A comparison of the track list for the first volume of CMH Records' four-CD series
Hushabye Baby: Lullaby Renditions of Country Music Favorites with the second showed that the selections were moving gradually back in time from the middle of the first decade of the 21st century to the early '90s. That reverse chronology continues with the third volume, containing songs dating back as far as 1986 (
the Judds' "Grandpa [Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days]"). That might be before the births of some young country-loving parents in 2008, but these are songs that frequently recur on country radio, so the melodies should be familiar. They are played by a sextet of pickers who have dubbed themselves "the Halfpints" and who mix traditional country instruments like Dobro and fiddle with sparkly keyboard and percussion sounds from celeste, glockenspiel, marimba, and toy piano. The result sounds like a very laid-back bluegrass group accompanying a music box. It should accomplish the tasks of acclimatizing young listeners to country evergreens and soothing them to prepare for bed. ~ William Ruhlmann