My Best Day

To call Trout Fishing in America immature and, on occasion, silly, is probably not too insulting, or at least it isn't if one remembers to mention that they're also good musicians and specialize in children's music. My Best Day is a live recording of old and new songs before an enthusiastic audience. Recording these songs live, in fact, makes a lot of sense, because even when listening to the group's studio recordings, it's easy to picture them singing their carefree songs in an elementary school gym filled with hundreds of obnoxiously appreciative kids singing along. Trout Fishing makes sure to include the audience in the fun, inviting listeners to mess up one another's hair on "My Hair Had a Party Last Night," and playing Simon Says on — drum roll, please — "Simon Says." Even with a backing musicians, the music here can loosely be called folk, though the boys have an affinity for reggae, Cajun, and anything in between. Ezra Idlet and Keith Grimwood handle most of the writing and singing while Fred Bogert plays everything from piano to accordion to cornet. One imagines, even with a good live recording, that it would've been more fun to have actually been there. My Best Day will nonetheless serve as a fine souvenir for Trout Fishing fans who have seen the band live, and a good supplement to the duo's cohesive and entertaining studio albums. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi