John Prine

October 10: The late great John Prine was born 1946

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

john-prine

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message message_box_color=”mulled_wine” icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-quote-left”]“And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile. It don’t cost very much, but it lasts a long while. Won’t you please tell the man I didn’t kill anyone.
No, I’m just tryin’ to have me some fun.”
― John Prine[/vc_message][/vc_column][/vc_row]

We lost this great artist about half a year ago, we miss him very much.
In accordance with Prine’s wishes as expressed in his song “Paradise”, half of his ashes were spread in Kentucky’s Green River. The other half were buried next to his parents in Chicago

His last recorded video performance, I Remember Everything:

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Up close & Personal: John Prine with Sturgill Simpson (interview and performances)

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Singer-songwriters John Prine and Sturgill Simpson shared the stage last summer at an intimate event for a lucky few Grammy Museum guests. “This is John’s night” Simpson said, “I just wanna be here, but it’s John’s night”.

Part interview and part performance, video of the two country artists together was streamed live on Facebook in two parts.

Great storytellers, wonderful songs and very good playing!

Interview session (with some songs):

Concert part:

“Souvenirs” and “Sam Stone” solo, John Prine
followed by duets with Sturgill Simpson on “Speed Of The Sound of Loneliness” and “Paradise”.

– Hallgeir

The Best Albums 2016: 20 to 11 (part 2/3)

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

(Check out part 1 here, 30-21)

20 Cass McCombs – Mangy Love

Released: August 26 , 2016
Producer: Rob Schnapf, Cass McCombs & Dan Horne
Label: Anti Records
“Mangy Love makes itself distinct from its predecessors with its outright jazziness and ethereality. Wit’s End was a traipse though the densely forested hills of solitude; Big Wheel and Others was a road trip through odd, nameless American sub-societies,; and Mangy Love is Cass McCombs in outer space.”
– Dustin Lowman (Drowned in Sound)
–
This album really made me listen to the lyrics, I was fooled by the sweet melodies – but the lyrics are tough, hard, rough poems about love,sex, life and death. McCombs knows how to play with words (Switch):
Turn you on, you light up the room
Turn you off, it’s dark as a tomb– Hallgeir
End of Year lists
# 33 – American Songwriter
# 59 – Gorilla vs. Bear
# 29 – LA Music Blog
# 26 – MOJO
# 25 – Piccadilly Records
# 7 – Q Magazine
# 31 – Stereogum
# 31 – Uncut
Best songs: Opposite House, Bum Bum Bum and Switch 

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Documentary: John Prine on Creativity

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

“Prine’s stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mind trips to the nth degree. And he writes beautiful songs. I remember when Kris Kristofferson first brought him on the scene. All that stuff about Sam Stone the soldier junkie daddy and Donald and Lydia, where people make love from 10 miles away. Nobody but Prine could write like that. If I had to pick one song of his, it might be ‘Lake Marie.’ I don’t remember what album that’s on.”
– Bob Dylan

“Prine has always appealed to me,I can remember first hearing him, playing his records late at night and thinking that he was writing about everyday life, people like us.”
– Mike Leonard (director)

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October 10: Happy 70th birthday John Prine

Posted on by Egil Mosbron

john-prine

“Jesus was a good guy, he didn’t need this shit.”
― John Prine

“And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile. It don’t cost very much, but it lasts a long while. Won’t you please tell the man I didn’t kill anyone.
No, I’m just tryin’ to have me some fun.”
― John Prine

From Wikipedia:

Born October 10, 1946 (age 70)
Origin Maywood, Illinois,
United States
Genres Country
Folk
Progressive bluegrass
Occupations Singer-songwriter
Guitarist
Instruments Vocals
Guitar
Years active 1971–present
Labels Atlantic, Asylum, Oh Boy, Rhino
Associated acts Steve Goodman
Website www.johnprine.net

John Prine (born October 10, 1946, in Maywood, Illinois) is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.

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