My son has a crush on an older woman, and her name is Laurie Berkner. Judging by the number of times he’s listened to her new kids CD, Rocketship Run, he has fallen hard.
Fortunately for the rest of us, we can understand his adoration: her voice on Laurie’s first full-length CD in six years is as lush and melodic as ever. Plus, she starts off with a song about rocket ships—a siren song for my little boy’s ears if I’ve ever heard one.
Along with an entertaining treasure hunt that Laurie and her band mates weave in between the songs, we love hearing all the different musical styles on this CD. There is the sweetness of Winter Lullaby, the big choir chorus of Walk Along the River, the Irish-sounding Fast and Slow, and the Ska, Blues, Conga, Jig and Hand Jive versions of Going on a Hunt. Yes, there is a lot going on here, but Laurie’s pitch-perfect voice keeps it all sounding perfectly cohesive. Plus I appreciate her move to eco-friendly packaging since I have enough broken CD jewel cases here already.
To close it all, Laurie sings a lovely acoustic version of Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon which she transforms into the most beautiful lullaby to sing my little astronaut off to sleep. Houston, we have no problems. – Christina
