All you need is a CD burner...

Presumably if you're considering buying this it's because you want your children to love the Fab Four. This disc is probably NOT the best introduction to them.



The biggest fault is the song selection. Some of them are outright questionable for young kids. (do you want your kids singing about cross-dressers? Check the lyric to "Ob-La-Di,Ob-La-Da" in the final verses..) Others just aren't that kid friendly (Which do you think a 4-7 year old will "get" more...the 'let's end the arguments' theme of "We Can Work it Out" or the granola hippie musings in "Mother Nature's Son"?) If you just want to maintain the John to Paul ratio, "Nowhere Man" would be more in keeping with a child's tendency to imagination and fantasy.



The other problem is the versions are only occasionally good. Eric Bibb's take on "Here Comes the Sun", "Ob-La-di, Ob-la-Da" (despite the lyrical objection), "All Together Now" and "Mother Nature's Son" probably sound the BEST here...although that's not saying any of them are fantastic versions. "Birthday" is NOT 'amazingly soulful' as the Amazon reviewer states...it's wretched. When I'm 64 is also exceptionally painful to hear.



BOTTOM LINE: If you MUST get a re-recorded CD of Beatles tunes for the kids, don't get this one. If you're merely looking for age-appropriate songs that they'd like, I'd suggest THIS lineup of tunes burned onto CD-R from the Beatles CDs in your own library:



With a Little Help from My Friends (it is NOT about drugs despite what a reviewer says below)

When I'm 64

Birthday

Hello Goodbye

Yellow Submarine

Octopus' Garden

All Together Now

Twist and Shout

We Can Work it Out

Nowhere Man

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (also NOT about drugs..it's based on John's son's drawing for crying out loud...how could it NOT be kid friendly? :)

Hey Jude

Good Night (from the White Album..it's always sounded like a Disney song anyway!)

I'm Only Sleeping (from Revolver..this one probably IS about drugs, but it's so veiled a little kid won't pick up on it...they'll just take it at face value as a 'let me sleep in' song)

All you Need is Love

Your Mother Should Know (from Magical Mystery Tour)



These should make a nice selection and get your kid started on appreciation of the Fabs.

it's not that bad...really

we borrowed this from the library and while some of it is a little thin, it's really quite cute. my oldest finds it enjoyable (he's a 6yr old beatle fan ;-) and that's really all that matters. personally, as i said, i find it a little thin (as most kid sung recordings are due to vocal strength, not poor singing ability). i think the best songs are 'dear prudence'-kid sung and 'octopus's garden'-raffi sung...but overall i give them an A for effort.

Two cents

I am a fifteen-year-old girl with my mother's taste in music. I have not listened to this CD (I'm giving it two stars just to be fair) but since I've read several negative comments about it I'd like to reccommend that you find a copy of cassette the tape "All You Need is Kids". I haven't listened to it in quite a while but I remember there was some sort of story in which four kids are magically transformed into the Beatles, and they go on adventures that logically follow the order of the songs. Plenty of sound effects and everything. It was quite charming -- I believe they sang "Octopus's Garden" with an octopus. In any event, I was raised on a combinaion of that tape and the actual Beatles records. I've always enjoyed the music of my parents' generation, to the point that I really don't know what's going on in my own musical scene. But, it may take a while to get your children to venture out and explore this kind of music for themselves -- my friends and I have only recently taken active, independent interest in it. Still -- kudos to all parents who want to instill a love for the Fab Four into their young'uns; if you can't get "All You Need Is Kids" then just go for the real thing.