Very melting pot!
My family are big fans of Dan Zanes, so it was an obvious choice to pick up 'Nueva York'. It didn't disappoint. The rhythms and songs are very good and fun to listen to. My son doesn't even understand much Spanish at 4, yet he tries to sing along! The singular thing my husband and I noticed was that the usual members of his group are not present except for his drummer, which surprised us a bit, as Barbara has sung Spanish music with him before, however, we very much enjoy this record.

from a family of long-time fans
My family and I have enjoyed DZ music since the days he did brunchtime shows at the Manhattan restaurant The Park (2002). We have all of his albums and listen to them frequently.

We have never fully appreciated the Spanish songs on previous albums; hearing DZ and Barbara sing in Spanish never sounded natural to us, and we are sorry to say that we are somewhat dissapointed with the new Nueva York CD.

DZ has pushed his artistic limits before with Sea Music and Parades and Panoramas. In these excellent albums his earthy voice and folky style work beautifully with the songs to create a convincing and honest musical texture.

He has also been very successful in incorporating other musical styles when he takes a backseat to The Sandy Girls and Father Goose on previous albums.

Nueva York! is a missfire because DZ is unable to convey these songs convincingly in another language. His voice and style are not meant to be singing these songs, and it feels like he is trying to adopt a style that is not his own.

Furthermore, Latin music is already available and has been billiantly introduced to North Amercians by Ry Cooder and others.

Dan Zanes has significantly elevated our expectations for family-friendly music. He is a great song-writer, and we appreciate his accomlishments in giving us well-made, timeless music that everyone in our family LOVES (ages 3 to 45). We are also grateful that Zanes introduced us to the classic Widdecomb Fair CD. We support his effort to continue to push himself artistically, but we like him much more in English.

(written by Dad and daughter)

Politics aside, great CD for families...
I love the concept Dan Zanes has....music for the whole family to listen to together...to dance, sing, and enjoy. My son and I have enjoyed listening to all of his CD's as well as Father Goose.

If you are tired of lame kids CD's you need to listen to Dan Zanes and his friends.

Though, I can not say I agree with the politics behind the CD, the bottom line is the music is great and fun....and most importantly my 1 year old loves it.

Dan Zanes makes great kids music no matter the language or politics.

It is a great CD for the whole family.

Muy Bien!
We now own all of the Dan Zanes cds and love them all. Nueva York has taken slightly longer to warm up to, but that's only because I don't understand all of the lyrics (my spanish is rusty) so they take longer to learn! I love having the diversity in our music collection. You will not be able to refrain from dancing and clapping along with many of these songs! It's a great "windows down, music turned up" in the car cd. Buy it! And while you're at it, buy all of Dan Zanes' other cds too! My husband and I both have his music on our iPods because we love it as much as our 3 year old son! Dan Zanes offers the best kids/family/folk music out there, hands down.

Fanaticos think it's fantastico!!
My son is a Dan Zanes groupie (he's been to six of his shows).He's been listening to him since before his second birthday and has been looking forward to new music for quite some time. My son is half Cuban, so hearing DZ sing in Spanish is very significant for him. It's a welcomed addition to our Dan Zanes and Friends collection. In short, this cd is like a big party for my three and a half year old, yet sophisticated and cool enough for his parents!!! Viva Dan and Friends!! Our favorite tracks: Colas and Polito Chicken...