The Ultimate Laurie Berkner Band Collection CD Review

 

 

AWARD-WINNING, BEST-SELLING

CHILDREN'S RECORDING ARTIST

LAURIE BERKNER

TO RELEASE NEW COMPILATION OF FAN FAVORITES

THE ULTIMATE LAURIE BERKNER BAND COLLECTION
"The queen of children's music."
-- People Magazine

"A kind of sippy-cup Sheryl Crow."
-- Time Magazine

"One of the hippest children's artists ... Berkner's a blast."
-- Family Fun
NEW YORK -- Beloved children's recording artist and preschool TV favorite Laurie Berkner will release a compilation of greatest hits, The Ultimate Laurie Berkner Band Collection, on October 14th (Two Tomatoes Records, distributed by Razor & Tie, run time 59 minutes).  The CD is the follow-up to The Best Of The Laurie Berkner Band, which has consistently been a top-seller on the children's music chart since it was released in 2010.

Six of The Laurie Berkner Band's CDs are represented: Whaddaya Think of That? (1997); Buzz Buzz (1998); Victor Vito (1999); Under A Shady Tree (2002); Rocketship Run (2008) and the DVD CD Party Day! (2011). The Ultimate Laurie Berkner Band Collection also features three bonus tracks, including the song "One Seed," which has not appeared on any previous album.

Says Laurie, "As soon as I released The Best Of The Laurie Berkner Band, I couldn't wait for my next compilation to come out -- because there were so many songs that I felt should have also been included on that album!  Now that The Ultimate Laurie Berkner Band Collection is finally here, I am thrilled that it will not only include those hits, but also songs I've written since then that have become classics.  With a total of 22 favorite songs, this really is the 'Ultimate' collection!"

A former preschool music teacher by day and indie rocker by night, Laurie Berkner started selling her music over fifteen years ago out of her living room on her own label, Two Tomatoes Records.  She is now widely recognized as a pioneer in the "kindie" music genre and was dubbed "The undisputed queen of kindie rock" by USA Today.  The Wall Street Journal noted, "Her music is distinctive because it speaks to kids without talking down to them, charming youngsters without boring grown-ups."

Laurie was the first artist to ever appear in music videos on Nick Jr. and was featured in nearly all of the episodes of the channel's Jack's Big Music Show.  She currently stars in the animated musical short-form series Sing It, Laurie! on the Sprout preschool channel and makes regular appearances on Sprout's Sunny Side Up Show.

The Laurie Berkner Band features Laurie Berkner, vocals/guitar; Susie Lampert, keyboards; Brady Rymer, bass; and Bobby Golden, drums/percussion.  Visit www.laurieberkner.com for more about the band, including tour dates and links to the band's Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter pages.  Media assets are also available here:  www.razorandtiepublicity.com.

 

 

My review:

 

Laurie Berkner was one of the first artist CD's I picked up at the library when I was a new mom.  I absolutely fell in love with her style.  She provides unique tunes with easy lyrics that the kids can repeat and remember.  Her guitar strumming and melodic voice memorizes my young children and myself too.  Laurie's songs engage listeners to jump right in the experience she provides through the stories of her songs.  She takes you down a walk by the river, looking for a birthday cake, collecting bottle caps and other fun items, trying to call someone on the telephone that doesn't answer, the mess that kids are,  reading with a pretend book and other crazy things that interest kids.  She is family friendly and knows how to make children explore their world in intentional ways and create meaningful relationships.  I highly recommend Laurie's new CD that is a combination of some of her best songs.

 

*I was given a complimentary copy of this CD for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are my own.*