For Better, Or Worse

For Better, Or Worse

by John Prine
For Better, Or Worse

For Better, Or Worse

by John Prine

CD

$14.99 
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Overview

In 1999, John Prine released a thoroughly charming and engaging album called In Spite of Ourselves, in which he covered a handful of classic country tunes (tossing in one new original for good measure) as duets with nine talented female vocalists. Prine has given the same approach another try 17 years later, and though For Better, or Worse isn't quite as good as his first go-round with this concept, it's still a fine collection of songs from a man who knows a bit about crafting a tune. The greatest strength of For Better, or Worse is also one of its weaknesses -- Prine himself. Prine was nearly 70 when he recorded this album, and his voice has grown worse for wear (his battle with throat cancer in the '90s and a more recent brush with lung cancer haven't helped). But if he sounds his age on these tracks, he also spins that to his advantage; on numbers like "Who's Gonna Take the Garbage Out," "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke," and "I'm Telling You," he sounds like an wily old rascal who's seen it all and has plenty to tell. Prine's female co-stars are all in better shape than he is in terms of their instruments, and across the board they sound happy and honored to be working with the great man. Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, Kacey Musgraves, Susan Tedeschi, Miranda Lambert, and Kathy Mattea all bring their A game to these sessions, and help to give Prine a boost when he needs it. Of course, the best tracks are the ones where Prine teams up with Iris DeMent; the two singers have long shown they're simpatico, and hearing them together on "Who's Gonna Take the Garbage Out" and "Mr. & Mrs. Used to Be" is a delight. Add in a studio band that delivers the classic Nashville honky tonk sound these songs demand, and a closing solo performance of "Just Waitin'," where Prine makes Luke the Drifter's lyrics sound like something he could have written himself, and you get a fine latter-day album from a seminal artist. It's still troubling that one of America's best songwriters seems to have lost the desire to pen new material, but For Better, or Worse shows John Prine hasn't lost his spirit as a performer. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date: 09/30/2016
Label: Oh Boy
UPC: 0696859970207
Rank: 6466

Tracks

  1. Who's Gonna Take the Garbage Out
  2. Storms Never Last
  3. Falling in Love Again
  4. Color of the Blues
  5. I'm Telling You
  6. Remember Me
  7. Look at Us
  8. Dim Lights, Thick Smoke
  9. Fifteen Years Ago
  10. Cold Cold Heart
  11. Dreaming My Dreams
  12. Mental Cruelty
  13. Mr. & Mrs. Used to Be
  14. My Happiness
  15. Just Waitin'

Album Credits

Performance Credits

John Prine   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic)
Pete Wasner   Piano
Al Perkins   Dobro,Guitar (Steel)
Holly Williams   Vocals,Featured Artist
Amanda Shires   Vocals,Featured Artist
Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson   Harmonica
Kacey Musgraves   Vocals,Featured Artist
Dave Jacques   Bass (Upright)
Morgane Stapleton   Vocals,Featured Artist
Susan Tedeschi   Vocals,Featured Artist,Guitar (Electric)
Kenneth Blevins   Drums
Iris DeMent   Vocals,Featured Artist
Shad Cobb   Fiddle
Pat McLaughlin   Mandolin
Lee Ann Womack   Vocals,Featured Artist
Jason Wilber   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Mark Howard   Mandolin,Guitar (Acoustic)
Kathy Mattea   Vocals,Featured Artist
Miranda Lambert   Vocals,Featured Artist
Tim O'Brien   Fiddle,Mandolin
Alison Krauss   Featured Artist
Fiona Prine   Vocals,Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Don Cobb   Mastering
John Prine   Producer,Liner Notes
Johnny Tillotson   Composer
Sammy Lerner   Composer
Neal Cappellino   Engineer
Raymond Smith   Composer
Buck Owens   Composer
George Jones   Composer
Senor McGuire   Photography
Dixie Davis   Composer
Betty Peterson   Composer
Scott Wiseman   Composer
Amy Richmond   Photography
Lucille Cosenza   Composer
Jody Whelan   Producer
Allen Reynolds   Composer
Teddy Wilburn   Composer
Bob Delevante   Design
Iris DeMent   Liner Notes
Billy Hughes   Composer
Borney Bergantine   Composer
Lawton Williams   Composer
Joe Maphis   Composer
Eric Conn   Mastering
Vince Gill   Composer
Jason Wilber   Executive Producer
Mark Miller   Mixing
Jessi Colter   Composer
Ray Kennedy   Engineer
Rose Lee Maphis   Composer
Jim Rooney   Producer
Max T. Barnes   Composer
Hank Williams   Composer
Matt Allen   Engineer,Assistant
Friedrich Hollaender   Composer
Larry Davis   Composer
Joe Deaton   Composer
Fiona Prine   Executive Producer
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