Keeping the Faith in the 60s With Alison Faith Levy

Bruce Springsteen sings about the healing power of music. Huey Lewis and the News even sang "The Power of Love." Alison Faith Levy truly believes. She brings back the girl group power-pop sound of the 1960s with her new children's music CD, THE START OF THINGS.

The MAD MEN era feel allows Levy to pour out some genuine emotion into songs such as "Are You Happy" and "Why Am I Awake," a gentle lullaby about insomnia from a child's perspective. "T.L.C." captures the farfisa spirit of early Elvis Costello and the Attractions, an artistic stretch for an album aimed at 3-to 8-year-olds. Levy also shares an appreciation for the musical stylings of legendary lyricist Burt Bacharach, as evident on "Rainbow Tunnel":

We can drive through the Rainbow Tunnel to the other side.
Where the sun is shining and the mountains are wide.
To the rainbow tunnel, just a car ride away.
It's not far to get there, but it's worth the wait.

On her first kid's CD, WORLD OF WONDER, Levy first delved into the time machine for a Supremes-styled "Itsy Bitsy Spider." For THE START OF THINGS, Levy mines the rich history of 60s power-pop and delivers a winning selection of new (and old) material. Cat Stevens' return from obscurity is harkened in her cover of "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out."

Levy has worn many hats over the course of her musical career – from alternative to family to collaborator. She is currently adapting WORLD OF WONDER into a children's stage musical with a San Francisco-based theater company. In the meantime, she continues to entertain children and their families with her uplifting, lilting brand of sunny feelgood West Coast pop. If this is just THE START OF THIGNS, you wonder how ambitious Levy's plan are for the future.

THE START OF THINGS is available April 21 from Levy's website, Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Here is the video for the new song, "The Froggy Dance":