Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Christina Perri, Atlantic Records 2019.
Christina Perri gained international recognition in 2011 with the release of her debut album, Lovestrong, which went 5X Platinum.
The album entered the Billboard Top 200 at number 5 which was replicated when released in Australia.
She followed this success with a world-wide hit single, A Thousand Years, which charted in the top 10 across the globe and her second album, Human, released in 2014 cemented her reputation as one of the biggest female pop stars in the world.
And then she went silent for a few years. The release of this album explains why.
Perri’s first release in almost four years is an album of lullabies and sing-a-longs dedicated to her daughter Carmella to celebrate her first birthday.
Many women experience the disruption to their career children bring but few have the luxury of turning that important family time to their financial advantage. Most find that it costs them dearly.
Still, good luck to those who can. I can imagine that many new mums will really enjoy this album.
The album is organised into two sections.
The first contains 10 lullabies that are wonderfully presented with Christina’s beautiful voice to the fore and sufficient backing to support the song.
The second section provides sing-a-longs where there is musical accompaniment for the same songs but no vocal.
I love the idea that you, the parent, do the singing.
The lyrics are helpfully provided so think of it as karaoke lullabies.
Christina selects from a wide range of songs including some traditional lullabies such as Stay Awake through to well-known pop songs including You Are My Sunshine, Dream a Little Dream of Me, and ‘Til There Was You.
The album’s arrival was heralded by the release of a new original song, You Mean The Whole Wide World To Me, which is available for streaming and download.
The companion video features home footage of Christina with her daughter and husband, which is a nice touch.
As a young dad I sang Beatles songs to my kids and my daughter followed suit with her son.
This is a delightful album and anything that encourages parents to sing to their children should be grabbed with enthusiasm, even if you think you can’t sing.
