Laurie Berkner’s Favorite Classic Kid’s Songs, fun for all

The title to her latest release is Laurie Berkner’s Favorite Classic Kid’s Songs.  Based on the title alone it wasn’t a release I was interested in hearing.  Our kids are 4 and 6; they’re all but out of the ‘kid’s song’ period of life. They like their kindie with a little more edge, played with flannel shirts, cloudy weather and a side of espresso thank you very much. Apparently I was trying to demo my kids out of Laurie Berkner a little too quickly; because after the first listen they had their favorite songs and the classics brought new life to songs I thought were relegated to lullabies.

Let’s face the elephant in the room. When you hear the title ‘Favorite Classic Kid’s Songs’ you immediately think lullabies; sleepy songs for infants who need something calming to get them to sleep. However, out of the 57 songs on this release only six could really be classed as lullabies. The rest of the songs are mid to up-tempo classics that you didn’t know your children needed to hear.

Our children’s favorite songs are This Old Man, I Love My Rooster, Open Shut Them and We Are The Dinosaurs. “Play number six please” is what they say when they get in the car. It doesn’t matter what car the ride in, they’ll ask for that and be met with looks of confusion when they realize that every car does not have Laurie Berkner’s Favorite Classic Kid’s Songs in the CD player.

The first time we listened to it they shot me a look of amazement when they heard The Cat Came Back. Whaa….? That song is on the other CD-what kind of musical witchcraft is this?  Actually they just laughed and thought that I changed music. Our oldest really went haywire the first time he heard We Are The Dinosaurs. It’s a song that he’s known and heard for years in preschool, but he’s never heard it at home or in the car.

He started to grin widely and then mouthed the words as he heard it. “What is this song doing here”, he said. Immediately after we heard it he politely asked to hear it again. A couple of times after seeing this his younger brother started to do the dinosaur dance when the song came on and event started to request the ‘dinosaur song’.

Adults will even learn something and you can file this under: I did not know that was a children’s song. I Gave My Love a Cherry is an English lullaby from the 15^th-centur that most people remember from Animal House. It’s actually really sweet and one of the rare moments that will help the kids get to sleep on the release.

Don’t be fooled by the title, Laurie Berkner’s Favorite Classic Kid’s Songs are those that your children 8 and under will love. Even kids that are older will like it, but they’re most likely not the key demographic. Parents will be thankful for the quality that goes into each song and how they keep the kids occupied and happy while they’re in the car.

There’s a great quote from Breaking Bad. Jessie is in the car talking to Mr. White about their need for an attorney. Their soon-to-be attorney, Saul was an attorney who represented people with legitimate legal issues, but he also represented people who needed to skirt the law.

Laurie Berkner is like this, but in the best of ways. She’s a children’s-musician. Sure she’s best known for her child friendly, kindie music like the ones on display in this release. However, the qualities, craftsmanship and precision that go into each song make it such that adult audiences would readily embrace her in the AC world of radio too.