Arriving in a standard-sized blue keepcase with a flipper, the collection includes the aforementioned CD with five short songs, and a DVD featuring seven Thomas sing-alongs and two Thomas episodes. Obviously it's geared towards budding singers, which is nice since there's often a fairly strong component of tunesmithery in the Thomas the Tank Engine series. However, these songs - and the pair of stories that accompany them - all seem to hail from the oldie-moldie Thomas era. Which is not to say that it's a bad thing, my daughter certainly didn't notice much of a difference, but for this reviewer it smacks a little bit of just sweeping old bits and bobs up from the floor to repackage and sell again.

For instance, while no American will ever accuse Thomas's kid's songs of being too simple, these tunes really highlight old-school British concert hall melodies and structures. As Paul McCartney once sang, "let's all get up and dance to a song that was a hit before your mother was born." If your child is an adventurous warbler, she might get these ditties after a few tries. I'm still struggling with them. The included episodes are no different, seemingly hailing from the early days of Thomas animation. The dynamic is interesting but quaint.

Further, an odd structure finds these songs and episodes book ended by roll-call style footage of various engines, with cute little name cards calling out who is who. Engines and other vehicles you might never have heard of are sandwiched in with the usual gang - Thomas, Percy, etc. - yet this motif continues throughout the disc, with very minor variations. So, if you want to see an image of Thomas and his placard, you've got about nine chances over the course of this 38-minute disc.

Kids won't complain about any of this, they'll probably dig the repetition mixed with short songs, at least breaking up the monotony of your usual four-12-minute-episode DVDs with which you kill time. You may also like a glimpse into Thomas's past, unless you're a Thomas scholar or something and you've already seen it all. But taken as your standard kids' DVD offering, this musically specialized package is a bit old-fashioned and odd.

The DVD

Video:
All songs and episodes arrive at the station in original 1.33:1 ratio, only in this edition their images are a little bit grainy and faded, not something we're used to seeing on a contemporary kids' DVD. Otherwise, your other standard bugaboos crop up on occasion, including some aliasing and edge-enhancement, though nothing major.

Sound:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Audio is clear and clean, with decent balance and songs not too loud compared to the infrequent dialog and narration. There's nothing to complain about in an audio regard, unless your three-year-old is all geeked out to try the new 7.1 system you just refinanced your house in order to buy.

Extras:
Our primary extra may be considered the Music CD with the songs: "The Roll Call Song", "Let's Have a Race", "Toby", "The Island Song", and "He's a Really Useful Engine". The Sodor Superstars Hall of Fame" is a clickable array of engine images. When you click an engine a screen with various facts appears, narrated for you non-reading kids. An additional Bonus Sing-Along Song, "It's Great To Be An Engine", is selectable, or follows along with the regular program on the DVD, and the Bonus DVD Game: "Really Useful Engines" invites your child to listen to clues about various engines, and then click on the appropriate image to see if they are correct. Closed Captioning is also included.

Final Thoughts:
This collection of seven sing-along songs and two Thomas episodes, plus a CD with five songs to listen to in the car will engage your singing tot. The song videos and two episodes are all of a ripe old vintage, making this seem a bit like a mere cash-in on previous efforts, but your kid won't mind. Nonetheless, this special collection is certainly a bit out of the norm, so you might survive just by giving it a Rent It.

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