Grandpa Art Sings About Birds. - sound recording reviews

American Forests, Nov-Dec, 1993 by Wallace Kaufman

"But in my dreams I want to fly," reads a line in one of these songs. The remaining lyrics capture what it is about birds that makes them the most-watched animal in America. Like Custer's earlier tape about insects, this one is for the kids, but sometimes when I'm tired of all the environmental arguing and shouting, I put on one of his tapes to remind me that nature can be enjoyed for its own sake--no politics, no difficult ecology, no moral lesson to learn, no blame or shame.

In that sense, these tapes convey the same kind of pleasure that good science does. With a very rare exception they are scientifically accurate. Whether it's Grover the Plover flying from Hudson Bay to South America or the pigeons who don't want to leave the city, Custer and his research staff have tried to stick to life as it is.

The cassette comes with all Custer's own surprising blend of rhythms and instruments, adult and children's voices. Never mind all the voguish stuff about getting in touch with animal spirits and reconnecting with the earth. If our nation is an environmentally "dysfunctional family," as Vice President Al Gore says, I'll take this kind of therapy any day.