This is my third consecutive review of an album released in seventies. I like the seventies plenty, but this does represent a statistical anomaly.
Disc 1434 is…. Diamonds in the Rough
Artist: John Prine
Year of Release: 1972
What’s up with the Cover? No matter how red the light, nothing can hide the hideous contours of a bad haircut in the age before product.
How I Came To Know It: Four or five years ago I went through a John Prine phase. I listened to all his albums, and bought a bunch of them, including this one.
How It Stacks Up: I have six John Prine albums, having recently acquired the long-coveted “Bruised Orange”. “Diamonds in the Rough” is not nearly as coveted. I put it in fifth place, beating out only the lowly “The Missing Years” which I have since parted with, and bumping “Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings” down a peg as well.
Ratings: 3 stars
Two of John Prine’s first three albums are folk classics. “Diamonds in the Rough” is the other album. It’s still good, but I’m going to keep it real.
First the good stuff. John Prine is a natural storyteller; one of the greatest American storytelling songwriters ever. When Margo Price and Jason Isbell called out the Country Music Awards for not honouring his death, they were 100% right. John Prine was a folk music treasure, and the world is a sadder place without him in it.
“Diamonds in the Rough” shows some of that early John Prine magic. The album’s opening song, “Everybody” has Prine running into Jesus to whom he exclaims “Jesus you look tired” to which Jesus replies, “Jesus, so do you.” Comedy gold. The song has a bit too much country fair singsong to it, but that’s kind of the point. To love Prine is to love the schmaltz he will indulge in, and I welcome it here.
“Souvenirs” is a more touching ditty; a regretful look back on lost souvenirs and the deeper loss they represent. It’s a sad song that where passing references to graveyards, pawn shops and – ultimately – love letters pass through the song quickly but cast long shadows in your mind.
“Take the Star Out of the Window” is a song about the Vietnam War and the effects it had on veterans who experienced its horrors. It isn’t at the same level as his classics on the same subject (“Sam Stone” and “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore”) but it is a solid junior cousin to them.
My favourite song on the record is “The Great Compromise” which features a bit of Prine’s self-deprecating humour as well as some genuine heartache, as his character takes a woman to the drive-in only to see her run off with someone with a nicer car. He takes the loss with a shrug, but you can tell it’s a sad shrug.
The album also features that timeless John Prince voice, but when I say timeless don’t mistake that for “good”. It is instantly recognizable in the same way the Bob Dylan’s voice is. It is equally scratchy and nasally as well but with less range than Dylan. Prine is good at writing songs that don’t push his own limitations far, and the lyrics and melodies are so good you forgive a lot, but it isn’t always easy.
Overall, however, “Diamonds in the Rough” needed a few more diamonds to hold my attention. The songs are passable, and the ones I’ve mentioned damned good, but the album feels overly rustic and unpolished, even by Prine’s standards. It also didn’t hold me with an emotional core like some of his other records do.
Yesterday when I was walking home the album played through to the end, and the next album on my MP3 player came on. It was the Bangles singing “Manic Monday.” At these times, the Odyssey compels me to turn it off and go back to the beginning of the album I’m reviewing for another listen.
But I didn’t do that. I listened to “Manic Monday” in its entirety, and only then did I go back for round two of “Diamonds in the Rough”. You could forgive me this indiscretion for symbolic reasons, happening as it did at the end of a long Monday. But then the same thing happened today…on a Tuesday. Much as I enjoy the Bangles, that would not have happened if I’d been reviewing “Sweet Revenge” or “Bruised Orange”. And so…three stars. Respectable, but not enough to drive me manic on its own.
Best tracks: Everybody, Souvenirs, Take the Star out of the Window, The Great Compromise
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