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Show arney again casts spell to delight kids with music By ELAINE GUREGIAN 1997 PONT1AC GRAND AM DURING THE A f& I T 'ENTER TO WIN! V ACTION LANE Pi I V fA fJ v SWEEPSEAJCfS ' v j I I I I 1 J -- Pi ' f ,1 '.. f - if ifil;rfi ps 'jjgjn r Newspapers I had a bcture baby, I Long knew what books I would read to her. A whole Mack was ready: "The Story of Babar." "The Runaway Bunny." "Goodnight Moon. "I figured that even though the story lines were too advanced for an infant, she could just look at the pictures until she got older. Choosing music was harder. The standard classical pieces for children, like "Tubby the Tuba" or "Peter and the Wolf," are way too sophisticated for babies. And no matter what the researchers are saying these days about classical music's benefits, infants really don't enjoy entire Moart symphonies, although being swooped up and dipped to the dance move ments seems to be appealing. Still, I w anted to of fer my child. not yet a year old, some good music. Curious about what w as out there, I scooped up a couple of handfuls of discs from the children's section of a local record store. J discovered that in addition to the folk songs I remember learning in childhood, recordings of Latino n music are and now produced with children in mind. Of course, spinoffs from television programs and movies abound, and they can make good listening, too. in the following reviews I've suggested ages only as a very a proximate guide. The appropriate ness of each recording w ill depend as much on the child's personality and development as his or her age. Knight-Ridde- Mini-She- ERG-SB"Barney's Favorites" 5. Records. Infants-ag- e No one has to convince me that Barney the dinosaur casts a spell on children. My daughter responded to him on television at eight months of age, and while I was reviewing this album I had to wrestle the CD cover art away from her. A wealth of children's favorites such as "Looby Lin." "And the Green Grass Grows," "Sarasponda" and "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" makes this recording a worthwhile purchase. Besides the standard songs, there are a number of new ones, some of them fairly cutesy. In a couple of cases, traditional tunes have been given new lyrics. One also has to consider the repeated effect of Barney's castrato voice on the parents. If the squeaky little bear from the old Snuggle fabric softener commercial made you want to commit murder, be fore warned. Stereo With lf CD Changer speaker 25-Di- sc 5 12" . system with sound field control. Disc scan, dual cassette and AMFM tuner. I CflJ!ONeeiY "" "Barney's Sleepytime Songs" EMI Records. Infants-ag- e 5. This disc is divided into two sections, the first called Getting Ready for Bed and the second If only it were called Nighty-Nitso easy. Some of the Nighty-Nit- e songs (g(X)d lord. Barney makes it embarrassing to be a parent) are just too perky to induce sleep. Whoever arranged "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" had to be kidding if he thought that this rockin' treatment would soothe anyone. If you just want to use the album to entertain, it will do nicely, but don't count on it to start any lids drooping. e. L!Kr-pH- r' 1 f 1 --- ! v If o ) Dark oak veneers and footed solids-Li9hte- 'Sv AV ,. ,.. 'i-- ' k ings with lighted pier heed- board and 2 pier cabinets. Triple Dresser S449.99 Rolled arms and Aztec cverUnbeatable - and price! .y-- 1 "tft 6ViftYtfvt?X?) Wr TvU JtrU I d f C --J . W fgA? 30" x 48" style with four match- j mg side chairs. S?' CATlfoYSGP) W1 l?A?f' UV V COMPLETE HOME FURNISHINGS 7M ClOIID SUNDAY FURNITURE COMPANY MONDAY - f R i'd'ay 'i OAm'tO 9PM SATURDAY 10AM TO LAYTON SALT LAKE OREM W JORDAN Ml'aAa 488 3333 Hf) 6S6-444- 4 The acoustic treatments of familiar tunes like "Bu;i Baa Black Sheep" and "Five Little Frogs" leave well enough alone, giving these songs credit for being classics that don't need a lot of clever .... 4 table In popular farmhouse ed. jTV71 ! (ZVryir TOMOITARiAS MOST MAJOR CMOIT CARDS ACCIPWD . ggjg) v MlrOri:llli? XJf fj FTLJ&U'ri' "Singable Songs, for the Very Raf'fiMCA Records. Young" Infants-us- e 7. Highly recommend- " xVStlTSl sXA? W 7 ' interior, glass shelves, mir- rored back. B ,s'a--' p' style, Vt.V 1 C oak fronts and mould- - Solid , .'3 3lT 4IH,:!a vr"s, C nn$J JL ttr BifH FHl'rj 2P. 1 4884 g4 eeea pfflSFSfenf I I J 9 7 K v ' ill m mm n African-America- K ) I. K 'SrgSSS- r- -- si. Photo by Mark Perlsleifi Children are sure to love new CDs featuring Barney. "Barney's' Favorites" and "BarDey's Sleepytime Songs" contain fun, upbeat songs. J arranging. This disc is one of my favorites because of its energetic rhythms and its uncontrived sense of fun. Unlike some children's singers especially purple dinosaurs, see Barney, above Raifi's voice is pleasantly full. It's also nice that all of the words are printed out in the liner notes. "A Child's Celebration of Folk Music" various artistsMusic 10. for Little People. Infants-ag- e Highly recommended. I don't remember singing the verse "And we'll kill the old red rooster when she comes." in the song "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" when I was a child, but d maybe I'm just blocking a aversion to violence. Any way, no folkie worth his