If your child likes to be soothed to slumber with a lullaby, this could be the cruisy night-time CD for you. Ideal for budding little guitarists, tunes such as When I Fall in Love and What a Wonderful World have been given a laid-back jazz treatment. The music is unobtrusive in a restaurant-background kind of way, just the sort of thing for little people to fall asleep to. I did find the inclusion of Mary Had A Little Lamb and Baa Baa Black Sheep slightly out of place, given the timeless classic nature of the other tunes. Nevertheless, my two boys have been requesting this CD as they head to bed each night since I brought it home.
Sunny Days has six copies of Sleepytime Jazz Guitar to give away. Click here to enter
The newest CD from ABC Music for preschoolers, Barnyard Buddies, is labelled as ‘Favourite Animal Songs for Kids’, and there are 35 to choose from. The CD almost sounds like the soundtrack to PlaySchool, including well-known favourites like Old MacDonald, The Dingle Dangle Scarecrow and Five Little Speckled Frogs. There’s a slight American flavour to a few of the songs, with a twangy Southern accent and some finger pickin’ on the banjo. The strongest songs are the very Australian Click Go the Shears and Kookabura Sits in the Old Gumtree. The Kookaburra has had a funky update and a rich depth to the harmonies, but still remains true to the original. Australian Idol star Mary Worrall features on vocals, but even his voice can’t lift this CD out of the mediocre.
If my kids were ever asked the question ‘It’s not fashionable, but what do you love?…’ they could answer The Great Australian Songbook CD. It was a Nana present, and if I’m honest, I thought it seemed very daggy and rather twee. But my kids love it. They all dance around together to the songs, and it really has a pretty good range. Featuring classics such as Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport, and Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gumtree, it even has Advance Australia Fair for budding patriots. Up your street cred by knowing the words to Bound for South Australia and Waltzing Matilda, and your kids will think you are cool.
If you somehow manage to find yourself with an invitation to the opera and your operatic knowledge (like mine) extends only to ‘Leggos Al Dentico!’, take heart. ABC Music has released a great Opera 101 CD in Say Hello to the Opera. Of course, if you are into opera or want to be, this disc is a cool introduction for the kids (or yourself). The bursts of music are short, but punchy and well-chosen. The narrator speaks in a quirky voice and rhymes, but not in an idiotic way. It’s informative, easy to listen to, and boy, are people going to be impressed when you pull up beside them at the traffic lights! (FYI Leggos Al Dentico is really La Donne Mobile. You learn something new every day.)
