FAMILY : Anna Moo’s Comical and Soulful World

It might sound like baby talk, but “Anna Moo Crackers” isn’t just a children’s album, it’s a classy collection of superbly performed, irresistible family songs with true cross-generational appeal.

Anna Moo is a Florida-based singer-instrumentalist who performs lead vocals and plays guitar, drums and keyboards. Her warm, full-throated vocals are alternately bluesy, jocular and tender.

The album’s original selections, both comical and soulful, include a witty lament about pushy, hat-wearing cats and truck-driving ducks (“Wish They’d Find a Home”) and a gorgeous anthem to Florida--not the Florida of Disney World and negative headlines, but a state that’s “flowerin’ in my soul,” rich with natural beauty, memorable roadside stands and shrimpers’ boats.

Music ranges from Cajun rhythms to traditional jazz and old-time rock ‘n’ roll, with Moo joined by top-notch musicians. Moo wraps it all up with “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” a gospel-style celebration of life.

* “Anna Moo Crackers,” CD: $13.98, audiocassette: $9.98; (800) 226-8057.

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‘Sooz’ Songs: Sooz, another artist with an odd name and a big talent, is a singer and sax player from New Jersey who delights the ear with her idiosyncratic, lived-in voice. Her original, eclectic selections in “Sooz, My Favorite First Songs” were written with children in mind, but with a funky urban sensibility that adults can appreciate as well. Superior musicians accompany Sooz’s appealing vocals and swinging sax in a variety of styles, from jazz to an Afro-Caribbean beat.

One outstanding highlight in this collection of clever songs about animals, hugs, pretending and sleepyheads, is “Eskimo Kiss,” with airy jazz Michael Franks-type vocals, marvelous bass, sax and soft drums.

* “Sooz, My Favorite First Songs,” Soozaroo Music, CD: $14.98, audiocassette: $9.98; (800) 443-4727.