Best of Hullabaloo Volume 2 Brings Wholesome Country Style to Kids

Hullabaloo, a duo made up of Steve Denyes and Brendan Kremer, have been friends since kindergarten and have been successfully making children’s music for years. Now they have just released their 2nd greatest hits album, comprised of songs from five previous albums released from 2010 thru 2015.

Oddly, I found I was not familiar with their music prior to this release. I say 'oddly' because even though they play children’s music, they have sold over 30,000 records, so you would have thought I would have at least heard of them. Well that’s my bad, because after listening to it several times, the words that I found myself jotting down throughout listening to the songs that best sum up the music here are 'fun' and 'wholesome.'

This is the type of children’s music you don’t have to worry about whether it’s suitable or not...this is music for kids no matter how young.

The mix of songs here all have a country music flair to them, and the lyrics range from songs geared to what I would say as very young to the "not quite into double digit" crowd. All of the songs have a nice beat to them. In fact one song, “365 Days On Earth,” has the same melody as Gene Pitney’s “Hello Mary Lou” (The Ricky Nelson version).

While some of the songs are a little too childish for me, most others are quite fun. I love “I’m Hungry” because anyone who has ever had kids and had them grow up riding in the back seats of their car knows all about finding food in the seat crease, door arm rests, or in their children’s car seats -- everything from French fries and Goldfish crackers, to half-eaten lollipops, old grapes that are now raisins, and Cheerios.

If you have kids and are familiar with Hullabaloo, then you probably already have some of their CDs in your kid’s collection. Since they have been around a while, you might be on your second or third child to experience their music now, and this would be a good place to start to bring some of the newer songs home. If you are a first time parent then this CD would be a perfect entry into their music, and a good beginning to your child’s exposure to music in general: music that makes your child happy, feel good about themselves and the world. Just listen to "You Are Loved." What more could you want?

Don’t think for a minute either that maybe since the duo has been putting albums out for years that they are just going through the paces. Not the case here. You can feel the fun and excitement they have singing the songs. They're like kids themselves, singing along with their audience.

Hullabaloo is worth all of the hullabaloo!