★★★★★
The Singing Mailman Delivers, the first true archival release from John Prine, is a collection of early takes of the songs that would largely make up his self-titled debut. One half of the double-disc set is a collection of demos recorded at a radio station, the other a performance at Chicago's Fifth-Peg...
- www.americansongwriter.com
2013-04-25
★★★★★
John Prine is keeping busy with recording and touring. The well-known singer/songwriter took up guitar at age 14, spent some childhood years in Kentucky (where his grandparents came from), delivered mail, did a stint in the service, sang in Chicago and New York, and was promoted in the 1970s by Kris Kristofferson. Since the 70s, his many albums have exhibited Dylanesque, rock, folk, country and even rockabilly flavors...
- rootsmusicreport.com
2013-04-01
★★★★★
It was 1971 when John Prine released his classic self-titled debut album. Containing such staples as "Illegal Smile," "Hello In There," and the bluegrass standard "Paradise," it quickly became one of the most beloved "singer/songwriter" albums of all time, and Prine became known for his Vonnegut-like word play and wry sense of humor...
- www.ink19.com
2012-01-26
★★★★★
It's been 40 years since the release of John Prine's eponymous debut album, a classic singer-songwriter record if ever there was one. So now is as good a time as any to celebrate the man's songs, which have always been more complex than they first appear. They're both witty and emotive, heartbreaking yet life-affirming, slice of life yet thoughtful and penetrating. It seems oddly symbolic, for a man who delivered so many messages, that his music career began while he was a postman...
- www.popmatters.com
2011-11-03
★★★★★
"In Person & On Stage" is John Prine's second live album, the first being released in 1988. Culled from performances over the last few years, it's full of Prine stories, duet partners, oddities and classics. Emmylou Harris and Prine hit the emotional apex with a slow and mournful reading of "Angel From Montgomery"; Josh Ritter and Prine glide through emotional tenderness on "Mexican Home...
- www.soundspike.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
John Prine has been carving out his spot as one of America's finest songwriters ever since his days in the late-'60s Chicago folk scene and a 1971 self-titled debut that produced such diversely appealing tracks as "Illegal Smile," "Angel From Montgomery" and "Donald and Lydia." With "Fair and Square," Prine's first self-penned album in nine years, that spot is reaching Grand Canyon-like proportions...
- www.soundspike.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
It's been a while since we've heard a studio album from Prine, but the wait has been justified and more with this latest. The opening "Glory of True Love" is indicative of Prine's decade-long ascent to a more gentle and sweet approach. Only Prine can deliver such an honest song without sounding sarcastic in the least. His voice has grown almost fragile-you can hear the dust rattling through the cracks in the wood...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-02
★★★★★
With so many ears of corn in his bag, he feels no need to put all his chestnuts in the fire ("The Bottomless Lake," "Unwed Fathers").
- www.robertchristgau.com
2010-08-25
★★★★★
Because John Prine has ranked among our finest songwriters for 35 years, his first album of new material in a decade is a gift. Its two undeniable keepers are up there with his "Hello in There" and "Lake Marie": the weary "Some Humans Ain't Human," a Nashville immigrant's mild, devastating rebuke to the greedheads he rubs shoulders with, and the jolly "She Is My Everything," which makes you wonder why other guys find it so hard to write credible love songs about wives they adore...
- www.blender.com
2010-08-22
Loading...
