Customer Reviews

Diamonds in the Rough

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Everybody" 4/5
"The Torch Singer" 2/5
"Souvenirs" 3/5
"The Late John Garfield Blues" 2/5
"Sour Grapes" 3/5
"Billy The Bum" 3/5
"The Frying Pan" 4/5
"Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You" 4/5
"Take The Star Out Of The Window" 3/5
"The Great Compromise" 4/5
"Clocks And Spoons" 3/5
"Rocky Mountain Time" 3/5
"Diamonds In The Rough" 2/5

"Diamonds In The Rough," John Prine's second album, did not receive the same response as his timeless debut. This, however, does not make his sophomore effort a passer-by. Great tunes include "The Great Compromise" and "Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You."

Overall rating: Three stars

This is the best of the bunch. John Prine with great song, simple accompaniment and NOT overproduced like some of the others. One of my fav albums of all time

my favorite prine album. a fitting title for a less polished, raw ramble. of particular interest are everybody, torch singer and ought to name a drink after you. i used this album as the soundtrack for my first australian film, it was warmly received. talk about stating the obvious. the rumour is that this one is out of print, so i suggest buying it from amazon 'cause, other than used music stores, it is hard to find. and hey, these guys are listing it for [money]. best ... bucks you might ever spend.

Say what you may about John Prine, but you can't deny his heartrending ,and sometimes outrageous lyrics. And this album shows that john prine is multi-dimensional. From songs like such as "Everybody", which you, if you know the words; have to sing along to, to songs that say something more deep and open such as; "The Great Compromise". You can't go wrong with this release. A classic album by a timeless artist, what else can you say?

Maybe its because I play guitar and love to play and sing all these songs, but this album is easily my favorite Prine album. Prine combines his unique writing ability with a very emotional voice from beginning to end. Great musicians don't hurt this album either. "Clock and Spoons" (my favorite Prine song), "Souvenirs", "The Great Compromise", and "Billy the Bum" are powerfully moving songs, while "Everbody", "The Frying Pan", and "They Oughta Name a Drink after You" are just plain hilarious.
John Prine is one of a handfull of songwriters who are able to turn out great songs over and over again. Highly recommended to all Prine fans, but especially to those who are musicians themselves. New listeners of Prine would most likely be better off with a compliation album, but if you enjoy one of them, don't forget about this one.

Although not quite as powerful as his self-titled debut album, "Diamonds in the Rough" still manages to hold its own with its eclectic collection of tunes. Prine's voice sounds, to me, even more rough-hewn and whiskey-soaked, an extremely evocative instrument that conveys deep humor and sorrow in the same album.

For me, the poignancy of Prine's writing and performing is best on display in "Souvenirs." The idea of the singer looking back wistfully on what he has lost has been much worked and can be ruined by sentimentality. But Prine conveys a sense of real loss. After cataloging the items, he sings, "It took me years/To get those souvenirs/And I don't know how they slipped away from me." It's a lament for the passage of time and friends and relatives gone, not for the material things themselves.

There is finely crafted protest, as well, with "Take the Star Out of the Window," a comment on a soldier's innocence lost in war. While the unspoken reference is to Vietnam, with overtones of the My Lai massacre that stained America's misadventure there, Prine humanizes the tune and makes it universal ("Take the star out of the window/And let my conscience take a rest.")

As I noted, there is plenty of humor in the record as well, particularly in "I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You," a great sendup of the tried-and-true singer-crying-in-his-beer tune.

A couple of the songs don't work as well as others (the first album contained no weak songs, to my ears), but overall this is a strong effort, a release that grew on me with repeated listenings.

After his self-titled debut album, Prine eschewed flashy production in favor of a more stripped-down sound for "Diamonds In the Rough". His "band" mostly consists of himself, his good friend and fellow singer/songwriter great Steve Goodman, and his brother (lending his talents on fiddle and dobro). More than any other album, listening to this one makes you feel like Prine and his intimates are sitting right next to you, talking to you, telling you stories. Although slower and less upbeat than his debut, this is NOT a cynical, preachy album. It is my personal favorite and I would recommend buying this as a compliment to any pre-existing Prine collection.

Call it Prine Unplugged, or Prine's "Nebraska," this is my own favorite of his many excellent albums. Some of his best songs, performed in spare, often acoustic style. His most purely country album, too, before "In Spite of Ourselves."

Actually Prine has alot of songs that are acoustical but that is the theme of this album. It basically is campfire type songs and while good, I find it slightly dissappointing compared to other great albums he has done.

Rolling Stone ranked John Prine as one of the most influential songwriters of the 1970s, and this record is one of the reasons why. The more obvious antiwar songs are overshadowed by the simple faith that is constant theme throughout Prine's work. Diamonds in the Rough, the title song sung a capella, is the perfect vehicle for Prine's ragged voice. The his clever plays on words offer a humorous undertone to the bleak themes of Late John Garfield Blues and The Great Compromise. I have been listening to Prine since 1973 and never tire of this record.