A Diamond In the Rough

"There aren't 41 best Prine songs," rock critic Robert Christgau wrote back in 1993 with the release of John Prine's Anthology album. "There are 50, 60, maybe more." Twenty-seven years later, let me just cut to the chase and say there's a truck load more. Shit, I've got over a hundred on my iPhone and I'm still counting.

"Illegal Smile," "Hello In There," " Sam Stone," Paradise," "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore," "Angel From Montgomery," "Donald and Lydia," "Souvenirs," "Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You," "Please Don't Bury Me," "Christmas in Prison," "Dear Abby," "Blue Umbrella," "Often Is a Word I Seldom Use," "Grandpa Was a Carpenter," "Wedding Day in Funeralville," "My Own Best Friend," "He Was in Heaven Before He Died," and that gets you as far as 1975. Only Dylan was more prolific.

John Prine died yesterday. He was 73. A legend among his peers, he had survived two bouts with cancer, but was no match for the worst pandemic to hit the United States in over a century. When news of his passing broke last night, it was a gut punch for the millions of us who cherished his music. Gram Parsons may have invented alt-country, but John Prine brought it home like no one else.

A disciple of Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams, Prine was discovered by Kris Kristofferson in a Chicago night club in the summer of 1971. "It must’ve been like stumbling onto Dylan when he first busted onto the Village scene," Kristofferson wrote in the liner notes of Prine's self titled debut. Only 24, Prine was invited by Kristofferson to perform at New York's Bottom Line where he was signed by Atlantic Records' CEO Jerry Wexler. The rest, as they say, is history.

It's impossible to encapsulate five decades worth of music into one writing. It's beyond my abilities, and even if it weren't, I wouldn't dare attempt it. He talent was indelible; he could make you laugh, then cry, then laugh again without even breaking a sweat. When Leonard Cohen wrote the song, "So Long, Marianne," he kinda had John Prine in mind.

Well so long, Marianne

It's time that we began

To laugh and cry

And cry and laugh about it all again

But Prine was not nearly as serious as Cohen, nor as cerebral as Dylan. The only word that comes to mind when I think of his music is honest; gut-wrenchingly honest. There was not a pretentious bone in his body. What you heard was what you got. Among his contemporaries, only Lucinda Williams was his equal. In fact, you could say that Williams and Prine were the perfect bookends for a genre that all too often was overlooked by the music industry. The biggest disappointment I had watching Ken Burns' Country Music was his total failure to mention the contributions of both artists. It was inexcusable.

I still remember fondly the first time I played Sweet Revenge. It instantly become my favorite album. That was soon followed by his debut John Prine - yes, I sometimes work backwards - then Common Sense, then Storm Windows, then The Missing Years, then Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings. It was that way with every John Prine album I bought. Sorta like finding a new best friend every couple of years.

Melancholy doesn't begin to describe the heaviness I feel in my heart right now. The world has lost a genius, but more than that it has lost a wonderful man. There'll never be another John Prine. There'll never be another singer/songwriter who will be able to pen a song as tragic as "Christmas in Prison" or as uplifting as "The Glory of True Love." Sometimes it's hard for me to imagine he wrote them at all.

But in our grief, we can be comforted in the knowledge that no one truly dies. They simply move on to another, better place. John Prine is in that place right now, and if I'm any judge of talent, I'd say he's putting his time to good use. The last song he wrote on his 2018 album The Tree of Forgiveness, says it all.

When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand

Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand

Then I'm gonna get a guitar and start a rock-n-roll band

Check into a swell hotel; ain't the afterlife grand?

I can just picture God in the front row, laughing and crying, and crying and laughing about it all again.

The Best Albums of All Time By Genre

With the close of the second decade of the 21st century, I thought I'd put together a list of the best albums of all time. Unlike past lists, I decided to break it up by genre and cap each at ten. There's a limit of one album per artist or band; hence no double dipping.

Obviously when you're dealing with a self-imposed limit, some tough choices have to be made. As a result there were a few notable exclusions in each genre. Like the perfectionist that I am, I kept tweaking it right up till the end.

A few explanations, I feel, are in order. First, concerning the Beatles, I opted for Abbey Road over Sgt. Pepper's or Rubber Soul because I believe it was the better album. It was for that reason that I chose Michael Jackson's Off the Wall over Thriller. It was simply a better album.

