After a children's album (
1-2-3 for Kids),
the Chenille Sisters return with the third album for grownups,
Mama, I Wanna Make Rhythm, and with the group's usual mixture of originals and covers, novelties and more serious fare, it adds more musical diversity (along with greater instrumentation), from the '20s/'30s swing sound of several tunes to rock & roll and a cappella singing. All three of the singers write, often in a comic vein, with Connie Huber contributing "Sally's Advice," a reflection on how sparks are supposed to fly on a couple's 13th date (happily, this time they do); Cheryl Dawdy, in the a cappella number "Is It True, Albert?" pondering whether Albert Einstein stole the theory of relativity from his wife; Grace Morand declaring, "I Am a Can of Tuna" (a can that goes through the garbage); and all three combining for a rocking tribute to "Big Hair" (in the tradition of "Girl Shoes" from
At Home with the Chenille Sisters), among other songs. The trio together also provide a new "English translation" (actually, parody lyrics) to "La Bamba," turning
Ritchie Valens' appropriation of an old Mexican dance tune into a diatribe from "yo' mama," who says things like, "So, why aren't you married?" Funny as that song is, its placement on the album, following the equally comic leadoff number, "Chocolate," illustrates the problem
the Chenille Sisters still have shifting gears from silliness to sincerity. The third track is a cover of
Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," and the listener hasn't yet gotten through chuckling at "La Bamba" when it comes on, so it takes a verse of the solemn soul song before the realization sets in that on this track the group wants to be taken seriously. Maybe all the songs can't be funny ones, but when most of them are, you may find yourself impatient for the laughs to return. ~ William Ruhlmann