John Prine: Beyond Music and into your Head.
Recently, I had the pleasure of listening to an entire John Prine album all the way through (for the first time). You'll be glad to know I came out the other end with a generous feeling- no doubt brought on by the sly humor and gentle tenderness of the songs featured on Fair and Square . There's something incredibly life-affirming about Prine's songs. Whether he is doing so purposely or not, Prine seems to propose that the answer to life challenges is to 1) acknowledge they exist, and 2) laugh about them. So these songs . . .what've we got? Prine favors simple, folk and country based arrangements. His vocal delivery is the exact opposite of Bob Dylan's: there's no intensity, but there's also no quiet resignation, either. It's midwestern matter-of-fact that'll blow your mind. Here are my favorite songs: " The Glory of True Love ": You can have your lunch in London, and your dinner in St. Paul, but no momentary, material...