Wednesday, April 22, 2020

John Prine - 1995-09-30 - Majestic Theatre, Dallas, TX

John Prine
1995-09-30
Majestic Theatre, Dallas Texas

Soundboard recording, great quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

As promised, here's more John Prine! And this one is a full feature-length show (over 2 hours) from his 1995 tour, with full back-up band. This one is a great showcase for his 1990's songs featuring plenty of songs from both his 1991 Grammy-winning album (Best Contemporary Folk Album, his first grammy win after multiple nominations), The Missing Years, and his 1995 (grammy-nominated but non-winning) album, Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings. These two albums were both produced by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' bassist Howie Epstein (and the rest of the band also contributed on some songs). In addition this show still features all the older classics and favorites, and done with full band back-up, making this a wonderful and different concert from most of his others, and a great recording to boot. So, this one should definitely be added to the collection, even if you already have several Prine shows. A true original and master singer-songwriter, gone too soon, but who left behind a treasure trove of great music and unforgettable memories.

Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01. Spanish Pipedream
02. Six O'clock News
03. Fish And Whistle
04. Picture Show
05. You Got Gold
06. All The Best
07. New Train
08. Ain't Hurtin' Nobody
09. This Love is Real
10. Angel From Montgomery
11. Donald And Lydia
12. Souvenirs
13. That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round
14. Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
15. Space Monkey
16. Sam Stone

Disc 2:
01. Everything Is Cool
02. Leave the Lights On
03. Quit Hollerin' At Me
04. band intro
05. The Sins of Memphisto
06. Humidity Built the Snowman
07. Lake Marie
08. Hello In There
19. Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone
10. Please Don't Bury Me
11. Illegal Smile
12. Daddy's Little Pumpkin
13. We Are the Lonely
14. Storm Windows
15. Paradise (with The Subdudes) 

Band (Lost Dogs/Subdudes):
Larry Crane - guitar, vocals
Phil Parlapiano - keyboards, accordion, vocals
David Steele - guitars, mandolin, vocals
David Jacques - bass
Ed Gass - drums, percussion

FLAC - John Prine_1995-09-30_Dallas_FLAC.part1.rar
           - John Prine_1995-09-30_Dallas_FLAC.part2.rar

Mp3 - John Prine_1995-09-30_Dallas_Mp3.rar

Sunday, April 19, 2020

A Blogger's Dozen - 12 Years of BB Chronicles

12 Year Pin

Hey now, what do ya know? It's been 12 years, and I forgot all about my own anniversary! It just did not register with me that it was April already. So apparently it is also true that time flies even when you're having no fun at all. Sure, there is alot going on. Yes, it's been trying times for all these days, locked in under a global pandemic. But this anniversary date had completely slipped my mind until I visited another blog that was acknowledging their own Anniversary (Congrats pj at Albums I Wish Existed), and then remembered - Hey I've got an Anniversary too, and it was last week!.

So, anyway, Yes, this little outpost of a music blog has now been going for 12 full years (that's comparable to around 70 in blog-years). How about that!  And although it certainly is not the most prolific blog (averaging around 3 posts per month for the past 4 years), a whole lot of great music has been talked about and presented here over the years, of many different styles, all from artists that I personally enjoy very much, and hope that others will also enjoy. I try to present a variety of music that may be hard to find or not readily available elsewhere. I also try to provide some background and context to the music and artists, as well as my own commentary, rather than just unadorned music files, to give those new to these artists some perspective and history, to explore the music further. And I also have tried to keep these posts available as much as possible over time, thus pretty much everything that has been posted previously should still be available (with the exception of things that ran into copyright issues). I hope that what I have provided here has been useful and worthwhile, as well as musically satisfying, and I hope it has been something that you come back to often and have been introduced to some new music here that you really enjoy, to expand your musical horizons and enjoyment, and be a positive addition to your musical experience as well as your music collection.

And once again, as I have each year at this time, I also want to take this time to thank and celebrate all the others out there who have made so much of this great music, which is not available for purchase anywhere, freely available to all who wish to download and enjoy it. I am only able to offer these downloads because others before me have made them available. So, to all the other bloggers, tapers, forum posters, and music fans that have collected these recordings and made them available over the internet, and most importantly, to all the great artists and musicians out there that have created and performed this wonderful music and allow these recordings to be freely exchanged, I offer a huge and heartfelt Thank You. And again, I implore everyone to purchase all the official releases of your favorite artists, as well as, wherever possible, go see them live in concert (as soon concerts are allowed again). The music here serves to supplement, not replace, all of their officially released music. They are supported by fans like us. 

Moving Forward, I expect things to continue much as they have, I'll try to semi-regularly present music and artists I think are worth hearing, with occasional tributes to recently fallen musical heroes. I have some more from the great John Prine to present over the next couple weeks, and then will move on to other great stuff I hope will interest you. As always, I encourage feedback and discussion of anything mentioned or presented here. There have been alot of issues with zippyshare in recent months (unavailable in many countries, and obnoxious, aggressive pop-ups throughout), so I am starting to transition away from them and will be trying some new file-share sites, but they all seem to have issues of their own, so we'll see how that goes. Anyway, Thanks to all, and let's stay safe and secure out there, and no matter what, enjoy your music, it can help you through whatever difficulties you are experiencing.


