Search - Mary-Kate Olsen & Ashley :: Brother for Sale

Brother for Sale finds the nation's most popular pigtailed pair in a straightforward sing-along with, mercifully, 10 of their more melodic-sounding friends. Any 5-year-old will warm to what's addressed here: there's an ode to peanut butter in which the praises of "chunks, lumps, gobs, and globs" of the gooey stuff are sung; an impassioned plea for a pup ("Desperate for a Dog"), in which it's made plain that a gerbil or frog won't do but "a collie or Dalmatian / a poodle or Alsatian / Maltese, Pekinese, please, oh please" will; and an all-kidding-aside reflection on the niceness of being "Hugged by You," especially after a bout of loneliness or scraping a knee. This album's standout, though, is "The New Kid," on which the full complement of friends helps to illustrate the saga of a young fellow who moves to a bustling new block from around the bend and unsuccessfully tries to befriend a boy on a bike (who has all the friends he needs), a girl in gold (who hates boys), a tyke in her crib (who only says "Waa! Waa!"), and, pathetically, a dopey dog (who's busy burying bones and has an unfriendly bark). Right after he hangs his head and starts to cry, everybody shows up to throw him a surprise birthday party, something they pull off without causing this song to go tumbling down a triteness chute. Also fun are the New Orleans-styled "Neighborhood Kitchen Pots and Pans Rhythm Band" and the reggae-infused "Uh-Oh Accident." --Tammy La Gorce