Personnel includes: Dan Zane (vocals, guitar); Philip Glass, Deborah Harry, David Jones, Angelique Kidjo, Bob Weir, The Rubi Theater Company, Barbara Brousal, Rankin' Don.
Best known as the front man for the rock group the Del Fuegos, Dan Zanes turns to children's music on HOUSE PARTY. Quite simply, this is warm and fuzzy American roots music. Most of the tunes on this album are cute ditties that draw from country, folk, and bluegrass. Use of mandolin, acoustic guitars, fiddles, and accordion give this recording a rustic feel and Zanes's many special guests add charm to this already inviting disc.
Zanes performs a duet with Deborah Harry (from Blondie) on the classic folk song "Waltzing Matilda." Even though the lyric to this tune revolves around stealing, a near arrest, and an implied suicide, listeners have long embraced the silliness of these lyrics about a swagman (roving farmhand) and a jumbuck (sheep). Another 19th-century tramp song, "Wabash Cannonball," is performed here by Zanes and Grateful Dead singer Bob Weir. The words to this piece recount the mythical transcontinental train known as the Wabash Cannonball. This hobo classic is given an upbeat bluegrass treatment and Zanes and Weir really invoke the mystique of the lone boxcar drifter.
