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Come on, have a seat at The Welcome Table, where you'll hear songs of "inspiration, mystery, and good times." On his ninth album for children, kids' music star Dan Zanes digs deep into the tradition and history of spiritual music and delivers a solid album of tunes for the whole family.

Dan Zanes the Musician

Dan Zanes began his musical life in the public eye as leader of The Del Fuegos, a rootsy, alternative rock band based in Boston.

They had a few hits in the mid-80s, then called it quits, after which Zanes pursued family life and lower-profile musical endeavours.

A few right-place-at-the-right-time events, and some well-crafted tunes, put Zanes back in the musical spotlight, only this time his audience included parents and their kids. For a more indepth look at Zanes' life, take a gander at this Dan Zanes biography.

Have a Seat at The Welcome Table!

The Welcome Table! is packed full of great songs like "Up Above My Head," the bilingual "Granito de Mostaza", and the soulful title tune that features The Blind Boys of Alabama, a song originally included on Dan Zanes' GRAMMY-winning 2006 kids' CD Catch That Train!.

"Get On Board" borrows elements from the folk standard "Get Along Cindy", while "Jesus on the Mainline" sounds like Dylan and The Band on their Before the Flood tour. And of course Father Goose makes an appearance on The Welcome Table!, toasting on Charles A. Tindley's classic "By and By," a tune that first appeared on Father Goose's kids' CD It's a Bam Bam Diddly!

Other highlights include the Spanish-language "Himno Guadalupano," a hymn to the virgin of Guadalupe, patron saint of all Mexicans, and "Roll the Chariot," which was also released on Zanes' 2004 album Parades and Panoramas: 25 Songs Collected by Carl Sandburg for the American Songbag.

Zanes wrote two original songs for The Welcome Table!, "Under the Sun" and "We've Been Down This Road Before." Musically and idealistically, the tunes follow the spirit of The Welcome Table!, as both are a call for togetherness, rather than polarizing claims of correctness.

Inspiration Behind The Welcome Table!

On The Welcome Table!, Zanes calls on musical influences as varied as The Stanley Brothers, Sing Out magazine reprints, Baptist hymnals, Dominican and Mexican friends, Jewish folk star Basya Schechter of Pharaoh's Daughter, African American spirituals, and songs brother-in-law Donald Saaf brought back from Nova Scotia.

Zanes didn't just randomly select a bunch of old church songs: the theme of The Welcome Table! is love and understanding toward immigrants, especially evident on songs like "In the Land of Egypt," where passages from the Bible are recited that emphasize kindness to strangers, as pre-Colombian instruments of Mexico's Nahuatl people are played.

Zanes follows through with the theme and spirit of The Welcome Table! by directing the proceeds from the album to the New Sanctuary Movement, a multi-level, multi-faith coalition that works as an advocate for immigrant families and their basic human rights in America.

The Verdict

Now, The Welcome Table! isn't neccessarily for kids only. In fact, I doubt any child would walk up and pick out an album of spirituals, no matter how rambunctious and rousing the tunes might be. The Welcome Tabe! is, in fact, a great introduction for children and families to the history and tradition of spirituals and the place they hold in American history.

And it's commendable that Zanes is using his kids' music profile to explore and present projects like The Welcome Table!: he could easily have gone the Disney buyout route and churned out CD after CD of bland sing-alongs and tv show themes. Another solid kids' album from Zanes & Friends!

Track Listing

1. "Working on a Building"
2. "Up Above My Head"
3. "Get on Board"
4. "Granito De Mostaza"
5. "By & By"
6. "Roll the Chariot"
7. "In the Land of Egypt"
8. "Under the Sun"
9. "Oseh Shalom"
10. "Daniel in the Den"
11. "Jesus on the Mainline"
12. "Himno Guadalupano"
13. "Home on the Rock"
14. "Welcome Table"
15. "We've Been Down this Road Before"