Cradle Rock review: Johnny Cash, Michael Jackson, Kenny Chesney

I will start with the Johnny Cash CD. I thought that the packaging for all of these CDs were deceptive. “Lullaby versions of songs recorded by Johnny Cash” made it seem to me that Johnny Cash recorded lullaby versions of his own songs. “I Crawl the Line” is the title along the bottom, okay, I thought maybe this was a comic relief type of thing. Even if it was a tribute style by someone else, at least it would be funny. The illustrations are also not clear as to what to expect- the characters look like they are supposed to be the singers that the CDs are based on. I wish somewhere there was the word “instrumental” to describe them, the only hint is the xylophone image on the back. As soon as you open the shrink wrap and open the case you see “arranged, performed, produced, mixed and mastered by Stephen Gause”. HEY WAIT! I thought this was by Johnny Cash! Well, I already opened up so let’s see how it goes.

When I hear the word lullaby, I imagine the song that goes “Hush little baby don’t say a word, daddy’s gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird don’t sing, daddy’s gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring don’t shine...” so on and so forth. I imagine soft music accompanied by soft voices singing relaxing words. I might also envision a mother rocking a child in their glider and singing until they fall into a slumber. I do not think of what I got when I played these three CDs. These CDs were comprised of instrumental variations of popular songs by these three artists. Do you really think that “I walk the line” or “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash can be turned into lullabies? I had a hard time.

I love country music. I did not love the two country CDs that were a part of this package. I found that the songs did not work well as lullabies. I was not tired or relaxed, but I was headache-y, which made me want to go to sleep.  I listened to the entire “No shoes, No diaper, Might be a problem” cd and was only able to determine what song was playing a handful of times. On the Johnny Cash “I crawl the line” CD it was even more difficult to find songs that were soothing or distinguishable.

I also love Michael Jackson. Although the music was more easy to distinguish on “Thrillaby” than the others it was still a quite fast tempo and not exactly lullaby music. I enjoyed this, of the three, the most. Parts of this cd reminded me of some types of jazz, something that my father would listen to as I was growing up, so it was soothing to me, but probably not many others.

As a whole, I would not recommend this set unless you have an avid fan of one of these three artists in mind who might forgive the discrepancies on the case and thoroughly enjoy using this music to put their child to sleep, even though it might not work for us.

[Product review & giveaway disclosure: 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."]