Martha Stewart Baby: Sleepytime
Equating Martha Stewart with hip is enough to give any parent pause. Are "good things" on the order of ribbon-festooned lampshades what cool has come to? Yes and no.Sleepytimemay not crash through the cool barrier entirely--its liner notes leap right over the music, choosing, instead to instruct how to frame hand-knit booties--but it comes admirably close. Sending preciousness scampering to the opposite side of the street on this 14-track disc are the artists:Keb' Mo',Lucinda Williams,Billy Bragg, andAlison Kraussrepresent, in more hushed tones than usual, what makes modern music worth listening to. TheBarenaked Ladiesloosen the tongues from their cheeks for "Close to You,"Linda Ronstadtworks out the bedtime kinks on a cover of Lennon and McCartney's "Goodnight," andBobby McFerrinlulls listeners along unintelligibly on "Common Threads." Songs byTuck and Patti,Jenny Bruce, andNickel Creekswoop in softly, grab us by the mushy parental core, and encircle us with an intoxicating calm. WithSleepytimeMartha Stewart proves, in a typically tasteful package streaked with uncharacteristic cool, that she hasn't lost the scent of success.--Tammy La Gorce