La Bella Stella: Celebrate Earth Music Series *GIVEAWAY*

LA BELLA STELLA

For ages 4 - 11.

Label: Big Round Records

SRP: $12.99

Run time: 41 minutes.

FROM EARTH TO THE STARS

THE NEWEST “CELEBRATE EARTH” CD

FROM RECESS MUSIC

From the PR Firm: Recess Music, an award-winning company that strives to awaken kids to the magnificence of our planet through albums of Earth-friendly music, looks forward to the March 27 release of La Bella Stella, the fifth in its “Celebrate Earth” series of CDs (Big Round Records, $12.99, for ages 4 - 11, run time 41 minutes).


Available in time for Earth Day 2012, La Bella Stella goes beyond the Earth to celebrate galaxies, solar systems, and other wonders of our universe with 15 tracks showcasing a variety of contributions by a sampling of today’s most gifted kids’ musicians, including Rocknoceros, Charity and the JAMband, and AudraRox.


The songs on La Bella Stella speak especially to those children ages four and up who have quick, engaging minds and an inveterate curiosity about life. The album is filled with music that will encourage kids to think about the natural setting of their lives, providing a much-needed balance to the “virtual” world with which many of them are occupied.


La Bella Stella opens with Maria Alley’s solid vocal styling on “Nature’s Lullaby.” This is nature appreciation with a great backbeat! The album next offers up some smooth as silk old-time jazz on “I Love the Dark,” where elegant jazz violin and a little whistling “à la Bing” enhance Tom Knight’s 1920s vocalizing. “Shooting Stars” lets Martha Johnson sing a reverie to the night sky over the mesmerizing ostinato of African thumb piano and percussion. “Galaxy Song” reduces the mysteries of the universe to a double time, upbeat lowest common denominator, with Andy Z creating terrific, high energy without high voltage guitar. AudraRox brings a bit of country rock to her dissertation on the pros and cons of “Gravity.” Set in a “cool jazz” minor key, Kenn Lonnquist’s very hip “Nocturnal” celebrates nighttime fauna with close harmony and a driving beat. Wayne from Maine offers a lunar “sha-na-na” ode to the “Man in the Moon,” while Wendy Whitten brings a late ‘70s “West Coast” gentle rock sound to “Earth’s Satellite.” The tremendously creative Rocknoceros entertains with “Pluto,” a funny, upbeat ballad in rhyming couplets about Pluto’s discovery and subsequent demotion. More celestial information is imparted in the hauntingly beautiful counterpoint of Lori & J.D. Uponen’s “Aurora Borealis.” The distinctive qualities of Mary Kaye’s “Shadow” are guaranteed to catch the ear of any kid. “Neptune Lullaby” by Dr. Planet features a sumptuously symphonic string sound, replete with strong choral singing. Banana Slug String Band’s “Safe at Home” includes strings of a more bucolic flavor, along with some great “country” vocal harmony. Laura Giosh’s “Harmony of the Spheres” likewise blends voices, strings, guitars, and percussion over an optimistic bass line. The album closes with the delightfully piquant a cappella harmony of Charity and the JAMband’s “So Long to the Day.”

The Recess Music “Celebrate Earth” series seeks to assist the cause of protecting and preserving our environment by donating a portion of the proceeds from each release to a selected environmental organization. A portion of the proceeds from La Bella Stella will benefit the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, New Hampshire, which is dedicated to educating learners of all ages by actively engaging them in the exploration of astronomy, aviation, Earth and space science.


La Bella Stella is available online at www.recessmusic.com, amazon.com and its international affiliates, iTunes, and brick and mortar retailers throughout the U.S. LA BELLA STELLA will be released at the end of March; It will be available to purchase from  www.recessmusic.com  starting the third week of March.

My take:  Interesting enough, my 3rd grader is studying the Earth and the Moon in school right now.  And with songs like "Earth's Satellite" and "Man in the Moon," La Bella Stella is an excellent reinforcement for lessons learned at school.  And your kids won't just learn something from this album, it's fun to listen to as well.  How can you not help liking a song about gravity with the lyric "Gravity...Keeps holding me down" ("Gravity" by AudraRox)??  My daughter likes "Safe at Home" by Banana Slug String Band because it's all about baby animals.  Some more of our favorites:  Rocknoceros' "Pluto" tells the tale of poor Pluto and brings to mind this picture I saw on Pinterest (LOL!)

"Neptune Lullaby" by Dr. Planet is so soothing, I have to be careful not to listen to it while driving!  Finally though, I have to say the violin on "Harmony of the Spheres" is so achingly beautiful, I think that is my favorite of all the songs.  This is definitely another "children's" music albums that I have put in my own music rotation.  Recess Music has done it again with an excellent collection of educational, yet fun music.

The giveaway:  WIN IT!  One lucky winner will win his/her very own copy of the La Bella Stella before you can buy it!

To win:  Leave me a comment telling me the name of another Recess Music CD. Be sure to leave your email address with your comment if you are not a blogger or your email is not easily found on your blog. This giveaway is open until 11:59 p.m., EST, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. Good Luck!


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This review was sponsored by Waldmania! PR who provided the CDs for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary CD.