John Prine - Live on Tour

This is a mini-review of all of the songs, in order:

Picture Show - From the Missing Years album, John brings us an upbeat tale of a young lad whose life is inspired by that of James Dean…a small-town rebel without a cause - like John.

Quit Hollerin’ At Me - Tasteful sample of electric magic from Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings. Not one of my favorites, but does John really put out anything bad?

You Got Gold - This song reminds me of my pal Kathrin, a German exchange student from my high school last year. Peppy accordion music makes you want to get up and boogie. I got some gold inside me, too.

Unwed Fathers - Sad song about teenagers who fuck and then run. A milder version of Fuck and Run, by Liz Phair. "Your daddy never/meant to hurt you, ever/he just don’t live here/but you got his eyes."

Space Monkey - The sole song on the album released for the first time in a live format. It’s about a monkey that was shot off into outer space 4 decades ago. "That’s nine monkey years." Reminds me of Simon.

The Late John Garfield Blues - This cool-ass song is a favorite of John’s mentor, Kris Kristofferson. Tells a tale of suicide, down times, and expresses that everyone feels bad once in a while…

Storm Windows - The simple chorus explains the whole song: "Don’t let your baby down - 3x" A song that makes you almost cry. I have before to this one. Makes middle-aged fans feel remembering their youths.

Jesus The Missing Years - With a funny little story to lead into it, it’s one of the best on the album. Classic Prine with just an old acoustic. More of a story than a song. Puts religious fanatic’s panties in a bind.

Humidity Built the Snowman - More of Heartbreaker Howie Epstein’s obsession with getting John to do weird moog stuff to his music…I like it, but I’m weird. Deep down, it’s about love gone wrong.

Illegal Smile - John’s infamous pseudo-drug song. It’s a sing-a-long, really. Whip out your bongs and light up, cause John does an excellent job and sings it at every show.

Daddy’s Little Pumpkin - Kinky song about sluts in Memphis. John fears that he’ll go to jail for renting whores, and he doesn’t want his girlfriend to sell a piece of her ass to raise bail money. Of course, the song uses less profane language than this, but I’m tacky.

Lake Marie - There is no better Prine. It proves that an old dog can shoot out new shit and make it tread water. This is like no other Prine, but like every other Prine song. It’s a sing-a-long, it’s a story, and easy to play with a group of friends at a bonfire. "Oh, wah, oh, wah oh…standing by peaceful waters…"

If I Could - A peppy country tune with a steel guitar and all the works. Somehow, John Prine and Johnny Cash can do peppy little country tunes and make them awesome…new country sucks…this is a neat song though, and the first of the three studio tracks.

Stick a Needle in My Eye - My personal favorite of the three new songs. It’s not too fast, too slow - just a nice, laid back kind of song. "Stick a needle in my eye, eye, eye." Talks about having a bowl of Post Toasties and a quart of beer for breakfast…I’ve been there.

You Mean So Much To Me - This song is the prettiest new song, hands down. It’s probably one of the prettiest that John has recorded. Next to I Love You So Much It Hurts, I’ve yet to come across a John written song that made me think of my significant other with joy and pure emotion combined. I sent the lyrics to my girlfriend as soon as I read them.

I hope you all go out and by all of John’s stuff, especially, this new one. Enjoy!!!

See a larger picture of the new album cover

Read more in my column about meeting John Prine