After listening to even one of his albums, it’s easy to come to the conclusion
that John Prine is the very definition of a guy you’d like to go have a beer
with. Were it not for the sunglasses he sports on the back cover of his latest
album, Fair & Square, you could surely see it in his eyes…but, failing
that, he gladly provides a shit-eating grin to confirm your suspicions.
Less a singer than a narrator, Prine has spoken his way throughout his career,
dating back to his self-titled debut, released on Atco back in the early days of
the ‘70s. A few years ago, however, he had a bit of a scare.
As he told the magazine Paste recently, “I went through throat-cancer surgery
in 1998. It was a big deal. It was life threatening. I took a 14- or 15- month
break from the music business and had radiation on my throat and vocal chords.”
As a result, Prine found that he had to drop the key of some of his old songs in
order to continue performing them; by doing so, however, “they came out as
something different than they’d been, almost something new. It’s weird, but I
find that I’m enjoying them all over again. They’re like old friends who have
changed, but who are still old friends.”
With Fair & Square, his 17th album, Prine has produced twelve new friends
– fourteen, if you count the two so-called “bonus tracks” – many of whom stand
up tall next to the other members of the songwriter’s catalog.
Ever the storyteller, Prine weaves the tale of an everyman in “Crazy As A Loon,”
a tale which begins as follows:
“Back before I was a movie star
Straight off of the farm
I had a picture of another man’s wife
Tattooed on my arm
With a pack of Camel cigarettes
In the sleeve of my tee shirt
I was heading off to Hollywood
Just to have my feelings hurt”
Hollywood, of course, would make anyone crazy as a loon, and the narrator soon
moves from there to Nashville…but after fame and fortune eludes him in his bid
for country music stardom as well, it’s off to NYC to try his hand in business.
The result? “I got hired Monday morning / Downsized that afternoon.” The moral
of the story: the world can make you crazy, no matter where you are or what you
do.
Prine is in a reflective mood throughout much of Fair & Square, as you’d
expect from someone who’s battled cancer; that kind of thing will change
anyone’s priorities. He sounds particularly thoughtful as he sings of the “Glory
of True Love,” how “She Is My Everything,” and of “My Darlin’ Hometown.”
Occasionally, though, he still manages to slip in the familiar Prine smirk, such
as on “Safety Joe” and “Some Humans Ain’t Human,” using the latter to get off a
quick shot at George Dubya:
“Have you ever noticed
When you’re feeling really good
There’s always a pigeon
That’ll come shit on your food
Or you’re feeling your freedom
And the world’s off your back
Some cowboy from Texas
Starts his own war in Iraq.”
Ouch.
One hates to throw around the label “American institution” too freely, but John
Prine falls into the category with little effort. Now that he’s bounced back
from cancer, here’s hoping he has more albums like Fair & Square up his
sleeve.
~Will Harris
wharris@bullz-eye.com
|
|
|