Garfunkel’s Songs Express Joys of Parenthood

Audio

Songs From a Parent to a Child. Art Garfunkel. Sony Wonder. CD: $13.98; cassette: $9.98. Children will respond, too, but this tender valentine from Art Garfunkel to his 6-year-old son, James, will especially resonate with any adult for whom parenthood has brought the joy of discovery and untold love.

The sleekly produced songs, featuring Garfunkel’s time-deepened, mellow vocals, are ordered to suggest a child’s day, from Cat Steven’s “Morning Has Broken” to “Lasso the Moon” (“If I had a lariat, made of dreams come true, I would lasso the moon for you . . . “) by Billy Simon and Lowell Alexander. “The Lord’s Prayer” and “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” caressingly wrap things up.

A few other selections: James Taylor’s “The Secret o’ Life,” Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Dreamland,” John Sebastian’s “Daydream” and a lovely duet with Garfunkel and his wife, Kim Cermak Garfunkel, in the traditional “Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet.”

A performance by James, whose piping soprano takes the spirited lead to his dad’s backup in the Elvis Presley hit, “Good Luck Charm,” is unexpectedly touching.

Instrumentals and background vocals are supplied by top artists; among them are Billy Preston, Merry Clayton, John Sebastian, Steve Gadd, Jimmy Webb and Eric Weissberg.

Video

Beyond Jurassic. Brentwood Home Video. 55 minutes. $9.99. (800) 522-5223. If your family can’t get enough of those chomping ‘saurs, don’t miss this bargain-priced quality video. Originally airing as a PBS special, this fascinating documentary breathes life into the monstrous Tyrannosaurus rex and the unimaginably enormous (but plant-eating) Mamenchisaurus through dramatic narrative, globe-spanning investigations of footprints, teeth, bones and other fossils, plus scientific, medical and engineering experiments and amazing computer animation.

The Land Before Time Sing Along Songs. Universal Home Video. 30 minutes. $12.98. Widely available. This charming musical release is the latest in the popular home video franchise, a series of direct-to-video cartoon features spring-ing from the “The Land Before Time” big screen release in 1988.

Here, the cuddly dinos--Littlefoot and his pals--are seen in feature excerpts, redesigned music video-style, featuring songs from past releases and new songs with lyrics for viewers to follow. Musical segments are interwoven with child-narrated facts about real dinosaurs, using animation, graphs and models.

The info-bits are fun and the ‘toon’s tunes are a cut above, written by noted pros such as Leslie Bricusse (“Grandma’s Lullaby,” “It Takes All Sorts”), the Roches (“You Are One of Us Now”) and Amanda McBroom and Michelle Brourman (“Kids Like Us”).