John Prine on Tour
John Prine has been regarded as one of America's foremost musical storytellers since the 1970s. Although his reputation looms large, when he strolls unassumingly onto a stage, his vibe is more like an amiable next-door neighbor just hopping the fence to commandeer a corner of your porch, ready with an anecdote. So even though Prine classics like "Angel From Montgomery," "Sam Stone" and "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" have been beloved by generations of fans and covered countless times by everybody from Bonnie Raitt to The Lemonheads, Prine delivers them in concert with a disarmingly casual air, as though these masterworks of Americana were no big deal. Of course when they hit you, there's no denying just how big a deal his idiosyncratic but accessible tunes are.
John Prine in Concert
At the start of the 1970s, when the singer/songwriter boom was at its strongest, it was no less esteemed a talent than Kris Kristofferson who spotted the unusual gift of a young Midwestern troubadour named John Prine and helped him land his first record deal. Prine's self-titled 1971 debut LP remains an American classic, combining complex notions with catchy country/folk melodies and a naturalistic but poetic approach to lyric writing. Many of its songs, like "Illegal Smile," "Hello in There," "Sam Stone" and "Angel from Montgomery" became part of the singer/songwriter canon, and were covered for decades. Over the years, Prine sometimes dipped more into rock 'n' roll or veered further into country, but he never lost the core of his genius. In later days, his releases have been more sporadic, but he's never quit bringing his tunes to the people. Even after enduring some serious health issues, he emerged on top and continues touring and recording throughout the 2010s with as much elan as ever.
