In Our World There Are No Strangers

In Our World There Are No Strangers. Performed by Evan and Vanessa. CD. Approx. 61 min. Label: Banyan Records. 2018. CD and Download: $10.00.

Ages: Pre-S - Grade 1—

               Vanessa Richmond and Evan Blum perform 24 songs—the first half in English, and the second half in Spanish. Vanessa’s vocals are clear, light and sweet. These are mostly folk and gentle pop songs, backed up by guitar, clarinet, flute. Guzheng (Chinese wooden harp), and synthesizer, and featuring lovely harmonies. “Welcome to Our Album” features bird song and a gentle instrumental, with Evan and Vanessa speaking, that they want to go exploring. “Sun Sun Sun” shines everywhere such as on gardens and on the ocean and creates shadows. “Any Dream Will Do” is a cover of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s prologue to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. “Edelweiss” is a cover of Oscar Hammerstein song for Sound of Music. “Los Pollitos” is a traditional Spanish nursery song. “Somewhere Out There” is a cover of a song from An American Tail. “The Traveler” includes a spoken narration of the traditional Irish blessing prayer which begins “May the road rise to meet you.” “Tu Tu Teshcote” is a meditative ancient Aztec lullaby. “Coloring Book” includes ocean sounds. Evan tells Vanessa “I Know of a Special Place” and they decide to go on one more adventure. “In Our World There Are No Strangers,” only friends we can learn to love. In “Goodbye Friends,” there are the sounds of nature and faint background instrument like a xylophone or marimba. Finally, there is a spoken introduction to the Spanish half of the album, followed by 11 of the songs in Spanish. The drawback are that there is no lyrics list included, and some of the English lyrics are difficult to understand. Other than that, this is a lovely album for the whole family.

Website: www.evanandvanessa.com