In the nearly four decades since John Prine’s self-titled debut came out, a lot’s been said. This was the album that had people flying the “next Bob Dylan” flag, that spawned some of country and folk’s most lasting standards. The album that the man himself never could quite top, even though he came damn close on Burnt Orange. But no one has written about John Prine as what it is to me: perfect music for a funeral.
Now, don’t get me wrong. John Prine is anything but macabre, morose, or maudlin. He simply tackles all the things we think about at funerals -- life, death, love, and loss -- with the poignancy, wit, and empathy that earned him all those Dylan comparisons in the first place. Lives well-lived, lives less-than-well-lived, loss, redemption -- it’s all in here, presented earnestly and without a hint of cloying sentimentality.
The reflective nature of John Prine doesn't merely result from the range of themes explored, however. Ultimately, it's Prine’s strength as a songwriter, the earnest lens through which he filters his subject matter and the unadorned delivery of his warbling voice that give the album its poignancy.
The humor of "Illegal Smile" is foiled by the stinging tragedy of one of the Vietnam era’s greatest songs, "Sam Stone." The sad pastoral beauty of "Paradise" eulogizes simpler times lost to progress, while "Angel From Montgomery" finds hope in death. These songs are as much the sound of a thousand American flags being folded as they are the soundtrack to the most revelatory wake, and they are just as good, just as relevant, and just as timely today as they were in 1971.
Maybe I’m biased. In fact, scratch that, I absolutely am biased. For the sake of full-disclosure, this is the album my father wanted played at his own funeral, and when the day came, we cut off the organist prematurely and hit “play” on "Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore." Through all the somber moments of that day, these songs made me feel human, a reminder that death’s just one part of life. And in the end, that might be the highest praise I can give to any album -- that even in the face of death, it can make you feel positively alive.
1. Illegal Smile
2. Spanish Pipedream
3. Hello In There
4. Sam Stone
5. Paradise
6. Pretty Good
7. Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore
8. Far From Me
9. Angel From Montgomery
10. Quiet Man
11. Donald And Lydia
12. Six O’Clock News
13. Flashback Blues