U GOTTA HEAR THIS RALPH'S WORLD IS IN TUNE WITH CHILDREN, PARENTS.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Staff Writer

Our occasional roundup of all-ages music this time features a best-of from genre superstar Ralph Covert, an inventively packaged Beatles cover set and a calendar disc from Erin Lee & Marci.

Ralph's World / Welcome to Ralph's World (Disney)

If you're just now being welcomed into Ralph's World, it probably means you're a relatively new parent. Along with Dan Zanes and Laurie Berkner, Ralph Covert has been at the forefront of kids' music for the past several years, creating six albums of melodic, imaginative songs impossible to dislodge from your brain or CD changer.

Covert's latest is the rare kids' music best-of collection, providing a decent primer for Ralph's World newbies. It does feature one new song, the OK ``With a Friend (The Pooh Song),'' written to commemorate the silly bear's 80th birthday, not to mention Covert's move to the Disney label.

There's also a DVD with six video clips that have been playing on the Disney Channel, though I'd recommend the Ralph's World 2003 DVD ``Say Hello,'' which is much more charming (despite or because of) its low-budget production values.

Highlight tracks: Everyone will have their own favorites among the included and the missing. (Every dad who's a fan will dispute the exclusion of chest-beating ``Cavemen!'') Certainly no one can dispute the greatness of Ralph's ode to caffeine, ``The Coffee Song'' or the polka-rific ``Peggy's Pie Parlor.'' ``Riding With No Hands'' will melt the heart of any loving parent.

Best for: Anyone not owning at least two Ralph's World discs.

Rating: Three and one half stars

Various Artists / All Together Now: Beatles Stuff For Kids of All Ages (Little Monster)

The Beatles are a band that kids take to almost instantly, which makes a children's cover album almost superfluous. But this nicely packaged disc, which comes housed in a colorful storybook with lyrics and Beatles trivia, will please Fab fans who can't let it be when it comes to Beatles releases.

The album's 11 songs -- performed by the likes of the Bangles, Marshall Crenshaw and Rachel Yamagata -- don't veer too far from the originals. Most of the songs feature a small kids' chorus straight out of the Langley Schools Music Project -- very natural with the pitch warbling all over the map. Their inclusion will delight your own non-Broadway-schooled prodigies.

(Note: ``All Together Now'' is currently available only at Barnes & Noble stores and on its Web site. It will become more widely available next year.)

Highlight tracks: The New York Dolls' Steve Conte ripping into ``And Your Bird Can Sing,'' Yamagata and kid friends' soothing ``Here Comes the Sun.''

Best for: Kids who need more than ``Love'' in their Christmas stockings.

Rating: Three stars

Erin Lee & Marci / Snowdance (Gotta Play)

The second release from New York duo Erin Lee & Marci sports 12 songs -- one for each month of the year -- that look at the seasons from a child's point of view. The women's background in children's theater is evident in the Broadway-style music and storytelling. That Erin Lee & Marci's first gig was performing Tom Waits songs in a West Village club tells you all you need to know about their singing -- emotion is valued over technique.

Highlight tracks: The bluesy ``All Wet'' nails the joy of a summertime splash and is followed by the almost funereal ``September March,'' a song that sends the once-carefree kids back to school.

Best for: Kids who want to eat at the grown-ups table on Thanksgiving, moms who remember giving themselves haircuts.

Rating: Three stars

Glenn Whipp [phone]

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