One of the earlier additions to
Putumayo
's
children's
line,
Latin Playground
alternates between catering to children through music specifically for them and enriching the album with works that happen to be playful but were not necessarily made with children in mind. While this one is a little less adult-friendly than some of the others in the line, it still has enough variety to last for a good series of inevitable replays at the hands of kids. The album runs around the
Latin
spectrum quite well, taking in Mayan-language music from
Lila Downs
as easily as
Flaco Jimenez
's brand of
Tejano
. American
folk
with a mild Mexican influence is here, as is some
forro
from
Nazare Pereira
. The breadth of styles is quite something, and though the explorations are not particularly deep, that is certainly not a major detraction for a kids' album. Some of the other albums in the
kids' line may have a little more depth, but this one isn't bad at all, and can draw from the label's considerable expertise in
music at the same time. ~ Adam Greenberg