Good lullabye CDs?
 

My sister is expecting her first child in a couple of weeks (the due date is her birthday - what planning!) and I'd like to get her a couple of lullabye CDs. I already got her Jason Falkner's Bedtime With The Beatles when she first announced her pregnancy. That is a great disc. Even got myself a copy, as it's very relaxing. Anyway, can anyone give me some recommendations for good lullabye CDs? Thanks.

Well, not really lullabye, but essential kids listening...
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - Not For Kids Only

Mmm, not a lullabye album, but Vashti Bunyan's Just Another Diamond Day is a soothing listen, for sure. Child-like folk from the 60s. In fact, the vocal melody for the third track ("Lily Pond") is the same as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

When I read the title of this thread, Not for Kids Only sprung to my mind. My boy would be wailing, and once I started playing/singing Jenny Jenkins, he would fall asleep immediately! Even now when I play it, almost 1 1/2 years later, he starts smiling. I cannot recommend this disc enough, and to say it is essential is almost an understatement!

For general kids' music recommendations, check out this (very buried) thread:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=186919

As for lullaby CDs, I'd recommend...

"Lullabies" -- I don't remember the artists, but it's two singers (mother and daughter, I think), along with simple (or no) piano/violin accompaniment. They sing lullabies, of course, in a somewhat operatic style. They're pretty, though my favorites are the four or five instrumentals. We got our copy through the Metropolitan Museum of Art -- the CD has a copy of a Mary Cassatt painting of mother and child on the front.

Mae Robertson has a CD called "All Through The Night" Very lullaby-ey songs, though some are not lullabies, strictly speaking (Elvis' "Can't Help Falling In Love", for example).

Elizabeth Mitchell's 2 albums "You Are My Flower" and "You Are My Sunshine" are pretty calm folk-rock -- although we don't use it as a lullaby CD, the second half of "Sunshine" is really calm. (And they're just great CDs, period. Get 'em now.)

There's also a Naxos lullaby sampler with soothing orchestral selections. (Sorry, again the name escapes me. It's got a cartoon-y picture of a sleeping baby on the front.) Gotta be careful with classical "lullaby" selections because a lot of them also put pretty peppy songs on there.

Finally, there are some CDs by a label called something like "World Music for Little Ears." Their lullaby CD is pretty cool.

Hope this helps.

[Edited to list CD title.]

I don't know about for youngins, but I find the Norah Jones CD very relaxing.

you can't buy it or anything, but here's a mixtape request I did a few months ago. I got an e-mail from the guy who requested it saying that he loved the mix and found all the songs except the Iron and Wine one:

Songs I Can Listen to with my Three Month Old Son

requested by: deleted
compiled by: leah

01. Jimmy Buffett - "Captain and the Kid" (Havana Daydreamin')
02. White Stripes - "We're Going to be Friends" (White Blood Cells)
03. Iron and Wine-"Lion's Mane" (Creek Drank the Cradle)
04. Hem-"Sailor" (Rabbit Songs)
05. Beatles-"Across the Universe" (Let It Be)
06. Nickel Creek-"When You Come Back Down" (Nickel Creek)
07. Liz Phair-"Whip-Smart"
08. Maynard Ferguson-"McArthur Park" (Master of the Stratosphere)
09. Norah Jones-"The Long Day is Over" (Come Away with Me)
10. Peter Gabriel-"Washing of the Water" (Secret World Live)
11. Billy Joel-"Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" (River of Dreams)
12. Ben Folds-"Still Fighting It" (Rockin' the Suburbs)
13. Will Smith-"Just the Two of Us" (Big Willie Style)
14. Dixie Chicks-"Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)" (Home)
15. Whiskeytown-"Paper Moon" (Pneumonia)
16. Wilco-"My Darling" (Summerteeth)

Thanks for all of the suggestions. For now, I made my sister a mix CD:

1) Nil Lara - "My First Child"
2) U2 - "The Sweetest Thing"
3) Harry Nilsson - "The Puppy Song"
4) Lyle Lovett & Randy Newman - "You've Got a Friend in Me"
5) Loudon Wainwright III - "Being a Dad"
6) Cat Stevens - "Father and Son"
7) Ben Folds - "Golden Slumbers"
8) Mandy Moore - "Moonshadow"
9) Wilco - "My Darling"
10) Cat Stevens - "Oh Very Young"
11) Jimmy Buffett - "The Captain and the Kid"
12) Roy Orbison - "Dream"
13) Sarah McLachlan - "Blackbird"
14) John Wesley Harding - "William and Nancy's Parting"
15) White Stripes - "We're Going To Be Friends"
16) Tom Waits - "Midnight Lullaby"
17) Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"
18) Elvis Presley - "Love Me Tender"
19) Frank Sinatra - "It's Not Easy Being Green"
20) Primal Scream - "Shine Like Stars"
21) Sparklehorse - "It's a Wonderful Life"
22) The Smiths - "Asleep"
23) Barenaked Ladies - "When You Dream"
24) Bing Crosby - "Tura Lura Lura"

since you asked this just came out last week

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...1.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

I Can Only Imagine: Lullabies for a Peaceful Rest amazon link

Linda Ronstadt made an album of pop songs sung as lullabies called Dedicated To the One I Love.

Anything by Nick Drake worked wonders on my daughter when she needed to sleep. Hazy Jane II is particularly effective.

two very eclectic collection of songs, :thumbsup:

(printed out for future reference for my sister who is having her first child in February.)