237. John Prine - John Prine(1971)#johnprine #singer #singersongwriter #countryrock #country

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❤️For nearly as long as there has been a Dylan, there have been Next Dylans-clever, tuneful singer-songwriters who, some believe, just might replicate the artistic success of the inscrutable Minnesotan. Of course, there can be no Next Dylan, and woe betide the talented young musician charged with being just that. John Prine got stuck with the label early on in his career and that is a testament to his immense talent. But so too is the fact that the label fits him uneasily.

❤️Signed to Atlantic with the help of Kris Kristofferson, the 25-year-old Prine released his country-tinged, eponymous debut in 1971, just as the Vietnam War was peaking. Although it is not explicitly a protest record, unhappiness about the war does emerge, most devastatingly in "Sam Stone," a heart-wrenching ballad on the demise of a morphine-addicted veteran; the song is made sadder still by the plainness of Prine's gravelly baritone. The Southeast Asian conflict also appears, implicitly at least, in "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore," a cheery novelty tune tinged with bitter irony.

❤️Those two songs represent Prine's most effective songwriting modes-unstintingly bleak and laugh- out-loud funny. You may think "Sam Stone" is the most depressing song you have ever heard, but that is only because you have not yet experienced "Hello In There," a doleful number about old age. Meanwhile, "Spanish Pipedream" playfully exhorts listeners to blow up their television sets.