with heavy guitar and drums for "Meant to Live" or the funny "Sadie Hawkins Dance" it works well.

There are two exceptions to the above rule. As I previously mentioned, their attempts to make "Smellin' Coffee" into a rock song just don't work. Here, it's got a heavy electric drum beat and electric guitar instead of the acoustic guitar of the original. The other misstep is "I'll Take You There." Granted, I have never been a fan of Bebe and Cece Winans, so that doesn't help. But the Veggies trying to do R&B is a cringe worthy disaster.

Four of the artists covered here show up to help with the efforts. Audio Adrenaline does "Big House," newsboys do "Shine," Steven Curtis Chapman sings "Dive" with Veggie back up, and Amy Grant does a duet of "Baby, Baby" with Jr. Asparagus. The first two find Larry singing with the lead singer of the band and minimal dialog. Steven and Amy actually do interact with the Veggie characters, and those parts are fun.

But I just keep coming back to the fact that this is Veggie singing songs I love. Don't get me wrong, I think they do a fine job. But if I want to listen to these songs, I'll pull out the original copies over these every day. I can see this being a CD that parents and kids can enjoy together.

And that's probably the ultimate problem. I'm just not the intended audience for the disc. And no matter how hard I try, I just can't overcome that to truly enjoy VeggieTales' Christian Hit Music. But if you have small kids at home, you may want to give it a try. This could easily be a CD that two generations will enjoy together.

CD Length: 56:38

Tracks:

1. Big House, featuring Audio Adrenaline

2. In the Light

3. Flood

4. I Can Only Imagine

5. Shine, featuring newsboys

6. Dive, featuring Steven Curtis Chapman

7. Meant to Live

8. Sadie Hawkins Dance

9. Baby, Baby, featuring Amy Grant

10. I'll Take You There

11. Blue Skies

12. Made to Love

13. Smellin' Coffee

14. Trumpet of Jesus

15. Place in This World