Review: "Seth MacFarlane Sings the Muppets" is a Toe-Tapping Celebration of Jim Henson's Creation

The Muppets were created by Jim Henson and his friends back in 1955, and while the puppet characters have seen their popularity wax and wane over the decades, there has never been a time when they weren't beloved. Today it feels like Kermit and Friends are poised for a new renaissance. They just had a multi-Emmy-winning TV special (that will spawn a series if anybody knows what's good for them) and now a new collection of music from Family Guy and The Orville creator Seth MacFarlane.

The man who brought us Peter Griffin doing an album of Muppet music may seem odd at the outset, but it honestly makes a lot of sense. One need only watch one of the many compilations of Family Guy's Muppet references to see what an influence they've been on him. One need only listen to the new album Seth MacFarlane Sings the Muppets to know what high regard he holds them in.

The fact that Seth MacFarlane sings, well, anything, is likely very old news or very new news to you. Muppets is actually his 11th album since 2011. His music is the definition of old school. He primarily performs standards out of the Great American Songbook as they were intended. His last album was a collection of forgotten Frank Sinatra arrangements, and that style is on full display here. These arrangements of Muppets songs put the "big" in big band.

Seth MacFarlane Sings the Muppets, collects 14 tracks from the first three Muppet films (The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, and The Muppets Take Manhattan) and The Muppet Show (technically, the Kermit the Frog classic "Bein' Green" debuted on Sesame Street, but it was performed later on the syndicated variety show). It becomes clear just how well-suited the music of the Muppets is to the pop standard treatment that there aren't any obvious omissions in the track list.

If these were more straightforward covers, you might expect an Electric Mayhem song or two, and a more complete retrospective of The Muppets would likely contain the Oscar-nominated "Am I Man Or A Muppet?," but the idea here is clearly to pay tribute to the Muppet music MacFarlane grew up with in the style that comes naturally to him.

And in that regard, Seth MacFarlane Sings the Muppets is just about all you could ask for. The music makes you want to jump up and do a little soft shoe across the floor. Especially effective are the songs from The Muppets Take Manhattan, like "Somebody's Getting Married" and "Right Where I Belong." As songs designed to sound at home on a Broadway stage, they transform into big band music so well you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd heard Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby sing them at some point.

Seth MacFarlane’s trademark humor is on full display in tracks like “Happiness Hotel,” but he can be equally soulful, as is proven by songs like “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday” and “Halfway down the Stairs.”

Bias has been given to MacFarlane's style over the "Muppetness" of it all. These are big band-style arrangements of Muppet songs first, and actual Muppet songs second. A song like “I Hope that Something Better Comes Along” has had its lyrics adjusted, both to make it a solo number and to remove references to either of its original performers being a frog or a dog. Still, the changes work well and nothing feels lost.

Likewise, “Movin’ Right Along,” sung with frequent MacFarlane collaborator Liz Gillies in the Fozzie part, has updated its spoken-word back-and-forth for more current and fitting jokes. There's even a Ted reference for fans of MacFarlane's own funny talking bear.

If there’s a weak link in the set, I’m sad to say it’s “Rainbow Connection.” It’s a song that is basically required in any album of Muppet music, but it’s the song that is the most faithful to its original version, and it suffers a bit because of it. I understand there would probably be riots in the streets if somebody made significant changes to “Rainbow Connection,” but it just doesn’t fit MacFarlane’s style as well as the rest of the album, and it feels like it could have if more was done with it. Still, it's not bad. There's nothing bad here.

Two things are clear after listening to Seth MacFarlane Sings the Muppets. One is that it's a great album that any fans of The Muppets or classic crooning will enjoy. The other is that once the people at Disney get serious and greenlight a new season of The Muppet Show, Seth MacFarlane needs to be a guest. Kick back and give the album a listen yourself.