Music Review: Bari Koral Family Rock Band

Our family of five recently had the opportunity to review a copy of the new CD by Bari Koral Family Rock Band, "The Apple Tree and the Honey Bee." We listened to it on our long drive from Southern California to Arizona on our spring break Grand Canyon road trip. What a fun way to spend hours cruising down empty stretches of desert highway; singing along to catchy tunes together.

Bari Koral is a popular kids music artist and The Apple Tree and the Honey Bee is their fourth album, which released this week. For this CD, Bari brought her band to Nashville to record the album under the guiding hand of legendary producer Brad Jones.

Bari Koral | Photo Credit: Shervin

Bari Koral songs on The Apple Tree and the Honey Bee CD include:

• Dancing Bear
• Apple Tree
• Big Truck
• Birthday Bee
• When I'm Five
• Sisters and Brothers
• Roller Coaster
• Yes/No
• Fall Down
• Back to the Farm
• Give a Hug

Bari Koral has also established herself over the past seven years as a performer and a leader in the "yoga for kids" movement. Bari's catchy, pop-friendly tunes and interactive live shows feature a creative blend of music and movement, and many of her songs are also widely used in kids' yoga classes and preschool classrooms. Bari will soon be the host of the world's first yoga-based, movement-and-music TV show for kids, coming soon on the Veria Living Network.

I solicited some feedback from the family on our road trip about the CD and here are some of their comments. Keep in mind, getting children (and husbands) to talk can be like pulling teeth.

Daddy O: "Some of the songs have a beat too young for our daughters."

Oldest Chickadee (8): "I like her voice".

Youngest Chickadee (6): "I like the instruments and the beat."

Oldest Chickadee: "I love the art work on the CD. I like her face. I also like the tree design." (Apple tree with all the songs listed on the branches.)

"Bee bee bee don't bother me." - a catchy, fun song that was everyone's favorite.

Daddy O: "It's like a rockabilly version of Laurie Berkner's voice."

Oldest Chickadee: "She has lots of good rhymes in her songs."

Disgruntled Mommy (me): "I like the 'When I'm Five' song best; it's sentimental and sweet."

'Sisters and Brothers' is a fun and cute song that we all enjoyed singing along to: "Sisters and brothers, brothers and sisters, when they're away you miss them. A friend when you need a friend."

Littlest Chickadee could relate to the song 'Fall Down': "I fell down once and hurt my knee. I don't have the owie anymore." Which proves that these songs are good family conversation starters.

'Give a Hug': All of us enjoyed this song.

Daddy O: "All these songs have the same rhythm, but I like the rockabilly sound."

Littlest Chickadee: "It was great and I hope we can hear it again. The songs are all about being confident and nice that we learn this through the music."

Oldest Chickadee: "It was great music! The beat, her voice, the stories and the songs all give happiness.

We would all happily listen to the CD again and would recommend it to other families.

Congratulations Bari Koral on your new CD and thank you for the opportunity to sample to your new music!

The Apple Tree & The Honey Bee is available at amazon.com, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and at independent retail outlets throughout the country.
 

BARI KORAL FAMILY ROCK BAND IN PERFORMANCE
Highlights - Summer 2014

June 15         Hard Rock Café, Philadelphia, PA
June 21          Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA
July 17           Madison Square Kids Series, NYC
July 30           Newport Festival Family Concert, Newport, RI
Sept. 21          Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA

*Disclaimer: We were provided a CD from her PR agency in order to facilitate a review. All opinions are our own and are authentic.