Search - Mr. Ray :: Songs From The Kids' Lounge

Great for the kids, Great for the parents too

D. M. Villegas | Plainsboro, NJ United States | 05/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Considering that Mr. Ray lives nearby and gives a free concert locally on a regular basis, we were quite familiar with Mr. Ray's music. We purchase his first CD and loved it. So, for Christmas this year, Santa put this CD, Mr. Ray's second outing called "Songs from the Kids' Lounge" in my son's stocking. My son was very addicted to listening to the first CD that he didn't play it right away. Every night we have "Mr. Ray" time, where he's brought to his room to dance and jump and get those last bits of energy out before taking his bath and going to bed, and he always insists on putting on Mr. Ray music.



Well, he finally started playing this second album, and I have to say, having heard all the songs EVERY NIGHT for the last few months, I actually like this better than the first one. Why? The music itself actually sounds more sophisticated, which is a good thing. Mr. Ray has written on his website that he wanted to make sure that his next album was something that everyone could enjoy, because he knows that parents listen too. And I DO listen. The music definitely shows his major influences, like the Beatles or Carole King, as well as some others. Just about every tune you could rewrite the words, and they'd easily be a song that you'd hear on mainstream radio. But instead, Mr. Ray talks about things that apply to all kids, like being nice to kids who are different, encouraging others to do well with a high five, learning the days of the week, etc. But he has some fun, silly songs too. One of our favorites is the "UM song", which is about when you can't think of something to say, you usually say, "um....". This seems especially appropriate for my son, as he actually has a speech impairment and says that a lot. But it's a way of poking fun at ourselves that we all do it, and for my son, he sees it's okay. He's actually learned the words, which is exciting for us, and he knows the words to all the Mr. Ray songs.



If you want to get a good CD that everyone can listen to, that won't make you, as a parent, say, "Man, that CD is annoying!", you've gotta get this one, because it's SOOOOO listenable for everyone, and it's just plain good music!"