PRIVATE LIVES / KIDS BEAT : Raffi Is Back and Relaxed

After his unsuccessful venture to cross over into the adult music market a few years back, Raffi, the children’s music superstar of the late 1970s and ‘80s, who was dubbed both “the Bruce Springsteen” and the “Elvis” of the preschool set, has recorded a new album, his first new children’s music studio recording in seven years.

But “Bananaphone,” an MCA Records release due Tuesday, isn’t a return to the mellow-voiced Canadian’s “Baby Beluga” days of crooning to the diaper brigade.

Eclectic, uneven, at times delightful, this is for those old enough to enjoy the wordplay in such comic kid-pleasers as the title track (“Operator, get me Beijing jing jing”) and “Slow Day” (“It’s a day dreamin’ day o’ dreamin’ / Turtles out walkin’ all ‘round town / Slugs slidin’ / No bunnies hoppin’. “)

Raffi’s public concerns for global harmony and ecological preservation are represented in paeans to natural farming and the Earth’s “First People,” with only a hint of the humorless crusader heard on the edgy 1990 release “Evergreen, Everblue.”

The album’s relaxed touch, sophisticated instrumentation and fine-tuned lyrics make it adult-friendly too. So do the surprises: Who would have expected to find “The Schmenge Polka” on a Raffi album? It’s the singer’s instrumental tribute to a fellow Canadian, the late John Candy.

* MCA Records. Vinyl: $10.98. Cassette: $9.98. CD: $15.98.