It’s Sesame Street’s 35th Birthday this year, and the Longest Street in the World is celebrating all year long. And I for one am loving it. They’re celebrating by giving us DVDs, CDs, toys, and books, and as a longtime fan and a father of a two-year old, I’m taking the chance to go nuts.

The 3-CD set “Songs From the Street: 35 Years of Music” is one of the pricier items released in celebration of the event, and that’s one of the reasons it’s taken me so long to get it. Now that I have it, I love it, and wish I had picked it up earlier. I’ve got preface this review by saying I’ve got approximately 40 Sesame Street/Muppet/Fraggle Rock albums, and by adding these three, I’ve added many songs that haven’t been released in decades. Wonderful stuff.

The tracks are mostly chronological, which makes for an interesting experience—if you listen to all three in sequence (I did that this morning while cleaning) you’re taken on a journey through more than three decades of “Sesame Street.” Elmo doesn’t make his first appearance until midway through CD 2; Jim Henson’s last appearance is at the end of that CD. CD 1 and 2 both have appearances by Mr. Hooper; Lena Horne and Paul Simon guest star on the first CD, NSYNC and R.E.M. are on the third. It’s an exciting and interesting experience, and perfectly fitting for such a milestone.

Here’s a track listing:

CD 1
1. Sesame Street Theme – The Kids
2. ABC-DEF-GHI – Big Bird
3. Bein’ Green – Kermit the Frog
4. Sing – The Kids
5. Five Song – The Kids
6. Five People in my Family – The Anything Muppets
7. People In Your Neighborhood – Bob and The Anything Muppets
8. Henson King of Eight – Jim Henson
9. Hi De Ho Man – Cab Calloway and the Two-Headed Monster
10. How Do You Do? -- Lena Horne and Grover
11. Over, Under, Around and Through – Grover
12. Ladybug’s Picnic – Jerry Nelson
13. Somebody Come and Play – The Kids
14. Jellyman Kelly – James Taylor and The Kids
15. Just the Way You Are – Billy Joel and Oscar the Grouch
16. Everybody Sleeps – Joe Raposo
17. Rubber Duckie – Ernie
18. Doin’ the Pigeon – Bert
19. Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard – Paul Simon and Kid
20. Sweet – A Little Baby -- Pete Seeger and The Kids
21. 1 – 2 – 3 Sesame Street -- Stevie Wonder

CD 2
1. Pinball Number Count – The Pointer Sisters
2. I’ve Got Two – Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Mr. Hooper, and Everybody
3. I Love Trash – Oscar the Grouch
4. Nasty Dan – Johnny Cash and Oscar the Grouch
5. Sing After Me – Madeline Kahn and Grover
6. Captain Vegetable – Captain Vegetable with Eddie and Andy
7. African Alphabet – Ladysmith Black Mambazo with Kermit the Frog
8. B.B. King – B.B. King with Bert, Benny Rabbit, Big Bird, and Baby Bear
9. C is for Cookie – Cookie Monster
10. Kiko and the Lavender Moon – Los Lobos
11. Sweet in the Mornin’ – Bobby McFerrin
12. Small People – Ziggy Marley with Prairie Dawn and Big Bird
13. Imagination – Ernie with Big Bird and the Cast
14. From Your Head – Diane Schuur with Elmo
15. What’s the Name of That Song? -- The Cast
16. The Batty Bat – The Count with The Bats
17. Mah Na Mah Na – Mah Na Mah Na
18. Little Things – Tony Bennett with Lexine
19. One Small Voice – The Kids, Hoots the Owl, Prairie Dawn
20. I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon – Ernie with Aaron Neville
21. This Frog – Kermit the Frog

CD 3
1. I Love Trash – Steven Tyler
2. Two Princes – Spin Doctors with Zoe, Elmo and Baby Bear
3. Like The Way I Do – Melissa Etheridge
4. But I Like You – Bert and Ernie
5. Tu Me Gustas – Luis and Elmo
6. Mambo I, I, I – Gloria Estefan
7. Monster in the Mirror – Grover
8. Hold My Hand – Hootie & the Blowfish with Elmo and The Kids
9. I’m Talkin’ Love – Trisha Yearwood with Herry Monster
10. We Are All Earthlings – A Boy and The Anything Muppets
11. Happy To Meet You – Celine Dion with Herry Monster, Elmo, and Big Bird
12. Furry Happy Monsters – R.E.M. and Muppet Rocker
13. Believe in Yourself – NSYNC
14. A New Way To Walk – Destiny’s Child with Elmo, Grover, and Zoe
15. Elmo’s Song – Elmo, Big Bird, and Snuffleupagus
16. Slide – Goo Goo Dolls and Elmo
17. Sing – Dixie Chicks
18. Just Happy To Be Me – The Fugees
19. Put Down the Duckie – Ernie and Hoots the Owl
20. Everybody Be Yo’self – Keb Mo and The Kids
21. Sesame Street Theme Remix – Ursula 1000

Whew. I should have copied and pasted that from somewhere.

The track listing speaks for itself, but I’ve got to add a few comments of my own. This boxed set is perfect. For those of you (which I’m assuming is most of you) who grew up with Sesame Street and moved on with your lives, there are the classics like “Rubber Duckie,” “C is for Cookie,” and “Sing.” For people like me, who thought they already had everything they needed, there are some great classic bits that were previously unreleased, like “Everybody Sleeps,” “Ladybug Picnic,” and “Pinball Number Count.”

For those looking for their favorite Sesame Street characters, they’ll find all of them here, no matter if it’s someone from the 1970s or the 1990s. Each of the Muppets gets their due here…I don’t think there are any major players who are left out. The early part of Disc 2 is heavy on the Oscar, and Disc 3 is heavy on the Elmo…but taken as part of the whole, they’re pretty well balanced.

And for those who want to hear their favorite performers with the Sesame Street Muppets, well, there’s a broad spectrum of musical tastes to choose from. Most of my memories come from the earlier discs; I particularly love Grover’s duets with both Lena Horne and Madeline Kahn. Beautiful now as when they were recorded decades ago—and this collection really highlights that Grover was once the cutest thing on the Street. And as much as I can’t stand the Celine Dion and NSYNC tracks, I know there are fans out there who will love them. And some of the tracks surprised me at how much I loved them, like Steven Tyler’s “I Love Trash” and Cab Calloway’s “Hi De Ho Man.” Even the Sesame Street Remix—a type of music I normally can’t stand, is transformed into something I loved by that good ol’ Sesame Street Magic.

There are many ways for me to celebrate Sesame Street’s 35th Birthday—this is one of the best. Even though my tastes make some of the selections hit and miss, there are so many hits that you can’t help but be overwhelmed with the Muppety goodness of it all, and stand back and admire an American institution that’s been helping kids learn their ABCs, numbers, and the value of cooperation since 1969.

Good stuff. Find it.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving