Great Days: The John Prine Anthology

Great Days: The John Prine Anthology

ASIN: B00000332A

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. Illegal Smile

2. Spanish Pipedream

3. Hello in There

4. Sam Stone

5. Paradise

6. Donald and Lydia

7. Late John Garfield Blues

8. Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You

9. Great Compromise

10. Sweet Revenge

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone

2. Automobile

3. Killing the Blues

4. Down by the Side of the Road

5. Living in the Future

6. It's Happening to You

7. Storm Windows

8. One Red Rose

9. Souvenirs - Steve Goodman, John Prine

10. Aimless Love

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
If you buy Great Days: The John Prine Anthology, you may live to regret it. He's probably the best American folk-song lyricist of his generation, mixing low-key poignancy and deadpan humor in perfect proportions. His musical limitations serve to reinforce the understated nature of his art, and his short, plain-spoken lines (written in the offhand conversational style of his Midwestern and Appalachian characters) sneak through the back door of your imagination and won't leave. So where does the regret come in? Well, as you listen to the 41 songs arranged chronologically on these two CDs, you're going to ask yourself, "If someone can write 41 songs as good as these, isn't there a good chance he wrote more than 41?" After hearing the anthology's six songs from Prine's 1971 debut album, for example, you may decide to go out and buy that album itself. After you hear songs as delightful as "Pretty Good" and "Your Flag Decal," which didn't find their way into the collection, you may soon find yourself hunting down all 10 of Prine's original studio albums. Then you may regret having bought Great Days. --Geoffrey Himes

Tracks:

Illegal Smile
Spanish Pipedream
Hello In There
Sam Stone
Paradise
Donald And Lydia
The Late John Garfield Blues
Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You
The Great Compromise
Sweet Revenge
Please Don't Bury Me
Christmas In Prison
Dear Abby (Live)
Blue Umbrella
Common Sense
Come Back To Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard
Saddle In The Rain
He Was In Heaven Before He Died
Fish And Whistle
That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round
Bruised Orange (Chain Of Sorrow)

Tracks:

Sabu Visits The Twin Cities Alone
Automobile
Killing The Blues
Down By The Side Of The Road
Living In The Future
It's Happening To You
Storm Windows
One Red Rose
Souvenirs - Steve Goodman
Aimless Love
The Oldest Baby In The World
People Puttin' People Down
Unwed Fathers
Angel From Montgomery (Live)
Linda Goes To Mars
Bad Boy
Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness (Live)
It's A Big Old Goofy World (Live)
The Sins Of Memphisto
All The Best

Amazon.com essential recording

If you buy Great Days: The John Prine Anthology, you may live to regret it. He's probably the best American folk-song lyricist of his generation, mixing low-key poignancy and deadpan humor in perfect proportions. His musical limitations serve to reinforce the understated nature of his art, and his short, plain-spoken lines (written in the offhand conversational style of his Midwestern and Appalachian characters) sneak through the back door of your imagination and won't leave. So where does the regret come in? Well, as you listen to the 41 songs arranged chronologically on these two CDs, you're going to ask yourself, "If someone can write 41 songs as good as these, isn't there a good chance he wrote more than 41?" After hearing the anthology's six songs from Prine's 1971 debut album, for example, you may decide to go out and buy that album itself. After you hear songs as delightful as "Pretty Good" and "Your Flag Decal," which didn't find their way into the collection, you may soon find yourself hunting down all 10 of Prine's original studio albums. Then you may regret having bought Great Days. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Great Days is GREAT.......2007-07-10

This Anthology is wonderful. I have enjoyed hours of listening. It shipped very promptly and arrived in great condition.

Takes you on the gamut of emotions.......2007-01-18

This is a collection of John Prine's work from about 1971 to 1997. The songs came from Prine's first ten albums. I'm not going to argue why some songs were included and others not--this is an excellent view of Prine's work. The mastering is pretty good, the selections are both cheerful and some of the saddest songs I've ever heard, including "Donald and Lydia" and "Christmas in Prison."

In retrospect, I almost wish I'd gotten the first ten CDs instead, but this is a good start and an interesting mix of Prine's work. Well worth the price.

Gave it as A Gift.......2007-01-11

I had never heard of John Prine before, but I gave this CD set as a gift to one of my best friends. She loved it. I guess there are a few of his songs missing from this collection, but otherwise, she gave it a rave review!

Great Compromise.......2006-09-12

If you are like me you have JP's albums on vinyl and really didn't want to re-buy them all just so I could have Johnny in the car so this looked like a "great compromise." Like a lot of reviewers have complained they left some fine tunes off but that's just a sad byproduct of compilations, ain't it? Get over it and move on. When all is said and done this is suitable for the fan such as myself who needs a little "Paradise" and "Sabu" on his daily commute. The accompanying booklet has a lot of info from Prine about each song that makes for fine reading, too.

WARNING!! This collection contains the saddest song ever written.......2006-08-18

"Donald And Lydia" is easily the saddest song ever written. Sure on the first listen it sounds like a song of hope but crushes it in the last line of the last verse.

Be prepared to open a vein after the fifth or sixth listen when the sheer hopelessness of the lyrics hit you.

BTW "Goddamn Lonely Love" by the Drive By Truckers is the second saddest song.

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