Benoit sings for the younger set, the 4-7 range, combining the sweetness and simplicity of Raffi with the humor of Ralph's World.
Benoit sings about coloring, missing buttons and the four seasons. He rejoices over mermaids in the bathtub that sound uncannily like one's grandmother, and puzzles over the complexities of the adult work world. But he does it all with a bouncy, goofy inflection which takes this album out of the realm of the too-earnest and too-sappy.
The orchestration is simple - it's mostly just Benoit, a guitar, and some low-key embellishments. (No electronics here, for those of you who are fed up with the latest trend in my reviews.)
My favorite track is Les Fourmis / "The Ants"
"Parents
Never have the time to play
They spend their time working
To eat, one has to pay.
To pay, one has to work.
Ahh, work - it's hard to understand."
The song starts out as a fast-paced swing. Benoit, as the child, laments how hard his parents, friends, and even the ants work, with no time for him. But he decides what he wants to be when he grows up - he'll help his parents, friends, and the hard-working ants to take time to play. Here (the part I could listen to over and over), the song morphs into a Carlos Santana-inspired fantasy.
Tout le monde en rond, tout le monde en rond
On joue au ballon, on jou au ballon
("Everyone in a circle! We're playin' ball!")
There's a DVD available, with Benoit clowning around with some unashamedly home-made sock puppets, which nevertheless exude their own unique personalities. You can visit Benoit's website (looking equally homespun in a cool, pulled-together way) and post pictures of your own sock-puppet creations.
Liner notes include lyrics in French.
