Press reviews: SONGS FROM THE TREEHOUSE by MARTHA
Martha and the Muffins?
Well, Martha Johnson is back with some great kids'stuff.
by Deanne Fisher City Parent Dec. 1995
Remember Echo Beach, a Juno-winning pop song from 1980 by
Martha and the Muffins? How about Black Stations/White
Stations by M+M, which went to number two on the Billboard
chart in 1984? Well, Martha - and one of the M's in M+M -
was Martha Johnson, a Toronto songwriter and singer who is
now recording her own children's songs. Whether you
remember her earlier work is probably irrelevant but it has a
certain nostalgic appeal for some of us. She is on to bigger and
better things, writing some wonderful songs like It Was an Accident
and Don't Give Me Those Beans while raising her three-year-old
daughter. You can tell Martha is well-acquaint, with the sensibilities
of toddlerhood; she writes about things young children love - trees,
the wind, shooting stars, home. There are nice messages embedded
in many of the lyrics - be
nice to others, be loyal to your friends, and be yourself. The
music is pure pop of the most listenable kind, with some
interesting sound effects to intrigue little people. And you can
still catch a little of that Martha and the Muffms sound here and
there.
From Today's Parent June/July -- review by John Hoffman
What happens to pop stars when they
have kids? Some, like Martha Johnson,
try their hand at children's music. Many
have taken this shot, and most miss the
mark- Not Johnson. She and partner
(family as well as musical) Mark Gane
were collaborators in Martha and the
Muffins (subsequently known as M+M),
a Canadian group that enjoyed some
international success in the '80s. Songs
from the Treehouse, her first album for
children, is pretty much what you might
expect from the folks who brought us
Echo Beach. The music is simple and
melodic with a clean, modern sound
that, fortunately, resists the temptation
to overindulge in technology, even
though it's synth-based.
One highlight is My Little Sister, a
catchy little a cappella tune about learning to
talk, made all the more appealing
by the recorded babblings of Johnson's
daughter Eve. Overall, it's a fresh new
sound in children's music, and that's
quite an accomplishment these days in a
genre where few stones have been left
unturned.
(A couple more in the OCR pipeline...)
Please also visit
Cynosures Hiding in the Air
A Martha and the Muffins Home Page