Born to Play (by The Backyardigans, Children's Music)

The Backyardigans is the a hugely successful Nickelodeon TV series featuring five characters (like Pablo the penguin and Tasha the hippo) who share a collective backyard that magically transports them to all sorts of fantastic realms -- like tropical rain forests and pirate ships. The third CD includes 22 songs from the show (including five from the one-hour movie, Tale of the Mighty Knights, which premiered on January 14th).

This CD is no amateur effort. Evan Lurie, who writes most of the music for the series, honed his musical chops as an original member of the jazz group The Lounge Lizards. But, the album sounds a little studio-slick, and the lyrics are sometimes hard to pick out over the densely layered sounds. But, it's fun and fast-paced and every song celebrates a different musical style. One Celtic-flavored tune sounds a bit like preschoolers covering The Pogues. Plus, there's a wry adult sensibility woven in to some of the songs, like Cyndi Lauper's torchy "I'm the Lady in Pink."

Released on: January 22, 2008
Label: Columbia
Genre: Children's Music