John Prine by John Prine

They say that you shouldn’t judge a book (or an album) by its cover, but in this case the record company very much wanted to give us a picture of an amiable looking denim clad fellow sat on a straw bale with a guitar propped up beside him, making sure that we knew to expect a country album. John Prine later said “I thought they coulda has on a bus or something”

The music is very much country but the vocals (at least initially) sound more like Bob Dylan. Pushing past that and listening to the lyrics shows a sharply written album with a wry sense of humour (“I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve”). There are some pointed protest songs about the Vietnam War (“Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore”) and a hard hitting number about a wounded soldier coming home only to get hooked on morphine.

The highlight for me was the heartbreaking song “Hello In There” which is about growing old and suffering from loneliness.

Haybale-tastic!