Ditto Kiddo marks the fourth solo album by Stephen Michael Schwartz, whose impressive body of work has spanned over thirty years in children’s music (including as a member of Parachute Express). This time Stephen has teamed with Emmy-nominated producer Gary Stockdale to bring his music to life. And life is what Stephen writes about best in this collection of nine original songs – always with a child’s perspective and a grown-up’s sensibilities.
Evaluation comments from our music judge:
“A children’s music legend, Stephen Michael Schwartz makes more musical magic on his fourth solo outing, which follows his years as part of the award-winning family music trio, the Parachute Express. Schwartz demonstrates an innate ability to relate to kiddos through his songs. On “Alphabet Soup,” “Hopscotch,” and “Bubblegum Friend,” he takes well-known topics and uses them as a springboard to make points about not being wasteful, impressing your talents, and the power of friendships, respectively. Schwartz marvelously, and powerfully, expresses the power of love in “That’s What Love Can Do,” when he sings “We may face some crazy days/But this, I’m told, is just a phase/So hold on/Love can take us so much higher/Hold on/Together we can walk through fire/I know.” Schwartz isn’t shy either about being a bit sentimental about love, whether he’s displaying it from a child’s eyes as on “Grandma and Grandpa” or from a parent’s perspective as on “Little Fingers, Tiny Toes.” By turns goofy, tender, and insightful, Schwartz expertly reaches the inner child that exists in listeners of all ages on Ditto Kiddo.”