We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago….
He had released one of the greatest debut LPs in history the previous year and had survived the dreaded “next Dylan” label. And, in 1972 John Prine released his underrated second album “Diamonds In The Rough”.
This album, while more polished than the stripped down debut, is still a rough and rollicking journey through what we would now call “roots” music. And the songs still resonate.
You have probably heard “Souvenirs” and “The Great Compromise” but there are more treasures here. I like his conversation with a water walking Jesus on “Everybody”, his heart-wrenching tale of “Billy The Bum” and his dobro drenched country grinner “They Oughta Name A Drink After You”. “Clocks & Spoons” reaches back to the debut with some great picking. He also delivers a stunning acapella cover of the Carter Familys “Diamonds In The Rough”.
The album is helped by the great playing. Steve Goodman, David Bromberg and John’s brother Dave fill the record with acoustic guitar, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, banjo and other stringed instruments that take you out of wherever you are and deposit your ears in the Applachian Mountains. Despite hailing from Chicago, Prine spent some of his youth in the mountains of Kentucky and you can tell which he prefers.
These songs may sound simple but there’s alot going on both lyrically and musically.
We lost John Prine to COVID-19 in April of 2020….I miss him.
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