John Prine – In Person & On Stage – (Oh Boy)

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John Prine has been at this music game for quite some time. He started out back in the 70’s playing storied clubs like the Main Point in Bryn Mawr and, while his studio records proved he was an excellent writer and story teller, it was his live performances that made him a star.

His latest release is a collection of fourteen songs that Prine’s fan base would select themselves if they could have a collective voice, and features special collaborations with Emmylou Harris, Josh Ritter, Sara Watkins, Iris Dement and others. The songs themselves have been lifted from various performances over the past couple of years and represent an interesting cross-section of his career including some favorites that he hasn’t performed in a while like “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore.” No matter what stage of his career the songs are from they each are performed with an enthusiasm that you only find in a live show when a performer is able to channel the energy generated by his audience back into his presentation. Coming in at over seventy minutes, this album captures the essence of what Prine fans crave from a live performance.

His music has never been what anyone would call structurally complicated. However its simplicity is what gives it strength because that allows his ideas and personality to shine through. While studio recordings have the capacity to reproduce a great deal of what makes him special, seeing him live has always revealed a little something more.

From the opening track, “Spanish Pipedream,” to the final cut, “Paradise,” this CD is like having Prine and his various accompanists being an invisible presence in your living room. There’s the rawness and immediacy that you’d expect from a live performance. Each of the instruments stand out in this mix about the same way you’d expect them to if you were hearing them on stage instead of being artfully blended together as they are in a studio. Folks who have never had the pleasure of seeing him in person, or fans that have and want to relive your memories of having seen him live, this CD is the best opportunity you’ll have without actually attending a concert.

Although folks seem to recall John Prine performing at The Main Point on several occaisions over the years, he only had 3 visits during the club’s lifespan – Of course, that’s not counting all the times that John just “showed up” to play with whomever happened to be on the bill that night – the most memorable of those shows was when Steve Goodman invited John onstage in January of 1974 to play for about twenty minutes, & then the two of them invited Bonnie Raitt to join them as well! It was those kinds of nights that keeps the mystique of The Main Point strong in the minds of its patrons to this very day!