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I saw John the first time at William and Mary Hall at a "festival" when this album had just been released. I saw him 4 more times, last time when Bruised Orange was new.
He writes and sings with more raw passion and wit than anyone. Buy this one and his next 4. They are amazing.
Thanks, John for the music.
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This was John Prine's debut album, and I think he established himself as a major influence among his generation's artists with this record. Every cut is a winner. Prine's insightful but rancorless anti-war commentaries seem to come from his personal observations of his time in uniform, and there is a substance to these songs that cannot be found in the music of those who wrote and sang but did not serve. "Sam Stone" is a matter-of-fact but troubling and engaging song about a Vietnam veteran who returns home with a heroin addiction; the story is a snapshot of the period, and it works on many levels. "Hello in There" is Prine's folksy ballad about an unremarkable elderly couple who had been swept along with the times, a factory worker and his wife, ordinary but somehow used up and sad; Prine asks that we not just pass them by. I prefer Prine's down-to-earth recording of "Hello in There" to Joan Baez's rendition. Prine also performs his "Paradise" in a manner that is authentic and genuine, in contrast to the late John Denver's pleasing but superficial version.
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This album is full of great songs, it's an all-time classic. I want to focus on one in particular, though. Prine said recently that he brought it out of a 25-year retirement at the special request of the President -- "not a formal request, but he's sure asking for it." The song, of course, is "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore," originally written about the Vietnam War.
The song features a guy so patriotic that he covers his windshield with flag decals, runs into a tree and dies. However, the "man at the pearly gates" says: "But your flag decal won't get you into heaven anymore, it's already overcrowded from your dirty little war. Now Jesus don't like killin', no matter what the reason's for, and your flag decal won't get you into heaven anymore!"
One of the best things about the song is that it's not Dylanesque folk, it's not psychedelic, it's country, complete with pedal steel guitar. It goes well with that great observation that "patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels" and TR's thundering defense of dissent, saying that blind support of the President is the worst form of treason (that's Teddie Roosevelt, the Republican president).
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It is easy to see why John Prine became a cult favorite in the 70's. Certainly his wink to the High Life "Illegal Smile" was popular, but this group of songs also exemplified the zeitgeist of anti-authoritarian social consciousness. Listening to them now, many have an almost iconic feel. Hello In There, Sam Stone, Paradise, Donald and Lydia, sound like we've always known them. I saw Prine in concert last fall right before the election, and he sang Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore. He introduced the song by saying that he had retired it. He even had it stuffed and hung on his wall. But lately he had been getting requests for it. Yes, President Bush had been asking for it and he was going to give it to him. This comment shows the humor that humanizes and softens much of Prine's social commentary and keeps him from being shrill. The other trait of his that is demonstrated so well in this CD is Prine's compassion. The song Angel From Montgomery is an accepted classic. But this song, sung from an old woman's perspective, was written by a young man. And he got it right. I was introduced to Prine by a lady friend back in the 90's who loved the line "How the Hell can a person go to work in the morning and come home in the evening and have NOTHING to say?" She thought that accurately reflected her own taciturn husband. After seeing Prine in concert I decided to go back and purchase a lot of his earlier work. Like him, I started with this one. If you like his work, so should you.
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I am a member of the "Phish Club" of music--brilliant, diverse music usually. I've been listening to the Prine albums since I was born due to my parents having, say, this album way back in '71, when I was a fat little one-year-old. BURNED OUT tens of these on my close-'n'-play. AND "Sweet Revenge" too. John Prine was a mailman in Maywood, IL, the town next to mine, which is mostly a scary crack parlor these days. His songs would have probably been QUITE different if he was a mailman these days. My Mom and her friends thought he was "cute as hell" when seeing him strum at local gigs. So I must admit I'm biased. But, hell, now that I listen to the same album with 35 years undur my belt...my god. At 24, he was a songwriting genius (nothing less), a lyrical master of the highest order, and had lots of friends in good places (like the classic Steve Goodman--RIP Steve my man). BUY THIS even if you JUST want it to hear an admitted huge influence of Trey Anastasio, Willy Nelson, and TONS of other country-rock-folk musicians. Its incredible. Luckily its a block in the foundation of my 35-year-old musical "house of Ron." Even if you aren't a fan of Anastasio--BUY THIS ALBUM. Its better than anything Dylan could have ever dreamed of doing. It's THAT fundimental, and THAT good. Remember also that this came from a 24 YEAR OLD KID and you can't help be amazed as hell...
A #3 in my top 5 albums of all time.
Ron
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