Search - Nursery Songs :: Peter Pan Kids

The resurrection of the pioneering Peter Pan record label wouldn't be complete without the rollout of a collection of classic nursery rhymes. And here it is: Nursery Songs Sing-Along, which corrals 18 timeless tunes especially well suited to those not yet in possession of all their teeth. This is a thoroughly modern-sounding album. "This Old Man" is way uptempo, featuring a backing baritone who'd sound equally at home singing "Old Man River." "Mary Had a Little Lamb" thumps along to an R&B-flavored backbeat, and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" gets a fresh pop treatment and a lyric makeover ("In the dark blue sky you keep / and often through my curtains peep / for you never shut your eye / till the sun is in the sky"). "Baa, Baa Black Sheep," "London Bridge," and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" all make the cut here. So does "This Old Man," "The Ants Go Marching," and "Little Bunny Foo-Foo," with its rogue rabbit wreaking havoc in the forest by "scoopin' up the field mice and boppin' 'em on the head." The addition of such songs is so seamless, though, that you're left wondering whether the rest of the world grew up singing along with them, and they add to the overall appeal of this very friendly, upbeat, never-cloying CD. And there's a bonus: After the first run-through, each track is presented instrumentally to fulfill the sing-along part of this title's bargain. --Tammy La Gorce