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| "Singing Santa" photo by Paula Slade |
Today we continue exploring musical gifts that are perfect for year round listening entertainment.
The products, which appear below were released during 2011 and are performed by an incredibly diverse and talented mix of musical artists.
All of these albums have been researched for quality as well as value, and are geared to provide the children in your life with many hours of positive and fun-filled entertainment.
Best pricing options, available at the time of this posting are provided below, but it is suggested that you cross-compare CD and MP3 pricing with your favorite online as well as stick and brick retailers when available.
From now, and until December 21, 2011, more music offerings will be featured as well as many other entertainment categories.
As a reminder, you may want to bookmark this page to further enjoy the musical journey at your leisure, as there are many choices in this category, all with links for preview listening and ordering.
As always, you are the best judge of what is appropriate for your child’s entertainment.
The Family Garden Billy Kelly
It’s an “anything goes” tribute that grows in this garden and easily moves from country to ragtime to rock.
Songs cover the gamut from the sweet and sincere “We Could Be Pen Pals,” co-written and performed with guest artist Molly Ledford from the band Lunch Money, to the hilarious “The Invention of the Straw” – a great lesson in creative kid-think that’s loaded with false information from beginning to end. NPR’s All Things Considered once described Kelly’s brand of entertainment as having “An endearingly oddball sense of humor,” and it continues to charm in this outing.
Sound samples for all 16 tracks of The Family Garden are available through Amazon.com, where MP3 downloads are offered at $0.99 per song or $8.99 for the entire download album. (Compatible with MP3 Players – including iPod®), iTunes and Windows Media Player.)
The Audio CD format, which also includes all 16 tracks, is available from Amazon Marketplace with best price “new” starting at $4.45.
Below for your enjoyment is a Kelly video, which he’s known for creating for his fans. It features one of the tracks from the Family Garden, “That Old American Flag” – based on a true-life tale from his childhood.
Putumayo Kids Presents Kids World Party
Music is truly an international language, and nowhere is it shared more than in this delightful global collection, Kids World Party.
Twelve upbeat songs reflecting artists from the United States, Canada, France, Switzerland, South Africa, India, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy and Cuba - all guaranteed to have families singing and dancing to the inviting rhythms on these tracks.
Released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Peace-Prize-winning organization, Amnesty International, each CD purchase of Kids World Party will provide $0.50 in support to Amnesty’s continued work on promoting and protecting human rights worldwide.
Sound samples for all 12 tracks of Kids World Party are available through Putumayo Kids, where suggested retail price is $14.98.
The Audio CD format, which includes all 12 tracks, is also available from Amazon Marketplace with best price “new” starting at $9.00.
Live in Lexington: Under the Copper Beech Ben Rudnick and Friends
An outstanding live concert experience, with Ben Rudnick & Friends, winners of five Parents Choice® Awards, is heard in this 78-minute, 25-track album that offers light folk, bluegrass, country, calypso, second-line New Orleans jazz, and multiple rock interpretations in, Live in Lexington: Under the Copper Beech.
The recording, a display of brilliant musicianship, reaches all age levels and was captured in a performance in front of an audience of more than 2,000 on the village green in Lexington, Massachusetts July 11, 2008.
Live in Lexington: Under the Copper Beech is Ben Rudnick & Friend’s ninth album, released in August, and features songs from their first six recordings and some favorite cover tunes.
Sound samples for all 25 tracks of Live in Lexington: Under the Copper Beech are available through Amazon.com, where MP3 downloads are offered at $0.99 per song or $8.99 for the entire download album. (Compatible with MP3 Players – including iPod®), iTunes and Windows Media Player.)
The Audio CD format, which also includes all 25 tracks, is available from Amazon Marketplace with best price “new” starting at $10.98.
These are My Friends Alastair Moock
A fun family hootenanny is offered up by Alastair Moock in this October album release, These are My Friends.
Fourteen tracks, reflecting the best in American roots music comes from one of Boston’s best-known musicians.
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| Photo by Marka Brod |
These are My Friends is Moock’s seventh CD, and the second that is dedicated specifically to kids. His first child-centered release, A Cow Says Moock won a 2010 NAPPA Gold Award, and These are My Friends is poised to garner many new young fans as well.
The album features collaborative performances with some of Moock’s own friends, which includes a Who’s Who of Boston folk and acoustic musicians including Rani Arbo, Mark Erelli, Vanessa Trien, and Lori McKenna to name a few.
Sound samples for all 14 tracks of These are My Friends are available through CD Baby, where MP3 downloads are offered at $0.99 per song or $12.99 for the entire download album.
The Audio CD format, which includes all 14 tracks, is also available from CD Baby for $14.99.
For your enjoyment, below is a music video created from the title track from the album These are My Friends.
If you found this article helpful, or are still searching for more gift ideas, you may want to read previous installments of The Gift Guide by connecting to the links below:
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