Raymond Scott - Soothing Sounds for Baby, volumes 1-3 (1963, Epic)

If you can't tell by the title of these albums, they were in fact meant to be played for babies as an "aural toy" during the "feeding, teething, play, sleep and fretful periods" that children endure over the course of their first 18 months.

Listening with the hindsight of the 46 years that have passed since their release, it becomes quickly evident that this set cannot be filed away under 'novelty' or 'children's albums.' The term 'ahead of it's time' is often abused, especially in music discussions, and many artists that have had this term applied to them were most certainly influenced, whether directly or indirectly, by Raymond Scott's work as a musician, band leader and DIY engineer. Instead of rambling on incessantly about Scott's accomplishments, I'll simply direct you to his official website, which is very thorough. Don't miss the article written by long time colleague Bob Moog if you are into the whole electronic music thing.

My daughter, for the most part, has been indifferent to these recordings, but some of you out there may have young children that will enjoy these albums as they were originally intended, though, after reading many of the posts in the comments sections lately, I seriously doubt that most of your dicks have been out of your hands long enough to reproduce...