I got this for my daughter for her 2nd birthday. Since she is a Barney follower, it was a must-have because there are some original songs on here that haven't been overplayed on the videos or other tapes.

What It's About
You will hear Barney, Baby Bop, BJ, and a group of kids sing all of the songs listed below. If you have ever seen the videos, the songs are exactly the same. The instruments have the kid-beat and the use of a lot of woodwinds and percussions. The background is mostly beats and sound effects with a perky/happy mood. There a lot of songs that tell a story or have some understandable meaning. Some songs are fast beat and some songs are slower (like Once Upon a Time).

I'd say the beat and speed isn't going to get your child all hyper and jumping around (thank goodness!) but it's not slow enough to put them to sleep either. The music is appropriate for background music so they can play while it's on. You may find this tape useful for the car to calm a screaming kid while you're driving.

This does have some educational value, Barney wouldn't have it any other way. There are counting songs (5 Little Butterflies), songs that teach (Indoor-Outdoor Voices), Stimulate imagination (The Land of Makebelieve), Introduce to different styles of music (BJ's Wild West, Marching songs), The good-ol-Songs (This Old Man, Itsy Bitsy Spider), and the all-time favorite "I Love You" song. There are tons of songs on this tape so they'll need to hear it over-and-over to learn them all (lucky you).

Age
My girl just turned 2 and she can associate with the songs but can't sing them because they're too fast and words are too big (with exception of the "I Love You" song).

Physical Aspects
The insert has the words to all of the songs on colorful backgrounds. Yep 16 pages full of words. I am guessing, hoping, praying that by the time she's old enough to read she won't want to play, watch, or listen to Barney! I guess this is for the parents so they can look "cool" when they sing the words.

I have the cassette version but they also sell it on CD. This is all the songs from the yester-years. This was released in 1997 and distributed by Lyric Studios. The tape/CD sells for $8-$12.

The cassette itself is purple which is good because I know which one is hers and bad because she knows it's the barney tape!!!

Songs
*****
SIDE 1 - 22 minute
Let's Play Together
Marching Song
Rig-a-Jig-Jig
The Land of Make
Believe
BJ's Wild West
Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Ay
Games
Run and
Jump Medley
Laugh With Me!
Boom Boom, Ain't It Great to be Crazy?
What Can We Play On a Rainy Day?
Indoor-Outdoor Voices
*****
SIDE 2 - 21 minutes
Once Upon a Time
Sing a Song of People
If I Had One Wish
Baby Bop's Favorites
This Old Man
Let's Go On an Adventure
Crocodile Song
Our Animal Friends
Silly Sounds
The Bear Went Over the Mountain
Five Little Butterflies
The More We Play Together
I Love You
*****

The voice of barney performed by Bob West
Voice of BJ performed by Patty Wirtz
Voice of Baby Bop performed by Julie Johnson


(I've had to suffer through the mickey and sesame street tapes last kid and I must say that Barney cassettes don't jump up and down on my nerves as much as the others did)



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Cleaning the House