I have such a hard time with children’s music.  It must meet a certain standard if I am going to have to listen to it over and over again.  As I have said before, just because it is geared towards kids, aesthetics should not be abandoned.  In fact, I won’t even expose my children to music if it doesn’t meet my standards. I don’t want it to become a favorite that I can’t tolerate.

Farmer Jason and Buddies Nature Jams features many guest artists like Mike Mills of R.E.M. and Tommy Ramone of the Ramones.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t make the cut.

Nature Jams is a high-value, kid-friendly gift package of 16 original songs, 4 music videos and a colorful 20-page booklet created by über designer Brad Talbott. The idea is to get kids excited about the big world around them, observing various animals (“Meadowlark in Central Park,” “Manatee,” and “Dison the Bison”), learning about cool places around the world and simply enjoying nature. “The point is to motivate kids to get outside and excite their curiosity about the world around them,” says Jason.

Farmer Jason raked in an all-star list of guest artists to sing and perform with him on Nature Jams, including Steve Gorman of The Black Crowes, Mike Mills from R.E.M., Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick, Iris DeMent, indie folk darling Brandi Carlile, Grammy®-award winning bassist Vic Wooten, Americana hipster Todd Snider, banjo virtuoso Alison Brown, zydeco star Terrance Simien, platinum-selling vocalist Suzy Bogguss, Celtic rockers The Sawdoctors, humorist-musician Webb Wilder, Hank Williams III and the legendary Tommy Ramone of The Ramones. Other guest artists are Jo Nesbø, the internationally best selling mystery novelist; Kristi Rose, a Nashville chanteuse; and Ruthie Foster, the Blues Music Awards’ Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year. Even Farmer Jason’s grown-up band Jason and the Scorchers lend energetic, rocking riffs to the song “The Glacier.” With these engaging songs and videos, Farmer Jason and friends hope to motivate children to get outside and experience nature firsthand.

Actually, I think many of the songs are annoying, all-star cast or not. I appreciate the discussions before each track.  They help set the tone for each song and give children a little background information, but the music itself is not my cup of tea.

I’m not sure these tunes will motivate children to get outside and experience nature, but I bet it inspires some of them to dance.

Would I buy this product?  No.  It does not match my musical tastes. Besides, I’m annoyed with the misinformation about “Buffalo or Bison?”  The cd says they are words for the same animal, but that is not true.  American buffalo and bison are the same, but it is not the same as simply “buffalo”.  Wikipedia explains, Some consider the term “buffalo” somewhat of a misnomer for this animal, as it is only distantly related to either of the two “true buffalo,” the Asian water buffalo and theAfrican buffalo. ”

Disclosure: I was sent free samples of these products to review. No prior assurances were given as to whether the review be positive or negative.