Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World

Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World is a soundtrack album to the children's television game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Five of its ten songs, as well as the spoken track "A Brief Disclaimer," were performed by the show's host, Greg Lee. Lynne Thigpen, who co-starred on the show as The Chief, also contributed a song, as did the show's house band, Rockapella. Unlike its predecessor, it was marketed to both children and adults, owing to the inclusion of rock bands XTC and They Might Be Giants.[1]

Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released	March 29, 1994[1]
Genre	Pop, indie rock, children's
Length	32:34[2]
Label	BMG Kidz, Zoom Express, Fight Records
Producer	Sean Altman, David Yazbek, Billy Straus
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? chronology
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1992) Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World (1994)

The song "Change My World," credited to "Johnny Nexdor & His Neighbors," was actually performed by Rockapella member and album producer Sean Altman, mimicking the style of XTC.[3] In turn, XTC's "Cherry in Your Tree" was recorded for the album after producer David Yazbek, knowing of the lead singer Andy Partridge's unreleased "bubblegum" songs, suggested they contribute one to the album.[1] They Must Be Giants' "Why Does the Sun Shine," a cover of a 1959 song by Tom Glazer, was taken from their EP of the same name.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer	Length
1.	"Half a World Away"	Billy Straus	Greg Lee with 3 Brave Woodsmen	3:59
2.	"Big Wet Rag"	David Yazbek	Rockapella	2:39
3.	"Cherry in Your Tree"	Andy Partridge	XTC	2:53
4.	"A Brief Disclaimer"	Greg Lee	Greg Lee	0:32
5.	"Cake for Breakfast"	Yazbek	Greg Lee	3:33
6.	"My Parents' Son"	Sean Altman	Greg Lee	3:45
7.	"Change My World"	Straus, Yazbek	Johnny Nexdor & His Neighbors	2:35
8.	"Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)"	Hy Zaret, Lou Singer	They Might Be Giants	2:50
9.	"Bugs"	Yazbek	Greg Lee	3:50
10.	"Back to Chicago"	Altman	Lynne Thigpen	2:47
11.	"Carmen's Song"	Yazbek, Altman	Greg Lee	3:11

Personnel

• Sean Altman, David Yazbek - Producers (except "Why Does the Sun Shine?")
• Billy Straus - Producer, engineer, mixer (except "Why Does the Sun Shine?"); guitar, bass guitar ("Half a World Away")
• Julio Peralta, Raging Dave Robbins, Suzanne Dyer - Assistant engineers (except "Why Does the Sun Shine?")
• Jed Alpert - Executive producer

• 3 Brave Woodsmen - Vocals ("Half a World Away")

Burl Mann

Ian Jaeger

Norm Raposbec

• Rockapella - Vocals ("Big Wet Rag")

Scott Leonard - High tenor

Sean Altman - Tenor

Elliott Kerman - Baritone

Barry Carl - Bass

Jeff Thacher - Vocal percussionist

• XTC ("Cherry in Your Tree")

Andy Partridge - Vocals, guitar

Colin Moulding - Vocals, bass guitar

Terry Chambers - Drums

Barry Andrews - Vocals, keyboard

Dave Gregory - Guitar

• They Might Be Giants ("Why Does the Sun Shine"?)

John Linnell - Accordion, saxophone, bass clarinet, vocals, producer

John Flansburgh - Electric guitar, vocals, producer

Critical reception

Allmusic gave the album an editor rating of 3 stars out of 5.[2]

The Toledo Blade's Allan Detrich suggested that artists like XTC and They Might Be Giants were used to appeal to a younger demographic. He added that some of the songs have "fun lyrics and make even older listeners smile."[4]

References

1. Botton, Sari (April 2, 1994). "Zoom Goes Pop with Sandiego". Billboard.
2. "Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World (CD - Zoom Express #30041-2)".
3. "SeanSongs - Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World".
4. Detrich, Allan (April 24, 1994). "Sounds: Carmen Sandiego, Out of This World". The Blade. Retrieved 2020-05-28.

External links

• Carmen Sandiego: Out Of This World (CD) at Discogs
• Carmen Sandiego - Out Of This World at They Might Be Giants wiki