John Prine - 1970

In these strange times stuck at home I have been trying to spend as little time on the computer as possible. I am able to work from home so I feel fortunate in that but I have to use the computer to work so I check a few things in the morning with my tea and breakfast then not much else outside work. I haven't been out in days and my band hasn't rehearsed in weeks but I have been working on a new solo album, writing and recording in my basement studio. When it's done I'll share it with you guys.

This past week we lost a music icon to this crazy virus we are fighting. John had survived two bouts of cancer one heart surgery and numerous other health issues before being taken from us. He was 78. I'm sad but I'm sure he and Steve Goodman are looking down on us laughing and having a great time drinking, smoking and trading songs.

I've been a fan of John Prine for a long, long time and he was a big influence on me and my band mate Kenny. We play several of his songs and recorded a couple under our cover band moniker Mighty Man. I was very sad to hear of his passing. John had one of those quirky sense of humors, sometimes dark and slightly tongue in cheek but always in the spirit of fun. He wrote amazing songs and could spin a yarn with the best of them. Many of my favorite lyrics are John Prine lyrics. 

Sally used to play with her hula hoops

Now she tells her problems to therapy groups

Grandpa's on the front lawn starin' at a rake

Wonderin' if his marriage was a terrible mistake

I'm sitting on the front steps drinking Orange Crush

Wonderin' if it's possible for me to still blush

(The Sins Of Memphisto)

To celebrate his life I present this bootleg of John recorded sometime before the release of his first album. According to the notes that accompany this collection this is the oldest known recordings of John though I have another bootleg that according to the label predates this by a few months. This is a compilation of what sounds like a demo tape and a live set.
Tracks

01 Hello In There
02 Souvenirs
03 Sam Stone
04 Paradise
05 Blue Umbrella
06 My Woman
07 Illegal Smile
08 Flashback Blues
09 The Frying Pan
10 Sour Grapes
11 A Star, A Jewel And A Hoax (unreleased)
12 Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore
13 The Great Compromise
14 Angel From Montgomery
15 A Good Time
16 Hey, Good Lookin' > Jambalaya
17 Quiet Man
18 Spanish Pipedream

Reality Notes

Not much more I can say about this. Quality is great for the studio portion (tracks 1-11) and lessens only slightly for the live part (tracks 12-18). The live portion was an FM broadcast but this does sound a generation or two down the line. There are a few flaws during the live portion as well but they're minor. The concert is supposedly from The 5th Peg in Chicago in August of 1970. If anyone has any further info about this they can add or correct please do. I did not try to fix anything wishing to preserve this as it is for posterity. I did tidy up the fronts and backs of the tracks as this sounded like a needle drop vinyl rip. I could hear turntable rumble during the quiet parts between songs. Beyond that this is how I found it. Enjoy.

The cover was embedded in the original files so I decided to keep it rather than make my own. I aslo included the sparse text file of notes that came with the original archive.

Thank you John for all the smiles you gave me through the years.

And then I’m gonna get a cocktail, vodka and ginger ale,
Yeah, I’m gonna smoke a cigarette that’s nine miles long,
I’m gonna kiss that pretty girl on the Tilt-A-Whirl,
‘cause this old man is goin’ to town
(When I Get To Heaven)