John Prine - Prime Prine (Rhino Reserve)

Prime Prine gathers the best of John Prine's early Atlantic years onto a single 180-gram LP, presented as part of the Rhino Reserve series.

Released in 1976, the compilation draws on the four albums he made between 1971 and 1975, the run that turned a former mail carrier from Maywood, Illinois into one of the most admired songwriters in America. Prine had a rare gift for saying enormous things in ordinary words, and other writers noticed long before the wider world caught up. This set works as a primer for newcomers and a well-chosen shelf of favourites for anyone who already knows the way.

The heavy hitters are here. Sam Stone tells the story of a returning soldier undone by addiction with devastating plainness, while Hello in There sits with the loneliness of old age and refuses to look away. Then the mood flips: Illegal Smile winks through a haze of sly humour, and Dear Abby turns a pile of complaint letters into a gleeful comic routine. The playing stays warm and unfussy, acoustic guitars and easy country rhythm, leaving plenty of room for that cracked, conversational voice.

Few compilations make the case for an artist this efficiently. By the final song it is obvious why so many songwriters still speak his name with reverence.