salt would worry about such things. Veteran folk singer Pete Seeger happily includbelts out all of the lyrics ing "And we'll kill the old red rooster when she comes, HACK, in his rendition in this HACK" collection. superb So, for that matter, do Woody Buckwheat Guthrie, Zydeco, David Grisman and Jerry Garcia, who stand out in the group. Any kid would invite Guthrie to visit, just to hear those strange car noises he makes on "Riding in My Car (Car Song)." And the lyrics of the song "There Ain't No Bugs on Me" are just yucky enough to appeal to a small child. Even a very young baby can appreciate a good beat, and this collection provides it. along with a few moments of sentimental reflection for the parents on the song "World We Love" by Raffi. deep-seate- all-st- ar artistsWalt Records'. Disney t Adults. This recording is like one U(. those diaper ads on TV It's sentimental hut only vaguelw resembles the emotions thai a pap ent actually feels. If "Rock a Bytv Baby: Soft Hits for Little Rock- ers" makes you feel g'Msd, fine,. Just don't expect these syrupvi arrange ments to do a thing lor 1 your child. ... - "3-Bamba- " fi. "I Got Shoes" Sweet Honey in the RockMusic for Little Pcj pie. Older children. The Washington. D.C., votaj quintet called Sweet Money in tl Rock has put together an appealin album for children. The produclio values do credit to the resonai voices and inventive, expressive 1 ranucmcnts. Besides focusing on African or n songs, these pep formers have included a counting s song performed in Swahili, French j Japanese, Spanish and English'.! sending a nice subliminal message j about understanding other cultures. . African-America- Ii "A Child's Celebration of Broadway" castsMusic vari"Princess Collection" ous artislsWalt Disney Records. Ages Take a look at the pink package and you know what to expect from this collection. In fact, the label spells it out: "The music of hopes, dreams and happy endings." You're thinking "Oh, please." but a child could do a lot worse than to listen to these first-clasymphony orchestra performances n of songs by Alan Menken and others. ss well-writte- "Rock a Bye Baby" various . Los Lobojj "Papa's Dream" with Lalo GuerreroMusic for Life-tiPeople. Older children.- ; If you need a good rationaIi4 tion to spring for a Los Lobi& record. "Papa's Dream" is for yojj oops, your child. Kids realty will enjoy the Latin beat, and and "Wooly Bully" are nostalgic fun for adults, loo although the narrative between tli songs may wear thin on repealed "7 hearings. f original Broadway for Little People Infants and up. ',', One of my earliest musical memories is of the tune "Happy Talk." from "South Pacific," so J was pleasantly surprised to see my month old baby bob her head to it. Effects like the rooster sounds in "I've Gotta Crow' and the in "The yodeling Lonefy Goatherd" make some songs on this disc appealing even to habit's too young to grasp the lyrics, an'd it's nice to have collected in om place such classics as "Seventyr Six Trombones" and "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top." . -- ". English band Oasis gives twist to hour long MTV 'Unplugged! MTV News NEW YORK Anchor Kurt Loder: "You're about to take in a very unusual edition of 'Unplugged' featuring the squabble infested English band, Oasis. As you perhaps expected, nothing went according to plans..." "MTV the Unplugged," acclaimed acoustic music series, concert perforpresenjs a one-homance with one of the biggest bands currently on the music scene Oasis. Taped at a London theater this past August, "MTV Unplugged" Presents: Oasis will premiere Wednesday. The band's lead vocalist, Liam Gallagher, was in attendance during the taping, but did not perform. Lram's brother Noel " ... opened the show by saying Liam ain't gonna be with us tonight 'cause he's got a sore throat so you're stuck with the ugly four." During the program.' Liam's brother Noel Gallagher was the sole vocalist, accompanied by Alan White (drums), Paul McGuigan (bass) and Paul Arthurs (guitar) as well as .a string and bass section. The band performed material off their two studio albums. "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" and "Definitely Maybe," as well as several unreleased rarities. Song selections include "Wonder-wall.- " "Don't Look Back In Anger," 'Live Forever," "Some Might Say." "Morning Glory," and "Cast No Shadow." With the release of their second album. "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" last October. Oasis is being touted us the premiere English rock und roll band of llv te decade, with hits including "Don't Look Back" In Anger" and "Champagne Supernova." Oasis was formed just thre years ago in their native city of Manchester, England. ; They released their first album, "Definitely Maybe," in August of I 4, It promptly rose to I on the.U.l. national chart, becoming the fastest-sellin- g debut album in U.K. pop history. (( Shortly following their, taping of "Unplugged" in London. Oasis, minus Liam. traveled to the O.S.. to start their tour. After missing: other scheduled tour datcsi Liam eventually joined up with the baiid in time to perform at "The 1996 MTV Video Music Awards" on September 4. Soon after. Oasis cuj their tour short and headed tytck iume to London. , t "Won-derwall- ." ' , . j j |