"Sesame Road" is one of my 32 Sesame Street/Muppet/Fraggle CDs, and even though it doesn't have any of the True Sesame Classics, it has some great tunes. Something that the Muppets and Sesame Street have perfected over the last 32 years is the fine art of Parody; in the case of Sesame Street, it's often to entertain parents while educating children, using structures or songs that parents will know, and putting them in a context that will teach the pups.

Sesame Road has a lot of their best song parodies in one place, and some other great songs too. Here are my favorite tracks:

1. Letter B: this is the Sesame Street Beetles (with antennae and all) singing a song about the letter B, but it's a wonderful parody of "Let Her Be" by the Beatles. Very well performed, and led by Richard Hunt, who also voiced Scooter and Janice on the Muppet Show. Very sweet sounding song, slower than your usual Sesame fare.

3. It's Zydeco: this song actually introduced me to Zydeco music, and I keep meaning to look more into it...maybe a visit to Napster? It's performed by a bunch of anything Muppets, just no-names that sing in the Oat Bran Zydeco band. The song explains what Zydeco music is--a combination of instruments, cultures, sounds, and speeds that combine to form the uniquely New Orleans kinda music. Very fast, very fun, very nice.

4. Wet or Dry: Chrissy and the Alphabeats, who performed a lot of Sesame Street songs Back In The Day, sing this parody of Michael Jackson's "Black Or White", and it's very well done.

5. I Want To Hold Your Ear: This is just a freaky song that Bert sings about his girlfriend--has a 1920s "Flapper" sound to it (if I were more musically knowledgeable, it wouldn't be NEARLY as fun to write these...). He talks about how he wants to do more than just hold her hand, so he holds her ear, nose, tooth....each thing that he holds he rips off of her Muppet body. Nice. And no, he doesn't hold anything inappropriate.

7. The Word Is "No": Maria and Gina, two humans from Sesame Street (and two of my favorite hotties at different times in my life) lead the Muppets in singing this song about the word "No", and it's very infectious. It helps that the chorus is "No no no no no no no no no!". I love this song, and it's fun on TV, too.

9. A Little Yelp From My Friends: this is a loose parody of the Beatles classic (and if you can't figure out which one, you're a LOSER), performed by a bunch of Muppet dogs. The lead dog is named Moe Cocker, and the performer does a great job of parodying Joe Cocker's overblown way of belting out songs.

10. Rebel L: This is a WONDERFUL song about the letter L, who's evidently quite the rebel. Billy Idle, a Letter L, and a Policeman sing it, and it ROCKS. Really. Based on Rebel Yell, the Muppets perfectly capture the sound and spirit of the original. Which is weird, for the Muppets. Congrats.

(then there are 6 songs I always skip...it's a dead area in the middle of the album that I just don't like, and it makes me like the album less. Just not the level of performance or cleverness of the rest of the album. I still recommend the album, but not as wholeheartedly as I do other Sesame albums)

17. Wet Paint: A song about wet paint, very simple, and fun to sing along with (again, an easy chorus always wins me over), it's just, you know...wet paint.

18. Once Is Not Enough: A song about recycling by a family, I know it's based on another song, unfortunately, my musical knowledge is limited, and I don't know which song they're parodying. It's a good song, with meaningful lyrics, and it's very well performed.

20. Hey Food: A HILARIOUS performance by Cookie Monster as he sings "Hey Food", a parody of the Beatles' Hey Jude. His gruff tones are the exact opposite of Paul McCartney's sweet voice, but it works so well. And the love of the Monster for the food makes it oddly poignant. If you're into Cookie Monster. And who isn't?

I really like that the album opens and closes with a Beatles parody (and in fact the cover of the CD is a Beatles parody too...), introducing children to their parents' favorites, and hopefully teaching them something in the process.

Recommended: Yes