Review and Giveaway - Cradle Rock

I received three albums to review - I Crawled the Line (Johnny Cash), Thrillaby (Michael Jackson) and No Shoes, No Diaper, Might Be a Problem (Kenny Chesney) from Cradle Rock to review.  I am also able to offer one of the CD's I reviewed as a giveaway for one of my readers from Canada or the US...


Product Description 

“Cradle Rock” (http://www.cradlerockstore.com), a series of children’s lullaby albums produced and created by Brash Music and Tree Top Records, hit stores and digital distribution channels October 25th. Cradle Rock uses vibraphones, glockenspiels and mellotrons to turn iconic songs and albums by top artists such as Kenny Chesney and Johnny Cash into naptime-friendly listening material. With Cradle Rock, parents can introduce their children to some of the greatest albums ever recorded including the first ever urban album turned into lullabies, Michael Jackson’s Thriller (released 29 years ago November 30^th).        

“Parents will appreciate that Cradle Rock keeps melodic structure and tempos in tact,” says Steve Jones, CEO of Brash Music. “Moms and dads write us saying they can sing right along to Cradle Rock while rocking baby to sleep.” Cradle Rock albums in development include U2’s “The Joshua Sleep Tree,” Black Eyed Peas’ “Sleep-pea Hits” as well as lullaby albums inspired by Nickelback, Carrie Underwood and The Eagles.

My review:

I have to say that as a huge fan of Johnny Cash, I Crawled the Line was the first one I opened and listened to, and while I was pleasantly surprised at how accurately the music was replicated (it's all instrumental) and it was beautifully arranged, I had a hard time replacing Johnny Cash's distinctive bass voice with a xylophone type sound which was what seemed to be holding the lyric line, so it wasn't the biggest hit with me, or with my mother-in-law.   But, with my month old son, the reaction was completely different - he wasn't as interested in the original Man in Black, but seemed to be more attentive to the lullaby version.  My four year old son, the family music critic, was also intrigued by the lullaby version... so what do I know...

The second version that I received was Thrillaby, which hands down, I have to say was my favorite.  I like Michael Jackson's music and as a child of the '80's, the Thriller video is firmly etched in my brain, but the Cradle Rock version of Thriller is haunting and beautiful and you really don't miss the lyrics.  The way that Cradle Rock softens down some of the hard edges of Billie Jean and makes it into a lullaby is also wonderful!

The third version was a new one for me - I'm not often exposed to Country music, unless it's a cross-over hit, so I was intrigued to listen to No Shoes, No Diaper, Might Be a Problem.  My four year old liked the rhythm of this one, and it was a different experience for me because I didn't know the lyrics of these songs or what to expect, so I could listen to this strictly for the music, which was very nice.  I can't say that it's my absolute favorite of the bunch, but I do put it on for background music when I'm playing with the kids and they both like it.

You can listen to and purchase the albums at www.cradlerockstore.com

About Cradle Rock:

Cradle Rock is distributed by The Warner Music Group and available on digital distribution services like iTunes ($9.99) and at music retail outlets across the United States ($11.98). For more information about Cradle Rock, visit http://www.cradlerockstore.com, e-mail info@treetoprecords.com or call 678-904-4790. Find Tree Top Records on Facebook and follow on Twitter: @TreeTopRecords.

The Giveaway

Cradle Rock will award one CD to a lucky Acting Balanced Reader in either the US or Canada and you can choose from any of the three CD's I reviewed: I Crawled the Line (Johnny Cash), Thrillaby (Michael Jackson) and No Shoes, No Diaper, Might Be a Problem (Kenny Chesney)

The rules:
This giveaway will run until December 16th at 11:59 PM and is open to residents of Canada and the US only.
The winner will be chosen by random.org from all comments and verified before the prize is announced.
Winners have 48 hours to accept their prize by responding to the announcement on the blog or by email.
Separate comments must be made for each entry to count.  Mandatory entry must be completed for subsequent comments to be valid.

Mandatory Entry:

Tell me which Cradle Rock CD you want to win.

Bonus entries:

+ 1 Bonus entry like Cradle Rock/Treetop Records on Facebook (leave Facebook name)

+ 1 Bonus entry Follow Cradle Rock/Treetop Records on Twitter (leave twitter name)

+ 1 Bonus entry Follow Acting Balanced/Chascouponmom on Twitter (leave twitter name)

+ 1 Bonus entry Follow Acting Balanced on Google Friend Connect

+ 1 Bonus entry Like Acting Balanced on Facebook 

+ 1 Bonus entry Subscribe to Acting Balanced by email (must be completed)

+1 Bonus for a daily tweet:

" I want to #WIN Cradle Rock from Acting Balanced and @treetoprecords http://tinyurl.com/abcradle #giveaway ends 12/16 "

Disclaimer:  I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review and giveaway Disclosure. Sponsored by Tomoson.com