Sandler’s voice is pleasant and heartfelt and there are no jokes in the song, despite the fact that the song starts with the voice of his child. Sandler is accompanied by Cantor Marcelo Gindlin and there’s some enjoyable harmony to go along with acoustic guitar.
The unprecedented album is the brainchild of Brooks Arthur, the legendary producer behind such 60’s classics as “My Boyfriends Back,” and “The Locomotion.” Arthur said the CD, which offers a portion of proceeds to charity, took about 7 years to complete as he approached various artists and had several songs in mind but had to reach a happy medium with the artists. Of the 13 tracks, 5 tracks are in Yiddish, starting off with a spirited and swinging “Utt Da Zay,” by Manhattan Transfer featuring Andy Statman.
“There are some really great songs that I feared would fall by the wayside and die,” Arthur told The Blueprint. “My goal was to keep these songs alive.”
Neil Sedaka, who is actively touring and will soon have a musical about his life on London’s West End, also champions the language and anchors the album with a heartfelt and powerful “My Yiddishe Mama.”
Sedaka, who in 2004 appeared as a guest judge on “American Idol,” said he is happy to remind people of the old hit while appealing to new generations. The artist, whose all Yiddish album “Brighton Beach Memories,” rose to the top ten of Amazon.com said he sees a rejuvenation of Yiddish.
“A lot of young couples, especially in New York are helping to keep the language alive,” Sedaka told The Blueprint. “My Yiddishe Mama’s appeal is simple. Everyone has a mother and it’s just a beautiful song.”
Sedaka added that he was excited to see his Yiddish album was “up there with Prince and Beyonce.”
Another highlight on “The Jewish Songbook,” include the picture-perfect instrumental “Raisins and Almonds,” by saxophonist Dave Koz.
Two of the humorous tracks are Rob Schneider’s “Bagels and Lox,” while Jason Alexander, known as “Constanza,” on ‘Seinfeld,” gives a nicely accented version of
“Shake Hands With Your Uncle Max,” a song about a guy with way too many relatives than he’d like. There’s the fun track “Joe and Paul,” by Paul Shaffer and Richard Belzer, a song that was on the radio station WEVD about an ad for a store. All of the songs were recorded for this album, except for Barbara Streisand’s boisterous “Avinu Malkeinu,” which you’ll want to blast with some big speakers.
If you''re in your 20s or 30s, this album is worth a listen for its novelty, charm and musicality. It would also make the perfect gift for your parents or grandparents. And its release is timely with Father’s Day around the corner and where you can hear Sandler’s serious tune and then see his humorous “Don’t Mess With The Zohan.”
Arthur proves that he is someone unafraid to think outside of the box. Who would have ever thought there’d be a CD including Triumph The Insult Comic Dog and Streisand. Looking for an album that will make you kvell and then ask “what the hell?” Then, this album’s for you.