Wednesday, April 15, 2020

John Prine - 1990-05-04 - Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA

John Prine
May 4, 1990
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA
Soundboard recording, excellent quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's more from legendary folk singer-songwriter and National Treasure John Prine, who recently passed away due to complications from COVID-19. This is a great, fun show with John performing solo at the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans in 1990. It's also a a very nice recording (especially for an outdoor show), and a great setlist that serves as a sort of compact greatest hits set (for that time). This was the year prior John's album The Missing Years (1991), but he does preview one new song from that album, his divorce anthem 'All The Best'. John is in fine voice this day (although he doesn't pause to tell stories for this shortened festival set), and although he had been performing for 20 years at this point, he still had his higher 'young man's voice' here, as this was before his bout with neck cancer deepened and roughened his voice in his later years. A great show featuring many of John's most popular songs.

Tracklist:
01. Spanish Pipedream
02. Donald and Lydia
03. Blue Umbrella
04. Angel From Montgomery
05. Bottomless Lake
06. All the Best
07. Grandpa Was a Carpenter
08. Illegal Smile
09. Dear Abby
10. Souvenirs
11. Sam Stone
12. That's The Way The World Goes 'Round
13. Please Don't Bury Me
14. Paradise
15. Hello in There

FLAC - John Prine_1990-5-4_New Orleans.FLAC.rar

mp3 - John Prine_1990-5-4_New orleans.mp3.rar
Updated links! 08/18/23

Monday, April 13, 2020

Loss of another music legend: R.I.P. John Prine (1946-2020)



Singer-Songwriter John Prine - 1946-2020

The world lost a unique unique talent last week with the death of singer-songwriter extraordnaiare John Prine due to complications with COVID-19 at the age of 73. John had survived two separate battles with cancer and was still performing and playing, but this latest health assault from the coronavirus was just too much for his battered body to withstand.

Prine was one of the greatest songwriters of all time, a masterful lyricist with unique insight and empathy into the travails and foibles of the human condition. Infusing his songs with an endearing wry humor, he was unparalleled as a homespun storyteller that could get right to the heart of unspoken feelings with just a few simple lines. Musically, his songs remained pretty basic, rarely straying much beyond his favorite chords and progressions, yet he always seemed to find just the right melody and fit for every song. And as a singer, his unusual voice and quirky expression also provided just the right mood for each song. Although his own records garnered only modest sales for most of his career, his songs were hailed as masterpieces and adored by musicians and followers of all genres and ages. It has only been in more recent years that he has been getting the full recognition, accolades, and success that he deserved.

Since word of his recent hospitalization, and subsequent death, I have been immersing myself in his music, and marveling all over again at the simple, understated brilliance of his songs and style, as well as the humbleness and great character of the man himself. I have to admit, we have lost alot of great musicians over the last several years, but this one has hit me especially hard. Although many will say that he lived a full rich life to even make it to 73 given his previous health issues, but I know that he still had more to give, and he was taken from us to soon. He was still active and performing (he had a tour scheduled for this summer), and given the excellence of his most recent album (The Tree of Forgiveness, 2018), he was still writing and performing great new songs.

I knew that I needed to respond to his death and post something to the blog acknowledging the life and work of this great man, but I just could not bring myself to do it right away. What could I say to sum up what he gave the world with his music and his personality? I still don't know how to express that. I'm at a loss for words. I've presented many aspects of his performances and career in previous posts and can't really add much to that. I thought about listing some of his best songs (or at least my favorites) and highlight some lesser known gems, but as I went through them it became clear that, my word, they are all great, I can't really list selected ones without leaving out so many other great ones. So, please, just listen to as many as you can and enjoy them all. In my very first Prine post, I tried to describe what made his music and personality special, so maybe just go read that again, as inadequate as that is as well.

John actually wrote many songs that dealt with death (even his own), often as purely humorous and whimsical adventures, (such as 'Please Don't Bury Me', 'Bottomless Lake', and 'When I Get to Heaven' among others), but many others with more serious and heartfelt emotion and depth ('Sam Stone', 'Mexican Home', 'Lake Marie', among others). His songs capture so many emotions, from outright joy to the deepest depths of the human soul. He can make you laugh, make you think, and break your heart (sometimes all at once), and come back again and again to hear it all over again and again. Thank you John for providing such a rich tapestry of human emotions, bringing smiles to our faces, and shining a light on the turmoil and depth of human experience. Heartfelt Condolences to John's family, relatives, and legions of fans.

I have updated all of the previous posts of John's music and performances here. Be sure to check out all you can. I will also post (over the next several days - not quite ready yet) some additional shows and performances from John highlighting his sensational talent, songs, and career. John lives on in his songs and performances, and will never be forgotten. Once again,To a legendary singer, songwriter, and great human being, John Prine.