John Prine - Fair & Square

Never an artist known to push himself harder than necessary, 2005's Fair And Square was John Prine's first album in five years, and his first set dominated by new material since 1995's Lost Dogs And Mixed Blessings (a live album, a set of covers and a collection of new recordings of older material helped fill the gap). Of course, Prine had a fair amount to occupy him during that decade between new albums, most notably a bout with cancer in 1999, and while by all accounts Prine beat the disease with proper treatment, the man on Fair And Square seems a good bit less scrappy and more contemplative than the guy who cut Prine's most memorable material. Read More