The world of kids' music is populated with earnest, soothing singers. So it's a pleasant jolt when New Orleans Playground opens with Clifton Chenier's weathered bass voice growling about a chicken shack. The latest from Putomayo Kids (whose cover art practically screams "inoffensive multicultural fun!"), this album is a surprisingly tight set of eleven tracks by prominent New Orleans musicians. Shortened versions of Fats Domino's "Whole Lotta Lovin'" and Lee Dorsey's "Ya Ya" will get kids dancing, while "Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner" — in which a children's chorus tries to convince Kermit Ruffins that they can subsist on candy alone — may inspire some kid-parent singalong duets. The album's most distinct track (and its longest, at a none-too-whopping four minutes) is "They All Ask'd For You" by seminal jazz-funk band The Meters. It's a simple nursery rhyme energized by a live, improv-heavy performance, during which the band shouts out the names of their favorite Cajun foods ("Ribs and fish drippings!") for no apparent reason. The whole song comes off like a giddy late-night jam session. And that corresponds with the album's overall take on New Orleans music: it's as fun to make as it is to listen to. — Gwynne Watkins