Mister G's Mundo Verde a Bilingual Rainforest for Your Ears

FTC Statement: Reviewers are frequently provided by the publisher/production company with a copy of the material being reviewed.The opinions published are solely those of the respective reviewers and may not reflect the opinions of CriticalBlast.com or its management.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. (This is a legal requirement, as apparently some sites advertise for Amazon for free. Yes, that's sarcasm.)

Submitted by Dennis Russo on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 07:42

Latin Grammy winner Mister G brings forth a children’s album here that tells a story about nature and us all being one with the Earth—with the planet, with its animals, and with each other, bringing a message that we have ownership in this beautiful world we live in, be it adults or children.

Mister G does this by painting a pretty picture of a lush green Earth and the wonders in it. As he sings about it, he sings about how we must not only enjoy it, but do our part to keep it that way. Singing lyrics in both Spanish and English, he gives this sense of unity to children--that it’s not the languages that makes us different, but the music that binds us together. One does not need to understand all the words to hear the beauty in these songs. But whether you speak English or Spanish, you can enjoy it even more because he blends the two seamlessly throughout the album.

Right from the first song, the title track, “Mundo Verde,” you get this wonderful feeling of being in a rainforest, with a Latin beat and sense of fun and inclusion that reminds me in equal parts of THE ELECTRIC COMPANY and VILLA ALEGRE (okay I’ve showed my age there; Google them!), all the while sung in a style that was reminiscent to me of Paul Simon at his most fun.

Mister G. has this wonderful, soft, friendly voice that really conveys his feeling about the meaning of each song. When you get to the third song, we get this change of pace titled “Reciclando/Recycling.” In it, this little girl enters into a conversation about recycling with Mister G, and they have this wonder little bilingual chat about why it is good and how we should all do it. It was such a nice and neat little interlude. This sort of chit-chat takes place again later in the album, with a little piano accompaniment, in a song called “Las Abejas/The Bees.” It’s just so fun to listen to, it’s as if they are doing it in your living room.

There’s a song about water, a song about fish, and another song which I really liked called “Si Se Puede/Yes We Can,” because it incorporates the lyrical title phrase Mundo Verde sung to a different beat. It sounds interestingly but not coincidentally like a Carlos Santana-inspired melody, complete with a similarly tuned and played electric guitar in it; very nicely done indeed.

All the songs revolve around the central theme of the title, but what is neat is how Mister G starts the album off about our planet and ends it with a song about the stars with “Las Estrellas,” sung with a sense of quiet awe about it.

Start to finish this album is a gem. I’ve rarely heard an album about nature that has so many different and catchy beats to it. The title track has this catchy rhythm and chorus that keeps you humming and singing it all day long. It’s a perfect traveling album to sing in the car as the lyrics, both the English and Spanish, are easy to learn. It makes me wish I was young again and could learn to speak both languages. Alas, I’m too busy these days to devote much time to learning a new language, but with this album I can say I’ve learned a few words that I’m glad I know now, and I had fun learning them.

The children that back him are wonderful to listen to. Mister G. really wanted them to be a part of the album, and the way the songs come across, it is as if they had a part in creating it.

It’s a fun, family-friendly album to have, with a message for the ones to whom responsibility will someday fall if we are all to live in a Mundo Verde.

Songs: