CD Review: Lullabies: For China’s Daughters & Their Adoptive Families, by Chuck & Lynette Giacinto (Final Quest)
This isn’t an album I would have sought out and bought for myself, but it’s one I’m quite glad I now own. Let me try to explain that. This is a collection of quite pretty songs inspired by and dedicated to children adopted from China. Some of it is done very much in the Amy Grant/Christian Contemporary mold. I’m not a big fan of slick production and those new-Broadway/Little Mermaid-style pretty melodies – as far as lullabies go, the Guild of Scientific Troubadours or, heck, even Bob Lind (stop in and say hi!) are more my speed. But Lynette Giacinto has a beautiful voice. This is undeniable.
And so does Mu Mu Shi, who performs the Chinese vocals on one of two (two!) traditional Chinese songs on this 9-song EP. These are both songs I now want to learn.
And Chuck Giacinto plays ukulele. I love the ukulele. It’s on a charming song called “Polly & Me” about a panda with a black and white face and dude! Ukulele! OK, the song does have a line where it rhymes “forever family” with “Polly & me,” but I’m totally forgiving that, because it’s simply recorded right: voice, ukulele, and the sound of kids laughing. Those are the only instruments a REAL producer needs.
There’s also a sweet cover of “You Are So Beautiful,” which is mostly notable (for me, at least) for the Appalachian violin part that works surprisingly well with the song.
I’m not sure if these would work exactly as lullabies, per se – “Polly & Me” is an engaging, silly song, not a lie-down-and-go-to-bed song, and some of the more Amy Grant-ish stuff is a little too dynamic for welcoming the Sandman, I think, at least with the savage offspring of this house. But it seems like at least a couple of the tracks could make a fine soundtrack for our daily lives.
It’s available on the adoptionshop page (currently offering a $5 gift certificate if you write a review), or you can read more about the album and musicians at Final Quest’s Adoptive Music website – and there are audio samples from the album on there if you want to try before you buy.
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