Discovered by the great Kris Kristofferson, Prine has much in common with his early mentor. Both are strikingly articulate songwriters working in a continually derided marketplace, who simultaneously pay respect to the heritage of country music while addressing contemporary issues with remarkable insight.
The Soundstage show, from the vaults of America’s PBS network, intersperses laidback performances of many of Prine’s greatest songs (Angel From Montgomery, The Accident, Paradise) with documentary footage of the singer revisiting his hometown of Maywood, Illinois – a surprisingly industrial locale for a man whose music is rooted in the rural US.
It’s Prine’s charm and good humour of that shines through, cutting the figure of a groovy hipster who’s equally at home on a protest march as he was on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. A pleasing amalgam of Johnny Cash and John Fogerty, he remains a pertinent and persuasive musician with a keen ear and a sharp mind.
