abaya

Hi folks,

I heard John Prine on NPR the other day and bought one of his compilations for my bf (who loves Dylan, among many others!). I was curious, though, about how many people know about him... I had never heard of him before, but apparently he's been around for 30+ years? Was he more popular in the old days, or has he gained popularity in recent years?

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vanblah

I've been listening to John Prine since I was a little kid (I'm 36 now). My dad used to play his records quite a bit.

His popularity rises and falls. I think he's on a rise again ... I've heard him on several juke boxes around town.

abaya

What are his best albums? I got my bf a compilation of his old songs, that he sang with his new voice (after cancer) in 2000... but am wondering what you guys think is good. I was looking for Long Monday but couldn't find it (that's what I heard on NPR).

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Craven Morehead

He's great. Many of his songs have been covered by other artists and have become hits for them. Used to be a mailman in Maywood IL - a long long time ago.

warrrreagl

Everytime I performed, I always had several John Prine songs handy. "Angel from Montgomery" is a good one (a bit more serious than the rest), and you have to know "Dear Abby," "Grandpa was a Carpenter," and "Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard."

Start with his earliest Greatest Hits, which is called "Prime Prine."


EDIT: How could I forget "The Sins of Memphisto"

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KWSN

In Spite Of Ourselves, an album of Duets, is great.

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Fly

damn straight it is.....i really like most of his stuff.......great music.



....and how the hell you been K-dub?.........been awhile eh?

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The5thCandidate

I only started listening to him a year or so ago, but I must I enjoy him very much.I've only ever heard Prime Prine and one of his albums, the name of which I can unfortunately not recall, but I love nearly every song. I'm particularily fond of Sam Stone and Please Don't Bury Me.

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TheWalkinDude

I remember hearing Sam Stone when I was an early-Dylan-obsessed little kid. I still play his records regularly. The guy's fantastic.

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Untitled

Awwwwwww..... John Prine makes me think of my Dad. Everytime he pulls out this old cassette he made off the vinyl album, I groan. It's sooo yellow and gross, that I'm sure I'm going to hate it. And then on comes John Prine and all is well.

I can't think of the names off the top of my head, but I do love all the ones warrrreagl mentioned

Catmandu

I had the album "Common Sense" back in my vinyl days (purchased in '76). Very enjoyable. Loved the song "Saddles In The Rain". I had a folk/jazz period in my life that lasted about 4 years. Saw a few live shows: Prine, John Goodman, Ed & Fred Holstein, Josh White Jr., Jean-Luc Ponty, David Sanborn, Bob Gibson, etc. I haven't listened to any of that stuff in years.

Grasshopper Green

I grew up on John Prine. My dad was a huge fan and I always thought he was pretty good. Whenever I hear that peaches song by the Presidents of the United States of American, I wonder how many people realize that it's a ripoff of a John Prine song.

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guthmund

"Angel from Montgomery" is one of my absolute favorites to listen to and to play, for that matter. Even when it's being covered, it's pretty good. Bonnie Raitt did a spectacular job on it on Austin City Limits years ago and Dave Matthews doesn't do too bad a job either.

I'm not a big fan, but I like his stuff. I gave my uncle (a big John Prine fan)
"Great Days : The John Prine Anthology" a couple of birthdays ago. Live versions of "Angel from Montgomery," "Dear Abby" and "Yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you." Anyway, he enjoyed it.

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