Thanks & Giving All Year Long is a companion CD to
Marlo Thomas' book of the same name. Combining spoken word performances of the stories and poems in the book with original songs and delightful artwork, the collection revisits the sense of boundless positivity -- and life's possibilities -- that made
Thomas' landmark 1972 children's release
Free to Be...You and Me so special.
Thanks & Giving's list of contributors is pretty varied. Musically there's tranquil material from
Sheryl Crow and
Jimmy Buffet encouraging folks to appreciate diversity and be in a good mood, and Wayne Brady gives love out to the "Unsung Heroes" in life -- you know, the galoshes, zippers, paper sacks, bottle caps, cups, and handles that make the world go round.
Hilary Duff's "(I'll Give) Anything but Up!" is a sweetly urgent pop number comparable in both sound and message to her own work, while the rootsy
John Hiatt and
Amy Grant duet "Thank Someone" originally appeared on
Thomas' 1988 album Free to Be a Family. Interspersed with these warm-hearted musical tracks are equally pleasant stories and poems, read by such Hollywood heavyweights as
Antonio Banderas,
Billy Crystal, Jennifer Aniston, and
Sarah Jessica Parker. Highlights include David Hyde Pierce's reading of "The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage" where he perfectly personifies the title characters (in particular the mouse and sausage), as well as "A Tale of Two Friends," which features
Muppets Bert & Ernie learning a Christmas lesson from
Thomas herself. [In the spirit of the season, royalties from
Thanks & Giving's benefited the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.] ~ Johnny Loftus