Crooked Piece of Time: The Atlantic & Asylum Albums 1971-1980 (Remastered) John Prine

• John Prine:
• 1 Illegal Smile (2020 Remaster) 03:13
• 2 Spanish Pipedream (2020 Remaster) 02:40
• 3 Hello in There (2020 Remaster) 04:31
• 4 Sam Stone (2020 Remaster) 04:16
• 5 Paradise (2020 Remaster) 03:13
• 6 Pretty Good (2020 Remaster) 03:39
• 7 Your Flag Decal Won't Get You into Heaven Anymore (2020 Remaster) 02:52
• 8 Far from Me (2020 Remaster) 03:42
• 9 Angel from Montgomery (2020 Remaster) 03:46
• 10 Quiet Man (2020 Remaster) 02:53
• 11 Donald and Lydia (2020 Remaster) 04:29
• 12 Six O'Clock News (2020 Remaster) 02:52
• 13 Flashback Blues (2020 Remaster) 02:32
• Diamonds In The Rough:
• 14 Everybody (2020 Remaster) 02:47
• 15 The Torch Singer (2020 Remaster) 02:56
• 16 Souvenirs (2020 Remaster) 03:37
• 17 The Late John Garfield Blues (2020 Remaster) 03:03
• 18 Sour Grapes (2020 Remaster) 02:05
• 19 Billy the Bum (2020 Remaster) 04:44
• 20 The Frying Pan (2020 Remaster) 01:53
• 21 Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You (2020 Remaster) 02:09
• 22 Take the Star Out of the Window (2020 Remaster) 02:10
• 23 The Great Compromise (2020 Remaster) 04:54
• 24 Clocks and Spoons (2020 Remaster) 03:14
• 25 Rocky Mountain Time (2020 Remaster) 03:09
• 26 Diamonds in the Rough (2020 Remaster) 01:53
• Sweet Revenge:
• 27 Sweet Revenge (2020 Remaster) 02:41
• 28 Please Don't Bury Me (2020 Remaster) 02:51
• 29 Christmas in Prison (2020 Remaster) 03:13
• 30 Dear Abby (2020 Remaster) 04:22
• 31 Blue Umbrella (2020 Remaster) 03:29
• 32 Often Is a Word I Seldom Use (2020 Remaster) 03:04
• 33 Onomatopoeia (2020 Remaster) 02:22
• 34 Grandpa Was a Carpenter (2020 Remaster) 02:13
• 35 The Accident (Things Could Be Worse) (2020 Remaster) 03:24
• 36 Mexican Home (2020 Remaster) 04:41
• 37 A Good Time (2020 Remaster) 03:31
• 38 Nine Pound Hammer (2020 Remaster) 03:03
• Common Sense:
• 39 Middle Man (2020 Remaster) 02:32
• 40 Common Sense (2020 Remaster) 03:12
• 41 Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krisna Beauregard (2020 Remaster) 03:19
• 42 Wedding Day in Funeralville (2020 Remaster) 02:31
• 43 Way Down (2020 Remaster) 02:24
• 44 My Own Best Friend (2020 Remaster) 03:16
• 45 Forbidden Jimmy (2020 Remaster) 02:55
• 46 Saddle in the Rain (2020 Remaster) 03:34
• 47 That Close to You (2020 Remaster) 02:47
• 48 He Was in Heaven Before He Died (2020 Remaster) 02:15
• 49 You Never Can Tell (2020 Remaster) 03:16
• Bruised Orange:
• 50 Fish and Whistle (2020 Remaster) 03:13
• 51 There She Goes (2020 Remaster) 03:23
• 52 If You Don't Want My Love (2020 Remaster) 03:05
• 53 That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round (2020 Remaster) 03:21
• 54 Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow) (2020 Remaster) 05:23
• 55 Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone (2020 Remaster) 02:54
• 56 Aw Heck (2020 Remaster) 02:21
• 57 Crooked Piece of Time (2020 Remaster) 02:53
• 58 Iron Ore Betty (2020 Remaster) 02:42
• 59 The Hobo Song (2020 Remaster) 03:31
• Pink Cadilac:
• 60 Chinatown (2020 Remaster) 02:25
• 61 Automobile (2020 Remaster) 04:23
• 62 Killing the Blues (2020 Remaster) 04:36
• 63 No Name Girl (2020 Remaster) 03:31
• 64 Saigon (2020 Remaster) 03:19
• 65 Cold War (This Cold War with You) (2020 Remaster) 04:13
• 66 Baby Let's Play House (2020 Remaster) 03:32
• 67 Down by the Side of the Road (2020 Remaster) 05:03
• 68 How Lucky (2020 Remaster) 03:39
• 69 Ubangi Stomp (2020 Remaster) 02:40
• Storm Windows:
• 70 Shop Talk (2020 Remaster) 03:14
• 71 Living in the Future (2020 Remaster) 03:28
• 72 It's Happening to You (2020 Remaster) 02:18
• 73 Sleepy Eyed Boy (2020 Remaster) 02:53
• 74 All Night Blue (2020 Remaster) 02:47
• 75 Just Wanna Be with You (2020 Remaster) 03:09
• 76 Storm Windows (2020 Remaster) 05:05
• 77 Baby Ruth (2020 Remaster) 03:10
• 78 One Red Rose (2020 Remaster) 03:17
• 79 I Had a Dream (2020 Remaster) 03:32
• Total Runtime 04:17:07

