Lullabies for Sleep Eyes blends Tallman's alluring soprano vocals with a variety of instruments creating near-angelic tunes to relax your little one and lull them to a peaceful sleep. Parents and grandparents will also appreciate the nostalgia created from hearing some of their own favorite lullabies remade, but the beauty preserved. Tallman's version of Rock-A-Bye Baby is easily the most beautiful I've ever heard; she is accompanied by a dobro, acoustic guitar, and keyboards. The familiar nursery rhyme Little Boy Blue is brought to life with the help of an acoustic guitar, mandolin, and a duet with Richard Pleasance. Summertime should ring a bell, as it's been remade several different ways, but it makes a surprisingly peaceful naptime song blending sounds from the piano, vibes, and harmonica. The Welsh Lullaby Sua Gan sounds absolutely magical!  It features a gorgeous dobro solo and beautiful lyrics, "Dream of Angels all around thee, fields of flowers starry sky. Sleep my darling, gentle baby, I will keep you near to me." Although the guitar, dobro, and piano are found in many of the lullabies, other instruments make appearances such as the accordion in Baby's Bed a Silver Moon, the organ in the Scottish lullaby Dance to Your Daddy, the violin in the Irish lullaby Toora, Lorra, Lorra, and the 12 string guitar in Bye, Baby Bunting.

Even the songs that are new lullabies to you can have a strong emotional connection right away. The soft and comforting piano in German Cradle Song will take you right back to your mother's arms hearing her sing sweet lines like, "Lulla, lullaby, bids above you gliding high, wish you a peaceful sleep, close your eyes and do not peek, Lullaby." This, like all of the lullabies on the album, are easy to hum along with and rock gently to while your little one falls asleep in your arms. The beat is easily identified in songs like Hush Now, My Baby and helps slow the heartbeat to a calming pace, providing a tempo for steady breathing.  Baloo Baleerie is a fun one to sing to, or with, your little one, as the title is repeated many times throughout the song and is fun and easy to say; it rolls right off the tongue - go ahead and try!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this CD while rocking my one-year-old friend Mosley to sleep one afternoon. He was fast asleep by the time the CD finished, but I felt so relaxed, and he was so comfortable on my lap, that I just enjoyed the calm cuddle time and let the CD run through again! I found myself humming along to the tracks, particularly one of the duets with Tallman and Pleasance, called Waltzing Matilda; the song tells a story with the repeating line of "you'll come a waltzing Matilda with me."

 

--Audra

Lullabies for Sleepy Eyes was produced and recorded in Melbourne Australia. The CD was produced primarily by Richard Pleasance (songwriter, musician, producer) as well as four songs produced by Mark O'Connor, keyboardist extraordinaire.

Susie Tallman & Friends present traditional songs with a twist; music that connects generations - bridging the years between grandparent, parent and child with song. "If parents can enjoy lullabies with their children they will share a very special time together," said Tallman. "Children are educated by the music they are brought up with, and these lullabies will teach them about the bond they share with their parents, and about the warmth of the world their parents will share with them."

Rock Me Baby Records carves out a new path in the market of music for small children," says Tallman. "The albums provide parents with a contemporary way to introduce the beauty and tradition of nursery rhymes and lullabies." All the CDs contain original and interesting arrangements of traditional songs. The lullabies are soothing and calming and the nursery rhymes are fun, exciting and unique, with multiple voices and instruments.

Rock Me Baby Records was founded in 1999 by Susie Tallman and has won the Parents' Choice Gold Award for Lullaby Themes for Sleepy Dreams, the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum & Gold Awards and the Parents' Choice recommended for Classic Nursery Rhymes, the iParenting & Oppenheim Gold Award for Children's Songs, A Collection of Childhood Favorites and the iParenting Award for Classical Baby. Tallman's CDs have also been recommended in Parenting, Baby Talk, Fit Pregnancy, Child and other National Publications.

Singer Susie Tallman graduated UCLA with a BA in voice performance. She further evolved her voice in France, singing with the Choeur International and the American Chorus in Paris. Upon her return to the states, Tallman honed her classical training at the New England Conservatory Workshop in Boston. She has sung backup for such acts as Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love and Cheap Trick, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Rose Bowl, The Los Angeles Forum and Pauley Pavilion as well as in commercials for Taco Bell, The Coca-Cola Reunion Commercial and the movie Beaches. She is a former member of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus.