John Prine Delivers First New Original Material in 13 Years With ‘The Tree of Forgiveness’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

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It’s become a common colloquialism to say, “Who remembers much from the s’70s anyway?”  Let’s go back to 1971 when youngsters were listening to Led Zeppelin, The Who and when first Krist Kristofferson, and then John Prine, then a 23-year-old mailman from rural Illinois graced turntables. John Prine’s self-titled release was indeed a revelation in those days, remains vivid, and has since become a Grammy Hall of Fame recording full of what are now standards – “Hello in There,” “Illegal Smile,” “Sam Stone,” “Angel from Montgomery,” “Paradise,” and even more. If you were to use two words to describe Prine’s music they would likely be “deceptively simple.” Here we are almost 50 years later, having seen lots of cultural and political changes, yet John Prine remains a constant. His indirect political commentary, that relaxed vocal style, and his uncanny sense of humor are very much intact on Tree of Forgiveness, Prine’s first album of originals in 13 years.

As you probably know, Prine has become a mentor to the young, increasingly successful songwriters in Nashville like Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and Amanda Shires, and, like them, he hired Dave Cobb as producer.  Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, the album includes ten new songs written by Prine along with co-writers Pat McLaughlin, Roger Cook, Dan Auerbach, Keith Sykes and Phil Spector. Along with Prine (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Cobb (acoustic guitar, mellotron, claps, kazoo) and Prine’s longtime band, the album features special guests Brandi Carlile for harmonies on three tracks, Jason Isbell (guitars and background vocals on select tracks) and Amanda Shires (fiddle on one and background vocals on two tracks).

Noting Phil Spector’s name as one of his co-writers lets you know that some of these songs were waiting to be finished for decades. This is the case with “God Only Knows” (Spector) and “I Have Met My Love Today” (Cook). Thematically he covers similar ground that has made him an icon, now dubbed ‘Godfather of Americana’. “Knockin’ on Your Screen Door” is another of his funny looks at loneliness, “Summer’s End” is about heartbreak, down to the ordinary details of swimsuits drying on the line. He has wry commentary on the role of science today in “The Lonesome Friends of Science.” He can do justice to an innocent love song as well when he brings youthful innocence to “I Have Met My Love Today” in his duet with Carlile. He makes candid observations on past eras in “Egg and Daughter Nite, Lincoln, Nebraska 1967 (Crazy Bone).” You can’t help but hear him poke fun at Trump and the 1% in “Caravan of Fools” and “No Ordinary Blue” caps a trilogy of his songs – “You Got Gold” (1991) and “Long Monday” (2005).

Perhaps the most memorable line here though is from “When I Get to Heaven.”  Prine had to give up smoking after successful operations to remove cancer but he obviously still misses it.  He offers, “That was 20 years ago and I still miss cigarettes,” he admits. “… So I’d written this chorus about having my favorite cocktail and having a cigarette that’s nine miles long. I kept thinking, ‘Where the hell can I do that?’ The only place I can get away with that it is in Heaven because there’s no cancer there. So, the chorus dictated the setting of the song. I made up the verses around that.”

Prine’s thinking this could be his last album but don’t count on it.  He’s an incon these days. Deceptively simple. Quirky. Brilliant.  He’s been that way since the beginning.

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