The concept:
Songwriter and producer John McLaughlin has worked with acts like Westlife and Boyzone, but when it came to having children he found he had a new challenge on his hands.
Instinctively a songwriter, he couldn't help but re-jig classic lullabies and make up new ones to help ease his daughter Cara and son Cody off to sleep, and soon his friends were asking him if he'd record the songs for their children too.
When McLaughlin came to record a selection for 'Sleep Easy Baby' he felt the time was right to update some of the old classics. As he puts it, some of the lyrics are pretty 'dark', so, for example, rather than letting a baby's cradle fall, he has changed the words to add a parent's reassurance that he'll be there to catch it.
In action:
Although this album has been recorded by someone who is steeped in the pop business, it's a very gentle collection of nursery rhymes and lullabies which have been softly recorded rather than pumped up with contemporary beats!
McLaughlin's voice is soft, but without the cheesiness you often get with children's music CDs, or the shrill tones of a female singer. Indeed, having a reassuring male voice makes it a great collection in a market dominated by recordings of children's or female voices.
