Customer Reviews

Classic Nursery Rhymes

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have a 5 month old and just received a copy of your Classical Nursery Rhymes and LOVE IT.
It's like listening to Beck meets Shrek.
It has comical little blurbs, with british men who sound like Mike Meyers being silly.
I'm instantly a HUGE fan of Susie Tallman, thanks to my Father-in-law who introduced me to this CD.
Thanks for making something that my husband and I can groove to as well and now, I'm actually learning all the words to these songs because I like them.

Julia K.
North Gerogia

I am an elementary school teacher and I love using music in the classroom. I am always looking for fun music for my students, and Susie Tallman's Classic Nursery Rhymes has been a big hit for all. I enjoy the fresh sound and the clever arrangements she brings to cherished classics, and the children love the challenge and surprise of reworked favorites. Sometimes, when they are working in small groups, they will all begin to sing one of the songs from the CD, smiling and giggling as they go. I highly recommmend Ms. Tallman's music to anyone seeking quality and inspired children's music.

We recently picked up this cd at a baby store and left it for the babysitter to play for our 11 mo. old daughter. Last week, while packing in a rush for a weekend road trip, I threw it in the cd travel folder along with some music for the adults. When we played it during a grueling stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike, it wasn't just my daughter who was laughing, but my wife and I. This disc comprises clever and catchy arrangements and interpretations of both familiar and obscure nursery rhymes. I loved the accents, too, though they probably don't do much for our child, yet. Good stuff.

My children love this cd probably because as parents, we love this cd. We received this cd as a baby gift for our first child and enjoyed it instantly. The more it made us smile and laugh and sing along, the more our daughter did. The same was true when our son was born. We enjoyed remembering old nursery rhymes but also the refreshing twists Susie and friends bring to them. As a result our kids know all the classic nursery rhymes. They also know that songs can be sung lots of different ways (Itsy Bitsy Spider) and still have the same words - a neat lesson. I recommend it to any parent who wants to introduce nursery rhymes to their kids - this is a great way to do it!

Her lullaby cds are my favorite baby shower gift to give - the gift wrap makes them stand out and I get rave reviews for feedback. So I was excited to hear this new album - it turns out I was not the only one. It had a room full of toddlers dancing and singing which was a fun sight to see. It seems to have a lot more songs on it than many of the other cds and listening to it over and over is actually all good. I send my highest recommendation.

I was almost negatively affected in my decision whether or not to purchase this CD by one of the other reviewers (T.Carlsen), so now that I have owned it for several months I felt the need to come back and share my opinion. This CD is absolutely wonderful from beginning to end, and my baby daughter (not quite 6 months old) already clearly LOVES it! I am music educated, and work in the music industry, and my mother is a music teacher, so I am quite particular about the music that I choose to play for her (she has responded well to music from early on, so we already have quite a collection for her).

I particularly enjoy this CD because it incorporates a wide variety of modern styles of music. The reviewer I referred to questioned the term "Classic" used in the title of this CD... please note that the words "Classic" and "Classical" have 2 different meanings, and that the word "Classic" was used as an adjective for the nursery rhymes, not the style of music. This is NOT a classical CD or a lullaby CD (although the latter part of the CD leans toward the lullaby sound, which is great if you are gearing up for naptime). It is, however, a CD with nearly an hour's worth of tremendously enjoyable music. As to the alleged attempts of the artists on the album to sound "hip and interesting" or "cool" because they have English accents... um, the album was recorded in Australia and these people are Australian, they are not "trying" to be anything! However, yes, many of the artists do have a background in modern pop music, so that influence can be heard. But again, I found none of the music to be "strange". Even my daughter's two grandmothers enjoy this CD! I told my mom about the negative review I had read before purchasing it, and she was excited to know that she must be very hip, then, since she really liked this CD (remember, she is also a music teacher). I suppose one might object to the "rap" version of "Hickory, Dickory Dock" if you have a strong aversion to that type of music... but it is a pretty short track, and you can skip over it!! Of course, it really is pretty true to the original nursey rhyme, which really is "rap"!

This is a very creative CD, which will entertain both parent and child. Also, the vocals on the CD, overall, are not done in a style that is grating or obnoxious, which is one of the objections I have to some of the other commercial CDs put out for kids. I highly recommend this CD!!

My 2 grandkids (9 months old and 2 1/2 years old LOVE this CD! They like the music, the "rap"- HICKORY, DICKORY, DOCK- very catchy for young kids, the whole CD is enjoyable! I recommend this for the kids to listen to while they are playing, while they are in the car- very entertaining!!!

I like Susie Tallman's other album "Lullaby Themes for Sleepy Dreams" because it is a very enjoyable and beautiful classic lullaby album. I recommend that CD. However, I have mixed feelings about "Classic Nursery Rhymes."

For starters, the name is misleading. The songs are not performed in a traditional or "classic" format. Instead, Tallman and friends try very hard to be creative with the songs. One song is rap. Several others songs are obvious attempts to be cool. The CD has layers of sound effects. There's a guy with an English accent and children with English accents who are suppose to be hip and interesting.

A few of the songs are really good, but many of them are annoying, and a few are plain strange. This is not a CD for nap time or a long car ride.

I put this CD to a good test: my children spent time with it and they just did not care for it. By the way, they own a large collection of children's music. I think this CD is trying to be hip sounding so some adults may like it, but I just don't like it either. Traditional lullabies sound wierd with that type of musical approach.

Here are my recommendations: First, if you are purchasing one of your first three lullaby CD's, buy a different lullaby CD. Find one with more traditional performances. Second, if you own less than a dozen children's music CD, buy something else, such as by Raffi. Finally, if you already own a huge collection of children's music, like our family does, then consider buying this CD for variety. The quality is better than many overly-commercial or cheap CD's.

And do consider "Lullaby Themes for Sleepy Dreams" by Susie Tallman.

This is our FAVORITE children's CD. (In addition to Kids' Songs to Sing and Sing Along )My 17 month old LOVES this and I don't go crazy listening to it over and over and over.

Between Susie Tallman's collection of cd's I don't think there is a single nursery rhyme or song that is missed! Very common to a little more obscure. Although I grew up with my grandmother reading nursery rhymes to me and recognized all but one on the disc. (So they aren't terribly obscure)

She presents them in very fun arrangements. Lovely vocals and a nice mix of children and adult voices. (The non-stop kids choral sing-along style tends to grate on my nerves after about 2 songs -- If you prefer all kids singing then you won't like this cd) None of the arrangements are over the top. (With the exception of rap-like Hickory Dickory Dock-- which honestly is NOTHING like the other arrangements found on this disc) There are many spoken word nursery rhymes interspersed with the songs. ( I liked this because I have forgotten words to many nursery rhymes that I loved as a kid!)

Bottom line: If you are looking for a cd that contains all the classics, presented in a fun way, this is an excellent disc. I'm not into the wacky, made-up new wave kids songs. But I go crazy with the kids-song, or folksy adult renditions of the classics. This is a nice blend of new take on the old.


BTW, the "English" accents mentioned previously are actually Australian. Half of the people on the cd are Australian. [...]

Wow.....Susie Tallman's Classic Nursery Rhymes would make Mother Goose smile!! My 4 children enjoy singing to the classics we all grew up with. It makes me feel like a kid myself. This entire cd gives you a warm and uplifting feeling. Your children will love it...and so will you. A great gift idea as well! Enjoy!