Customer Reviews

A Little Music On The Prairie

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This CD is a perfect complement to the Little House book(s), bringing to life many of the songs written out in the famous series. It embodies the spirit of these fascinating pioneers, who turned to music as a welcome respite after a long day. As the CD begins, one can easily imagine the comforting sounds of Pa playing by the fire while the prarie winds howl!

Mary DesRosiers sings with traditional musicians (fiddle, guitar), bringing new life to these old songs with a clear, melodic style. Children love "Camptown Races," and Mary does a beautiful version of the traditional "Barbara Allen."

A copy of the Little House book and this CD would make a great gift for young people discovering the books, or older people REdiscovering the books! It's a great family CD, that *everyone* can enjoy (not just the kids.)

I attended a workshop given by Mary DesRosiers, back when she first released this album. I was very disappointed to find that she had only a nodding acquaintance with the Little House stories, evidenced by comments she made throughout the workshop. Sure, the incorrect references were mostly detail oriented--but, if you are a diehard fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, it's the details that really count!

When it came to the music, I was disappointed further to find that DesRosiers used different songs than the ones Laura had included in her books. For example, Laura had included all of the lyrics to 'Roll the Old Chariot Along' in "The Long Winter." Instead of using the lyrics provided, however, DesRosiers decided to substitute a British sailors' drinking song, claiming that Laura's father was really something of a lush. By the same token, her story behind "Billy Boy" is that Laura's Ma had sung the song to Pa, when he came home from running around town, and she hadn't known where he was. No incident like that is found anywhere in the entire Little House series!

If you are just looking for some examples of pioneer songs, this album will fit the bill nicely. If you are truly wanting to know the music Laura knew, as she knew it, keep looking...