Search - Various Artists :: Tropical Lullaby

Tropical lullabies to soothe your soul and enhance your drea

S. Dusan | Venice, CA | 07/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recently I have been on a mission to find wonderful music for both my son and I to enjoy during bathtime and before bed. I had investigated other CD's from the Ellipsis series (African, Latin and Brazilian Lullaby respectively) and didn't give much thought to "Tropical Lullaby" until I saw it was available to borrow from my local library.



I have to be honest and say I was very pleasantly suprised. This little gem is like the sweetest, lightest breeze. Listening to it on a hot Cali night surely helped evoke the tropics, and everything about the CD is wonderful. Gorgeous cover art will greet with sea creatures acting as notes on a musical scale. The music starts off with the timeless Cuban classic "Drume Negrita", beautifully rendered by Juan-Carlos Formell. Than the slow Bossanova sway of "Cancao de Ninar" follows with the gorgeous, soft vocals just wrapping themselves around your ears like a wonderful warm embrace. Track 3 is titled "Es Ou Sonje" and being as it is from Martinique is sung in French Creole. Track 4 "Kalua Lullaby" is a popular tourist song from the islands of Hawaii and will have your little ones (if they can talk) saying "Sponge Bob". Track 5 is an original track entitled "El Coco" a song explaining that the whole thing about the Boogieman is a big misunderstanding and that he is actually a really nice guy. One read of the lyrics will have you feeling for the poor, misunderstood creature. Than skip to track 7 from Puerto Rico "Duermete Mi Cielito". The performer, Sammy Figueroa has a stunningly smooth voice. Seeing as I prefer females singers most of the time, to be moved by his voice was a pleasant suprise. He accompanies himself on hangpan, a a unique variation on the steel pan. The tinkling, percussive sound of the instrumental behind his voice is gorgeous. Two more songs stand out above the rest: "Dodo Titite" from Haiti is just sublime, as well as track 12 which despite the typo is actually "Le Pitit' en Mwen" from the Caribbean island of Guadalupe. It feels melancholic because the singer is accompanied by a bass and sparce piano tinkles. Just enchanting.



Most of the songs are based from the Caribbean and South America, with a few Polynesian songs in the midst as well. Most of the songs throughout the CD have sparce arrangements if any, with the voice more at the fore of all the recordings. Relaxing, ambient, very charming. My personal favorite just because it captures the sweetness and innocence of a child perfectly. 5 stars from us!"

Good CD with a few flaws

PortofinoGirl | 09/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I own several of the CD's in the Ellipsis series and they are definitely my favorite lullaby CD's. This particular one has lovely arrangements and is especially pleasant if you enjoy the tropics. It reminds you of quiet evenings in the Caribbean and will be a wonderful escape during a cold winter.



The very first song on the CD, Drume Negrita, is also featured prominently on the Cuban Lullaby CD (three versions of the popular Cuban song are featured on that CD) so when I first played it, I was a little disappointed. But the remainder of the CD is wonderful and makes up for it. And if you don't already own Cuban Lullaby, then you should enjoy the Tropical Lullaby version of the song.



My only other major complaint with this CD is that you can't use the "repeat" feature of your CD player with it. We normally play our lullaby CD's on repeat during our daughter's naps and until we go to bed at night - just to help drown out any usual household noise. However, this CD will not loop. Rather, it plays the first song over and over again. As I said, Drume Negrita is a wonderful song, but if you have Cuban Lullaby AND this CD which plays it over and over during a three hour nap, you get really sick of it. I thought that perhaps I had a defective CD originally and exchanged it, but the new one had exactly the same problem.



Overall, a nice addition to the Ellipsis line despite a couple of small problems."