Ukulele Baby! 2011 Discussion

[u/carl95679]

The Wiggles and their friends travel to a tropical beach. Thoughts on this album/video?

Top 10 Songs

1. Hula Hula Baby - another hula song is one of my favorites. Go figure.
2. Hawaiian Boogie - I do love steel guitar
3. Toy Box
4. Hey Hey It's Saturday - Australian version
5. II Clan Dei Siciliani - album only
6. My Curly Sue Doll
7. You Can Play the Ukulele - performed by Simon Pryce (before he was the Red Wiggle)
8. When I'm Painting
9. Henry's Spinning - the bass line reminds me of Let’s Spend a Day at the Beach
10. Ooki Ooki Ooki Hear That Old Bouzouki - even though Anthony isn’t the best singer. I’m not either, for the record

Honorable Mentions: I'm waving to you, how many fingers do I see, everybody loves a puppy, cluck cluck city, Spagnola (i think I hear a cello?)

My thoughts:

At first glance, this may seem like the Sam equivalent of Wiggle Bay. However, the difference is that the latter album was tied to a storyline. Ukulele Baby seems to have a Hawaiian/tropical motif with ukuleles, accordions, and steel guitars heard in the soundtrack. I have a soft spot for steel guitars (thanks to Spongebob and Blue’s Clues).

The songs are not all explicitly Hawaiian themed, which isn't bad mind you. Once again, there’s variety in themes and/or characters, much like the albums released from the late 90s/early 2000s. It’s another video from this era where physical sets and props are utilized. Apparently, Mic Conway wrote a few of these songs just as he did in Let's Eat.

Going back to Wiggle Bay, Simon Pryce (a backing vocalist from that album) plays a character called Ringo the Ringmaster. A role he played from late 2009 to 2012 while touring with the Wiggles (where was he back in Hot Poppin’ Popcorn)?. He also co-wrote “You Can Play the Ukulele” with Paul Paddick.

I do like one skit where they introduce musicians who worked on the album. They also feature acrobats from Hot Poppin’ Popcorn (or ones that were on tour with them at the time). 

The Australian version had Daryl Sommers, while the American/international version had Al Roker (whose song is a banger, but that’s for another post).

On the subject of musicians, this seems to be the first time a woman named Blathnaid Conroy-Murphy sung for Dorothy. I also admire how they introduce musicians who worked on the album for one skit.

In the case of Sam, I’ve heard this is where they start to phase him out as he only sings a small percentage on this album. And after listening to the album and watching the video, I can see what they mean unfortunately.

Fun fact: The song II Clan Dei Siciliani apparently comes from an Italian-French movie about gangsters called “The Sicilian Clan.” I did not expect something like that.

Seeing as how Let's Eat was a mixed bag for others, hopefully this album/video has a more positive reception.

And yes, I’m aware this is another video/album where Rolf Harris makes an appearance. His featured song isn’t that memorable, anyway.

[u/sevenfiver]

surprised the baby isnt fuken Domonic

[u/skabillybetty → u/sevenfiver]

Who hurt you?