Info for Crooked Piece of Time: The Atlantic & Asylum Albums 1971-1980 (Remastered)

John Prine, who passed away in April, was one of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of his generation and recipient of the 2020 Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award. Considered a true folk-singer, Prine was known for his raspy voice and equally admired for his unique songwriting ability. Rolling Stone once dubbed him “The Mark Twain of American songwriting.” His career spanned over five decades, during which he created witty and sincere country-folk music, that drew from his Midwestern American roots and incorporated sounds from rockabilly, R&B and rock 'n' roll.

Newly-remastered: John Prine (1971), Diamonds In The Rough (1972), Sweet Revenge (1973), Common Sense (1975), Bruised Orange (1978), Pink Cadillac (1979) and Storm Windows (1980). The clamshell box also contains poster inserts and a 20-page booklet with new liner notes written by acclaimed music journalist David Fricke. The cover art, commissioned especially for the set, is a painting by artist Joshua Petker that’s based on a photo of Prine taken by Jim Shea.

Crooked Piece Of Time – which takes its name from a song on Bruised Orange – represents an essential and timeless American songbook and includes tracks that have become modern-day folk and country standards like: Hello In There, Sam Stone, Illegal Smile, Angel From Montgomery, Paradise and That’s The Way The World Goes Round. The expansive collection also contains favourites like: Far From Me, Dear Abby, Christmas In Prison, Fish and Whistle and Automobile.

In addition to earning the Lifetime Achievement Award this year, Prine also won Grammy® Awards for The Missing Years (1991) and Fair and Square (2005). His songs have been recorded by a long list of well-respected artists, including Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, Carly Simon, George Strait, Norah Jones, John Denver, Miranda Lambert, The Everly Brothers, Bette Midler, Paul Westerberg, Tammy Wynette and Dwight Yoakam.

Taking its name from a song on Bruised Orange, CROOKED PIECE OF TIME represents an essential and timeless American songbook and includes tracks that have become modern-day folk and country standards like: “Hello In There,” “Sam Stone,” “Illegal Smile,” “Angel From Montgomery,” “Paradise” and “That’s The Way The World Goes Round.” The expansive collection also contains favorites like: “Far From Me,” “Dear Abby,” “Christmas In Prison,” “Fish and Whistle” and “Automobile.”

John Prine

Digitally remastered

John Prine
After nearly 50 years on the road, hotel rooms are a familiar enough sight. Following two bellmen to his suite, Prine settled in with four guitars and 10 boxes of legal pads to complete the album that would become The Tree of Forgiveness.

“I said, ‘If anybody sees me checking into the Omni, they’ll figure Fiona and I are on the outs,” Prine recounts with a sly laugh. “I grabbed my stuff just as fast as I could. She knows that after being on the road so many years, I function better in a hotel, so that’s what I did. I ordered room service and worked and watched my quiz shows. No pressure. This way, if I wanted to write at 3 in the morning, or 3 in the afternoon, I could. I’d go out to the swimming pool and go eat at the steakhouse. It worked out because by the end of the week, I was ready to go into the studio.”

The highly-anticipated album, The Tree of Forgiveness, is Prine’s first collection of new material since 2005’s Grammy-winning Fair and Square. Rather than going out on a limb, Prine cultivated the themes that have brought international acclaim since the 1970s. For example, he can take a topic like loneliness and make it funny (“Knockin’ on Your Screen Door”) or heartbreaking (“Summers End”). Perfectly aligned with his quirkiest songs, “The Lonesome Friends of Science” makes its point through the characters he calls “those bastards in the white lab coats who experiment with mountain goats,” as well as the discredited planet Pluto and the towering Vulcan statue in Birmingham, Alabama.

