Rating: 
Summary: Rare Prime Prine
Review: John Prine is one of those rare artists who both define and occupy a niche in pop music. I've been a fan of John since the mid-1970's in Chicago, where you could catch Prine and Steve Goodman on a double bill - or just sitting in on each other's acts - at The Quiet Knight for a two drink minimum. His catchy, eclectic and highly personal songs are always interesting and sometimes extraordinary. But not until this DVD have you been able to catch the spirit of a John Prine concert. I don't know why it has taken so long, but I'm grateful that it is here at last. It's not quite the same as being there, but it's a treat even so. I bought the DVD after a concert here in Fairbanks, just last week. Except for not having Iris Dement for the cuts from "In Spite of Ourselves" (John sang both parts himself), this DVD captures the spirit, the goofy sincerity and charm, of John Prine very well. The camera work is quite good, the editing is crisp and smooth, and his band, Jason Wilber and David Jacques, are nearly perfect. Life hasn't treated John all that well. He's had his woman problems ("All the Best" was written for his ex-wife's wedding), his best friend died, he's had a hip transplant and scary brush with cancer. But it hasn't affected his music or his evident joy in life. He seems to live his life and write his music with the message of "Bruised Orange" in mind: "It don't do no good to get angry, believe me, I know." John Prine fans: this DVD belongs in your collection. You will savor it for years to come. For those who don't know John, get "Souvenirs," his latest CD release, and this DVD, and see what the fuss is all about. And thanks, John. It was a great concert. It's a great DVD. Keep up the good work.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: My husband and I first heard John Prine at The Earl of Old Town in Chicago's Old Town. He was a mail man in a Chicago suburb and singing at " The Earl" at night. We Loved him then and I still listen with great nostalgia to his poetic lyrics. May he sing for years to come...there is truly only one John Prine.
Diane Witmer
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: My husband and I first heard John Prine at The Earl of Old Town in Chicago's Old Town. He was a mail man in a Chicago suburb and singing at " The Earl" at night. We Loved him then and I still listen with great nostalgia to his poetic lyrics. May he sing for years to come...there is truly only one John Prine.
Diane Witmer
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Artist, Amazing Show
Review: My wife and I (being Prine enthusiasts) recently saw an amazing performance in Paducah, KY, and picked up a copy of this DVD. All I can truly say is that it does a fabulous job of capturing the energy and style of a live Prine show. It looks (and perhaps more importantly FEELS) as if there's no screen separating you from the action. Give this show serious consideration as a gift--to someone you love or yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Good one, John!
Review: This concert was a bit shaky at first, with poor sound quality, but once it got going and you got into it, it really hit its straps and you just got to love it. Prine is very good and his back-up musicians are excellent. The small venue makes a big difference with concerts like this. The five songs he sings with Iris Dement gives you a good look at the fascinating Ms Dement. If you are a fan of JP, you should love this.