Then there was my decision to include two reggae albums in the World Music genre. I felt is was warranted based on the fact that they belong there. And as I'm sure you've noticed, the remaining eight selections are all from the continent of Africa. Seriously, if you broke down the over all contribution that African music has made across the globe, you'd be hard-pressed to cap it at fifty, much less ten. So I'm perfectly ok with eight out of ten coming from there.

In closing, I have listened to each of these albums thoroughly and can vouch for their inclusion in this list. While some may take umbrage with my final selections, I feel confident that I did the best I could under the circumstances. If you think you can do better, knock yourself out.

Here goes,

Rock

1. The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street (1972)

2. Bruce Springsteen: Born in the U.S.A. (1984)

3. Derek & the Dominos: Layla (1970)

4. Neil Young: Rust Never Sleeps (1979)

5. Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced? (1967) 

6. The Band: Music From Big Pink (1968)

7. The Who: Who’s Next (1971)

8. Grateful Dead: Live/Dead (1969) 

9. The Beatles: Abbey Road (1969)

10. Lynyrd Skynyrd: Street Survivors (1977)


Alt-Rock

1. The Clash: London Calling (1980)

2. Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation (1988)

3. Wussy: Attica! (2014)

4. Television: Marquee Moon (1977)

5. Arcade Fire: Neon Bible (2005)

6. Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires in the City (2013)

7. Yo La Tengo: I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997)

8. Nirvana: Nevermind (1991)

9. Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville (1993)

10. P.J. Harvey: Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (2000)

Country / Alt-Country

1. Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)

2. Drive-By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark (2008)

3. Iris DeMent: My Life (1994)

4. Joe Ely: Honky Tonk Masquerade (1978)

5. Rosanne Cash: Interiors (1991)

6. Willie Nelson: Spirit (1996)

7. Gram Parsons: Grievous Angel (1974)

8. John Prine: Sweet Revenge (1973)

9. Merle Haggard: If I Could Only Fly (2000)

10. Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison (1968)

Singer-Songwriter

1. Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde (1966)

2. Paul Simon: Paul Simon (1972)

3. Patti Smith: Horses (1975)

4. Amy Rigby: Dairy of a Mod Housewife (1996)

5. Randy Newman: 12 Songs (1970)

6. Joni Mitchell: For the Roses (1972)

7. Van Morrison: Moondance (1970)

8. Tom Waits: Orphans (2006)

9. Leonard Cohen: Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967)

10. Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst (2008)

R&B

1. Sly & the Family Stone: There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971)

2. Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (1976)

3. Al Green: Call Me (1973)

4. Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)

5. Prince: Sign o’ the Times (1987)

6. Otis Redding: Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

7. Marvin Gaye: Midnight Love (1982)

8. Parliament: Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome (1977)

9. Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (1979)

10. Ray Charles: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)

Rap / Hip-Hop

1. A Tribe Called Quest: We Got It From Here … Thank you 4 Your Service (2016)

2. Tricky: Maxinquaye (1995)

3. Public Enemy: It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)

4. The Roots: How I Got Over (2010)

5. Kanye West: Late Registration (2005)

6. Rihanna: Anti (2016)

7. Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)

8. The Notorious B.I.G.: Life After Death (1997)

9. Ice-T: O.G.: Original Gangstar (1991)

10. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five: The Message (1982)


Jazz

1. Miles Davis: A Tribute To Jack Johnson (1971)

2. John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (1965)

3. David Murray: Shakill's Warrior (1991)

4. James Carter: The Real Quietstorm (1995)

5. Ornette Coleman: Of Human Feelings (1982)

6. Sonny Rollins: G Man (1987)

7. Eric Dolphy: Out To Lunch (1964)

8. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Moanin' (1958)

9. Arthur Blythe: Lenox Avenue Breakdown (1978)

10. James Blood Ulmer: Odyssey (1983)

World Music

1. The Indestructible Beat of Soweto (1986)

2. Franco & Rochereau: Omona Wapi (1985)

3. Bob Marley & the Wailers: Natty Dread (1975)

4. King Sunny Ade & His African Beats: Juju Music (1982)

5. Youssou N'Dour: Nothing's In Vain (2002)

6. Papa Wemba: Emotion (1995)

7. Culture: Two Sevens Clash (1987)

8. Amadou & Mariam: Dimanche à Bamako (2005)

9. Mzwakhe Mbuli: Resistance Is Defence (1992)

10. Remmy Ongala & Orchestre Super Matimila: Songs for the Poor Man (1989)