Prine teamed with Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb to record in Nashville’s historic Studio A, enlisting friends like Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, and Amanda Shires to sing along. The songs are new, although some had waited to be finished for decades, like a co-write with Phil Spector called “God Only Knows.” Another incomplete song, “I Have Met My Love Today,” now celebrates the unexpected spark that leads to lifelong romance -- with a dash of youthful innocence. The musical arrangements may be simpler than on past efforts, yet his unique ability to distill complex emotions into everyday language remains fully intact.

As he’s done for years, Prine found inspiration in writing sessions with close friends like Roger Cook, Pat McLaughlin and Keith Sykes. “Egg and Daughter Nite, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1967 (Crazy Bone)” is a lighthearted look at a bygone era, while “Caravan of Fools” (written with McLaughlin and The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach) is a contemporary meditation on the weaknesses of powerful people. The poignant “No Ordinary Blue” wraps up a trilogy that encompasses 1991’s “You Got Gold” and 2005’s “Long Monday.” The album’s title is nestled in the final song, “When I Get to Heaven,” which brings a healthy dose of levity to what might have been a grave situation. Prine revealed in 2013 that an operable form of cancer had been found on his lung. Fortunately an operation proved successful. The diagnosis followed a 1998 surgery for neck cancer, which made him give up smoking for good.

“That was 20 years ago and I still miss cigarettes,” he admits. “If somebody lights up, I’ll go stand next to them after they're up so I can get that initial blast. 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.”

The Tree of Forgiveness is a family affair, too. (That’s Prine’s grandson giggling on the final track.) Following the 2015 death of business partner and manager Al Bunetta, Fiona Whelan Prine took on a management role. Their son Jody Whelan leads Oh Boy Records, which launched in 1981. As Nashville’s longest- operating indie label, Oh Boy expanded into book publishing in 2017 with Prine’s Beyond Words, which is an enchanting compilation of impeccable lyrics, guitar charts, vintage photos, and personal anecdotes from across his singular career.

Back in 1970, Prine was playing at the Chicago folk club The Fifth Peg when the young journalist Roger Ebert dropped in for a set. At the time, Prine was a 23-year-old mailman who had been singing his original songs every Thursday night for about two months. Ebert wrote a glowing review for the Chicago Sun- Times , essentially launching Prine’s music career. Kris Kristofferson became one of his earliest advocates; their friendship has lasted decades and they have toured together extensively over the years. In turn, Prine has invited a new generation of songwriters, such as Jason Isbell and Margo Price, to open his concerts. His 2018 tour schedule includes select dates with Sturgill Simpson.

Prine still remembers the first three songs he performed on any stage: “Sam Stone,” “Hello in There,” and “Paradise.” With humility, he recalls, “I sang those three songs and people just sat there and looked at me. I thought, ‘Wow, those are really bad.’ They wouldn’t even applaud.”

Of course, the opposite is true today. Those three songs – as well as “In Spite of Ourselves,” “Lake Marie,” “Fish and Whistle,” and so many others – are Prine signatures. His songs have been recorded by iconic singers like Johnny Cash (“Sam Stone”), Bette Midler (“Hello in There”) and Bonnie Raitt (“Angel from Montgomery”). He’s an uncredited co-writer on the now-classic “You Never Even Call Me by My Name” and his songs have been cut by country stars like Zac Brown Band (“All the Best”), Miranda Lambert (“That’s the Way the World Goes Round”) and George Strait (“I Just Want to Dance with You”). A gem from The Tree of Forgiveness, “Boundless Love” is also ripe for the picking.

Prine won his first Grammy for the 1991 album, The Missing Years , and he joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. The Grammy Hall of Fame inducted his 1971 self-titled debut album in 2014.

Two years later he accepted the PEN New England’s Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award. At the age of 70, he was named Artist of the Year by the Americana Music Association in 2017. Naturally, The Tree of Forgiveness is rooted in that same observant songwriting that he’s crafted throughout his career.

“I kept saying when I was doing this album, it’s going to be my last one,” Prine admits with a grin. “But if things go really good with it, I can’t see why I wouldn’t do something else.”

This album contains no booklet.