Originally slated for an early fall release and set back for unknown reasons, the much anticipated follow-up to Here Come the ABCs, appropriately entitled Here Come the 123s was finally released February 3rd. Although it was the obvious next step in their children’s album line (which started with the single-disc NO!), I was quite surprised when I first heard they were actually going to do it. I didn’t expect ABCs to be especially successful. The Giants have enjoyed amazing success over their 25+ year career, with over a dozen albums and a lot of film and TV theme credits, but they’re still hardly a household name. I wasn’t sure parents who were unfamiliar with their music would even find ABCs, much less consider purchasing it. Apparently being on a Disney label helped, allowing both the CD and the DVD to be prominently featured at many big bookstores, and a lot of families must have found it since it spawned this new project.

One thing Here Come the 123s has going for it over the original is that the DVD and CD are both included in one package. That makes them more convenient to pick up and cheaper collectively– the 2-disc set retails for $18.98, which is only a dollar more than what TMBG’s most recent album, The Else retails for.

If you’re unfamiliar with TMBG’s kids’ stuff, let me stop now and say that it’s definitely for younger kids, basically Sesame Street’s target audience. If you aren’t already a TMBG fan, start with an earlier album like Lincoln or Flood, or pick up the new one, The Else. But check them out if you’re familiar with TMBG and haven’t already. The lyrics are very clever and the songs are really melodic. The writing on all three kids’ discs remind me a lot of the first two albums, though there are definitely some ideas left over from The Else that spilled over onto 123s.

“Alphabet of Nations,” the first track on Here Come the ABCs.

The feel of the DVD is very similar to ABCs, both in song writing and in much of the animation. The Linnel and Flansburgh puppets are back and pop up between songs more often than in ABCs, which is great because they’re hilarious. They make bad but funny puns and manage to act both like little kids and like the Johns, simultaneously. Which, considering the Johns are kind of like a couple of middle-aged kids anyway, might not be as hard to pull off as it sounds. There isn’t anything comparable to “D is for Drums” in this one, and that’s sad because that was probably the funniest bit on ABCs. Still, I’m glad they were consistent in the format because it’s very kid-friendly and the puppets plus the laid-back animation gives it an old-school Sesame Street feel.

Instead of jumping around with the numbers like ABCs did with letters, the Giants try not to confuse the kids by doing all the songs devoted to particular numbers in numerical order. The first song, appropriately, is “Zeroes,” and there’s at least one (in some cases two) songs devoted to every number from 0-9. The songs and videos for these are the strongest and funniest on the disc. After these come some other number songs, including a dozen song, one about even numbers, one about adding, and one about how many sides various shapes are (probably the most educational of all). Unlike ABCs though, 123s loses momentum toward the end. “I Can Add” and “Even Numbers” are good but they just aren’t nearly as clever and original as “Triops Has Three Eyes” and “Seven.” One problem is that the cleverest and catchiest song is second on the list, “One Everything,” where a talking globe with Linnel’s voice sings about how if you put everything there is together it all equals one. Nothing touches the genius of that song later on the disc and even though I loved many of the others, I was a little disappointed that the apex of the whole thing had to happen so early.

“High Five,” along a similar vein as “Alphabet Lost and Found.”

The final song, “Ooh La! Ooh La!” was actually pretty abysmal, which isn’t a word I usually use with TMBG. It’s about jump-roping and the Double Dutch. It’s a Flansburgh song and it seemed like an attempt at something close to “LMNO” from ABCs but it just wasn’t clever enough and was especially bad as a finale, lacking the closing feel “ZYX” has in the first one. Both NO! and ABCs end on kind of a time-for-bed sleepy feel which is great for kids, especially great for parents who want their kids to calm down after an hour listening to crazy upbeat TMBG music, but that trend is gone here. I was really surprised the show was already over after that song.

Of course, there are extra videos at the end, but unlike ABCs, which gave us some great new videos for old songs (Stalk of What, Violin, Stomp Your Feet) all that’s included here are three songs the Giants wrote for Playhouse Disney. That was quite disappointing, though “The Heart of the Band” is kind of cute, even if it is from Higgleytown Heroes.

This time TMBG are joined by 11 year old Hannah Levine who sings on 5 tracks and sings lead on “One Dozen Monkeys.” I was really impressed with her. She holds her own really well with the Johns on her big number. I don’t know where they found her but I hope she comes back on future projects.

The Deeply Felt Puppet Theater is back (groan). They were on two really annoying tracks on ABCs which I’m pretty sure the Giants had little/nothing to do with, and the one they get this time is worse than those two put together. They count seconds by Mississippis. Three times, with three different obnoxious voices. Urgh.

I do think this one probably teaches, or at least reinforces numbers better than ABCs did letters. TMBG does a decent job of staying kid-friendly (and contrary to popular belief, not all of their other stuff is) with the exception of one song, “Seven Days of the Week.” It’s about a kid who never goes to work and instead practices his trumpet every day. It’s a really catchy song and would be great if it weren’t on a kid’s album, but I think it’s sending a message that being lazy is okay. Maybe that wasn’t intended, but it bothered me. Numbers are great and all, but work ethic is important too. The Giants oughta know– they’re one of the hardest working bands there is.

Dan Miller (TMBG guitarist) wrote and sang a track on the CD that isn’t on the DVD, but unfortunately it’s pretty bad. Too pop-esque, the lyrics aren’t very clever and a lot of the ideas are already in previous tracks. “Where Do They Make Balloons?” this ain’t.

All in all, I had a great time watching Here Come the 123s and I’ll watch it again. I think most of my disappointment comes from the track order, which is fixed because of going sequentially. I almost think the Giants wrote the songs in the order they appear and they just got tired by the end. Make sure you get to see it, though, especially for “One Everything” and “Triops Has Three Eyes.” They’ll make you smile, and that’s what They Might Be Giants is for.

LLAP

-Cap’n Logan