A Prairie Home Companion Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

A Prairie Home Companion Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Loved the movie and the CD is just as enjoyable. Makes me dance,sing along, at times sit in a rocking chair on the front porch and just dream . . . music reminds me of my younger, more relaxing days. My husband and I laugh at Bad Jokes every time we hear it. In fact, I'm going to put the music on right now to start my day just right.
March 22, 2007

Next best thing to the movie

Since VHS of the movie is not available, I had to settle for the CD.
Not hard to settle for! January 21, 2007

Wonderful music

Thoroughly enjoyed the DVD but enjoyed the CD even more. Have played most tracks over and over again. Anyone who has watched and enjoyed PHC should enjoy this CD January 11, 2007

Endearing Artifact

I loved the movie, and part of its charm is that it doesn't try to epitomize the institution it portrays by presenting perfect, canned performances. In the dialog and the music, both, you get the spontaneity and rough edges of live broadcast. For a soundtrack recording, that both works for and against it.

It was certainly nice to have the music in full ... During the movie itself much of it is only heard in the background, in snippets, or in passage.

Not every performance is treasurable -- "Red River Valley" is pretty pedestrian, and Jearlyn Steele's solo ("The Day is Short") didn't grab me either. Keillor's solo, "Slow Days of Summer," is a little homespun for even my tolerant tastes.

"Goodbye to My Mama" is one of the highlights of the disc and the movie -- a paean to motherhood touchingly sung by Meryl Streep, with Lily Tomlin offering scratchy harmonies. It starts as a lullaby, ends as a hymn. But their other duet, "My Minnesota Home," while performed with style (Tomlin's voice works better here), is an odd conceit -- Keillor has reworked the lyrics of Foster's "Old Folks at Home" a/k/a "Way Down Upon the Suwannee River," hijacking them north. Given his occasional sly jab at the South, this struck me as a little graceless.

It's wonderful fun to have the novelty numbers: 3 nifty commercials, and the zesty cowboy duos featuring the talents of Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly. Lohan's number is a novelty, too, but it only makes sense in the context of the entire film; here it's a throwaway.

Apart from Streep's songs, the other standout vocal performance is the rousing "Old Plank Road" from Robin and Linda Williams! The eight instrumentals, all heard in the film, bridge the hodgepodge of vocal numbers with consistent excellence. These are études in jazz, blues, dixie, bluegrass, and ragtime. The band, through its crack musicianship and spirit of fun, comes across as a vivid character in the film. They are spot-on in capturing, or adjusting, the mood of the moment.

All in all, this is a CD worth enjoying apart from the film. I actually bought it first, and it was good enough to whet my appetite for seeing the movie itself. October 9, 2006

Music and Humor - A Winning Combo!

What a treat to hear the memorable music, zany commercials, and smile-producing jokes! If you enjoyed the movie, your pleasure is going to double as you hear those familiar voices whenever you choose to listen! August 26, 2006

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