In Person And On Stage

I've been listening to John since I was a little girl and have seen him live over a dozen times. There's something so special about seeing and hearing him live, and his live albums capture that feeling perfectly. I love the stories he tells before the songs in that special way that only John can. This may not be the most detailed or eloquent review, and I'm not in any position to flex my music industry knowledge, but I am a faithful fan and can say that anyone who loves John will love this album.

In Person & On Stage is the new live album from singer song-writer John Prine. John has had live albums before. I don't own either the 1988 "John Prine Live" or the 1997 "Live On Tour" albums. I don't know if he is always this conversational when performing live. I, for one, am grateful. I find it fascinating to listen to the thought-process of a song-writer and discover the simple everyday events that are sometimes the foundation of really great songs.

John's music is a mix of folk and country, with wide ranging flashes of many genres including bluegrass, blues and rock. This live performance leans strongly in the country direction both in terms of performance and song selection. His voice sounds great, especially considering he's not more than a few years removed from radiation therapy and recovery.

THE MISSING SONGS

John Prine has written a boat-load of songs. It's interesting that he chose not to include some of his better known songs here. Namely "Hello In There," which was covered by both Bette Midler and Joan Baez, and "Far From Me," which Prine has called his favorite of all his songs. Missing also is "The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over," which was recorded by The Highwaymen. Most surprising perhaps is the omission of "Sam Stone," the famous tale of a Vietnam veteran that was his breakout song. Perhaps the reason for the omission is the generally upbeat nature of this show, but I for one wish we could have had all those songs included here.

THE INCLUDED SONGS & THE STORIES

He starts the album off with "Spanish Pipedream," a kind of funny story-teller's song, before going into the mildly sappy, "She is my Everything," which he describes writing for his wife. His personality comes through as upbeat and content.

On "In Spite of Everything" he tells the story of writing the song for the movie he was in with his good friend Billy Bob Thornton. He is joined by Iris Dement, who for some reason is un-credited in the performer listing within the MP3. In fact, none of the guest singers are listed within the MP3 tags. "The Late John Garfield Blues" also includes female vocals which could be from Iris but John doesn't say.

He reflects about his family on "The Bottomless Lake" and even talks about song-writing in the middle of performing the song. He talks about learning guitar from his brother Dave on the start of "Bear Creek Blues," one of the few tracks here that isn't a John Prine original. "Saddle In the Rain" has a moody rock feel that marries perfectly to the pointed lyrics.

Angel from Montgomery is one of the two better known songs in this performance that come from his first album. This is another duet, this time with Emmylou Harris, and it sounds great here.

John uses the story behind "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore" to tell a story about his time as a mailman, as well as take a jab at G.W. Bush.

"Mexican Home" is a beautiful ballad with great layered guitars and lovely harmonies. "Unwed Fathers" is also in that vein, though it has a male-female harmony duet.

"Glory of Love," written with Roger Cook, takes a more upbeat turn. And he closes the show with the mid-tempo country ballad "Paradise," which was covered by the Everly Brothers and also comes from his first album.

Just another warning about the MP3 quality: this is variable bit rate and the majority of the tracks here are not 320kbps. Some are as low as 182kbps. The recording sounds good but those who desire higher bit-rate recordings will want to wait to get the actual CD.

CONCLUSION

This is a beautiful live recording with all the intimacy that one might experience at a live concert itself. I only wish there were more songs included here, but perhaps they were saving them for a bonus edition. I also wish they would have listed the contributing artists in the MP3 tags. I still recommend you give it a listen.

Enjoy.

I attended both concerts John Prine performed recently at Proviso East High School in Maywood, Ill. John graduated in 1965 and returned home for benefit performances to raise money for the Maywood Fine Arts Association. a non-profit offering instruction in music, dance, gymnastics and drama for children. The dance studios were destroyed in a fire and proceeds from the Prine shows will help them rebuild.

John Prine clearly enjoyed his homecoming and was welcomed to the stage by the high school cheerleading squad. He told stories and sang his songs for more than 4 hours. Both evening's performances were taped and recorded for a future release. I can't wait!

The music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times raved about the Prine concerts in Maywood and called the Thursday evening concert one of the most memorable shows he had seen in 30 years. I'm know the audience agreed. There were too many moments to list but keep a look out for the DVD release of the shows.

Seeing John Prine in-person has always been a treat for fans. This latest disc shows he's still on top of his game! Highly recommended!

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