Published on Jul 17, 1999
There are times that I absolutely hate reviewing children’s
records.
It’s not for the reasons you might think. Sometimes, I listen to
a children’s record, and it reminds me that I could have been doing
a better job raising my child than I’ve done in the first three
years of her life. It can remind me of happy memories of my
childhood, and make me wish that I was four years old again, even
for just one day. It can remind me of how my parents (both of whom
are still alive) were when I was younger, and it makes me wish that
they were younger. And, if all three hit me at just the right time,
a simple children’s record can reduce me to tears.
In the case of
Disney Babies: Lullaby, two out of three ain’t bad, and
while I thought the disc was magnificent, it had me wanting the
first years of my child’s life back so I could correct the mistakes
I’ve made.
The performances on this 20-track disc, with rare exception, are
well thought out and selected. From Stephen Bishop’s rendition of
the Disney classic “When You Wish Upon A Star” to the jazzy
rendition of “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes,” your kids might
not want to go to sleep when these songs are playing, for fear
they’ll miss something.
There are some moments that just cannot be recreated, such as
with Paige Morehead’s version of “Baby Mine” from
Dumbo. I’m sorry, but the original version of that song,
combined with the pathos of the scene which features that song, has
a magic that will never be recreated. (The real test should lie
with my father, who told me how moving he thought “Baby Mine” was
in
Dumbo. I should play this version for him and see if it
carries the same emotional punch.)
And while it’s good to hear from Larry Groce again (Trivia time,
kids: What song did Groce briefly become famous for in the ’70s?),
there’s really not much you can do with “Rockabye Baby” – not that
some version of the song doesn’t belong on a collection of
lullabys. Groce’s magic shines better on “Mountain Lullaby” and
“Sleep Little Child”.
The two moments where I almost lost it were on “Sleep, Daddy,
Sleep,” which is almost perfect for me, ’cause I can fall asleep in
front of the TV without warning, and on “Sleepytime Skies,” a track
which really had me wishing I could be a child again for just one
more day and have my mother tuck me into bed. If you’re sentimental
about things like that, in all seriousness, have tissues on hand
for this track.
Seeing that my daughter now goes to sleep on her own, needing
only a story to satisfy her,
Disney Babies: Lullaby probably won’t be getting overplayed
in our household. (And, seeing how emotional I got on a few tracks,
I hope the fine people at Disney will forgive me if I don’t listen
to this one again for a long time.) If you are fortunate enough to
have an infant in your household, this disc is probably a
no-brainer to pick up. Who knows, it might even help lull you to
sleep after a bad day.