ALBUM TITLE: Crazy Noise
ARTIST: Hillsong Kids Jr.
BEST TRACK/S: Free As A Bee, Let Your Light Shine Children of the Bible, Tiny Little Voice
OVERALL RATING: 3.75/5
Crazy Noise is the first album for preschoolers and early school-age children from veteran Australian worship team Hillsong (who is marketing the album under its Kids division, specifically Hillsong Kids Jnr.).
Given that I wasn’t the target market of this album, I decided to play it for my five-year-old daughter, Nicola. It was almost magical. Nicki sang along with many of the songs, picking up particularly well on Free As A Bee, Let Your Light Shine, and the title track. Those three songs offer excellent sing-along opportunities, and, as any preschool teacher knows, the hallmark of a great children’s song is how it manages to get kids to sing along. The choruses of these three songs offer tremendous singalong potential. As a matter of fact, Hillsong Kids Jr. even produced videos for two of the tracks:
Free As A Bee
The Greatest Commandment
I have to credit the children’s ministry at Hillsong for the well-crafted children’s songs on Crazy Noise. I appreciate Children of the Bible specifically because it not only enumerates some of the noteworthy children in the Bible, it encourages children to believe that they too are extraordinary because of the extraordinary God they serve. Tiny Little Voice, on the other hand, is a sweet little ballad that works for me because of that little girl solo near the end; I tell you, make a child sing to me, and it’s over. Let the waterworks begin.
There are also brief skits, courtesy of a fellow by the name of Funnyman Dan, that seem a bit out of place IMHO, but Nicki enjoyed it, so I guess it works for kids. End of day, children are children, and the music on Crazy Noise appeals to the preschool set, so who am I to say that the album doesn’t work? It’s scriptural, it’s fun, it’s easy to sing along to, and Nicki likes it. If my little girl is any indication, then there’s a good possibility your young’uns will too.
