2008年 08月 27日 水曜日 00:40

I'm regularly surprised by how many music fans are not familiar with John Prine. He is probably the king of singer-songwriters blending humor and melancholy. If you are a fan of people like Todd Snider, Fred Eaglesmith, or Hayes Carll, it's pretty much a requirement that you know Prine. Otherwise it would be like being a fan of Oasis or The Redwalls and not knowing The Beatles, a fan of The Whigs or The Deadstring Brothers and not knowing The Rolling Stones, or a fan of Grand Champeen or The Goo Goo Dolls and not knowing The Replacements. His fellow musicians have realized his greatness and he's been widely covered. Next to many of the songs I've indicated some of the people who have released a cover of the song so you can see what an extensive list it is.

To assist anyone who is lacking Prine in their life, I've put together a mix. But with his vast catalog, there are still so many great songs, which you should hear, that are not included. If you choose to buy just one Prine album – that isn't a compilation album – the only real choice is his self-titled one. John Prine is among the finest debut albums by anyone, maybe even the finest.

If you want to know more about John, one of the best fan sites out there (for any artist) is the John Prine Shrine

You can download my mix here
01. Ain't Hurtin' Nobody
02. Angel From Montgomery (possibly Prine's most famous song, due to it being covered by Bonnie Raitt; though it’s since been covered by others)
03. Maureen, Maureen
04. Please Don’t Bury Me
05. Daddy's Little Pumpkin [from The Missing Years; cowritten with Pat McLaughlin] (covered by Josh Ritter)
06. Speed of the Sound of Loneliness (most famously covered by Nanci Griffith)
07. Sam Stone (covered by Evan Dando and Al Kooper, among others)
08. Souvenirs [from Diamonds in the Rough; cowritten with Steve Goodman] (covered by Paul Westerberg and Bettye Lavette)
09. Christmas In Prison (covered by Petty Booka, who also did a more expected cover of Prine's Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian)
10. In Spite of Ourselves (a duet with Iris DeMent; covered by Geoff Berner)
11. Fish & Whistle (covered by Joe Brown, among others)
12. Common Sense
13. Crooked Piece of Time (covered by Todd Snider)
14. Unwed Fathers (with Rachel Peer-Prine) [from Aimless Love; cowritten with Bobby Braddock] (possibly my favorite Prine cover is this song by Tim & Mollie O'Brien, though others covering it include Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette)
15. Paradise (covered by Johnny Cash on one of his last albums; also covered by John Denver, Everly Brothers, Dwight Yoakam, and many others)
16. All The Best