Rating:
Summary: Solid show by a great artist
Review: This DVD is a long overdue visual representation of John Prine's mesmerizing abilities as a live performer. His two live cd's for his own Oh Boy! Records, In Concert & On Tour, are both essential to anyone interested in his music (and everyone should
be!) and this release, while not in that same rarefied league, is still excellent nonetheless. Prine never seems bored playing his older material and always manages to perform them as if they were evergreen compositions.....seen to great effect here as most of the songs are culled from his early-to-mid 70's Atlantic albums. The highlights however are his two newer songs, In Spite Of Ourselves and Lake Marie. The first is a side-splitting duet with the terrific Iris DeMent which packs an unexpected emotional wallop due to the absolute conviction in which this profanely funny look at dysfunctional love is given in the performance here. Lake Marie is probably the best thing Prine will ever write, which means it stands tall over 99% of everything else. A story-song that never lapses into the hokey novelty of that genre, it uses the story of how Lake Marie got its name as well as a vivid description of a grisly murder scene being watched on TV as a backdrop for another of Prine's fabulous "Love Gone Wrong" songs. Somehow, what should be a disjointed mess ends up as a staggeringly engrossing narrative and his performance here, while acoustic, rocks. My only quibble is that this should have been treated as a more definitive release with all the bells and whistles that Prine's first DVD deserves. The interview with John Hiatt, while a great treat to actually watch two masters talking, is rendered a bit redundant when Prine "Double dips" and uses many of the anecdotes from the interview in the Sessions performance. But these are minor faults and hopefully the good people at Oh Boy! will put out another Prine DVD before too long. Especially in times as troubled as these....his music is a comforting and knowing light. -Zayne Reeves
Rating:
Summary: Solid show by a great artist
Review: This DVD is a long overdue visual representation of John Prine's mesmerizing abilities as a live performer. His two live cd's for his own Oh Boy! Records, In Concert & On Tour, are both essential to anyone interested in his music (and everyone should
be!) and this release, while not in that same rarefied league, is still excellent nonetheless. Prine never seems bored playing his older material and always manages to perform them as if they were evergreen compositions.....seen to great effect here as most of the songs are culled from his early-to-mid 70's Atlantic albums. The highlights however are his two newer songs, In Spite Of Ourselves and Lake Marie. The first is a side-splitting duet with the terrific Iris DeMent which packs an unexpected emotional wallop due to the absolute conviction in which this profanely funny look at dysfunctional love is given in the performance here. Lake Marie is probably the best thing Prine will ever write, which means it stands tall over 99% of everything else. A story-song that never lapses into the hokey novelty of that genre, it uses the story of how Lake Marie got its name as well as a vivid description of a grisly murder scene being watched on TV as a backdrop for another of Prine's fabulous "Love Gone Wrong" songs. Somehow, what should be a disjointed mess ends up as a staggeringly engrossing narrative and his performance here, while acoustic, rocks. My only quibble is that this should have been treated as a more definitive release with all the bells and whistles that Prine's first DVD deserves. The interview with John Hiatt, while a great treat to actually watch two masters talking, is rendered a bit redundant when Prine "Double dips" and uses many of the anecdotes from the interview in the Sessions performance. But these are minor faults and hopefully the good people at Oh Boy! will put out another Prine DVD before too long. Especially in times as troubled as these....his music is a comforting and knowing light. -Zayne Reeves
Rating:
Summary: A Professional Tour De Force!
Review: This DVD is a professional "tour de force" for John. I especially enjoy the chemistry he appears to have with lead guitarist Jason Wilber, an amazing young talent in his own right (don 't miss his King For A Day!). My favorite song is Lake Marie... it just scintillates from the first chord to the last note. The only knock is that it doesn't finish with the tradiional closer "Paradise."
Rating:
Summary: Great! Prine time is finally here
Review: This is a powerful trio made up of one acoustic guitar & vocal, an up right bass (except one tune) and Jason the boy wonder on electric guitar, slide, harmonica, etc. Don't stray from this concert because there is only 3 of them, these concerts can be the best, plus it fits Prine's music perfect. I saw this concert on Sessions at West 54th on the Trio channel (DirecTV) and I could not believe my eyes, that it was this good and that Johnny had been captured on tape! He is the best lyric's man I have ever heard and he is still writing them just as good, wow. I saw his show up in Montreal Aug 01, and it was just like this concert- Great, except it was about 2 hours long. Good concerts on DVD/Tape are hard to find, this one is good. The sound is clean and mixed well and the audience does not over power the end of the tune, other words you do not have to turn it down when the applause comes on. Video is done very good as well, most of the camera shots are taken right over the audience heads, as if you were sitting in the seats at times. By the way, I found Iris Dement's voice ear piercing at times, however the lyrics are great, this is the only reason for 4 and not 5 stars. Johnny is a legend!
Rating:
Summary: polish all that crome
Review: when they played this live to air in new jersey we went ape. six o'clock news...nice. a good prine set with a couple of rarities stepped up for this dvd release. proves that after 30 some odd years, talent like this doesn't dwindle.
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