#84. John Prine
From: Nashville, Tennessee
This afternoon I received an email from Carter, a 27 year old Austinite whose musical knowledge and taste have expanded over the five years he's lived in the live music capitol of the world. He has been using my site to help compile MP3s for his friends before the festival - and he has graciously offered to help write some of the previews! This first effort was his "audition" to see if I'd let him help, and it was very well written, though I'm fleshing it out a bit with more info.
John Prine is a classic country singer-songwriter who sounds something like Guy Clark or Townes Van Zandt - a rough voice singing beautiful songs. Originally hailed as a "new Dylan" upon his debut in the early '70s, he has since settled into his own distinct singing and songwriting style. And although Prine has not received a great deal of commerical success in his career, he is continually lauded both by critics and by his peers in the industry.
The respect that Prine receives is obvious - according to uber-fan site jpshrine.org, his 1971 self-titled debut is Rolling Stone's #458 Greatest Album of all time. This past March, he received the honor of being the first singer/songwriter to read and play at the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress actually archived a Real stream of the talk and performance, and although the interview is a bit dry - feels like C-SPAN - he plays songs througout.
XM Radio's Bob Edwards has also hosted an interview and performance, which you can stream in these two long MP3s - part 1, part 2.
As with many big artists, Prine's mp3s are hard to find. His latest effort, Fair and Square, introduces the "new" John Prine - he recently beat throat cancer and his voice has shifted slightly in its range. The new album has been getting good airplay on the Americana charts with the single "Glory of True Love." My favorite Prine single is his duet with Iris DeMent, "In Spite of Ourselves." It is a sweet love song with a wonderful whimsical touch.
Head to Yahoo Music to watch the video for 1992's "Picture Show."
John Prine will play the Cingular stage on Friday from 6:30-7:30.
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