10 Jahre ist es mittlerweile her, dass der große John Prine ein Studioalbum mit neuen eigenen Songs veröffentlicht hat: 'Lost Dogs And Mixed Blessings' hieß das Werk und es gehörte nicht mal zu seinen stärksten Momenten in seiner langen Karriere seit Anfang der 70er. Danach gab es eine Live-CD, eine Duett-CD mit Fremdtiteln und zuletzt in 2000 das starke Album 'Souvenirs', auf dem er seine bekanntesten/beliebtesten Songs mit entschlackten Arrangements neu einspielte. In den letzten Jahren war es eine schwere Krebserkrankung, die sein Leben radikal veränderte. Nach Operationen im Kehl- und Nackenbereich ist es ein Wunder, dass er - 58-jährig - wieder so fit geworden ist, um aufzutreten und solche großartigen Platten zu machen wie 'Fair & Square'. Und das mit einer (fast) neuen Stimme, die deutlich tiefer klingt und endlich der entspricht, die er sich schon früher gewünscht hatte. Krebs also als Wende zum Besseren - Prine-Humor. Der natürlich immer wieder in den Texten durchscheint, wenngleich die Themen Liebe (Frau & Kinder) und Vergangenheitsreflektion inkl. Krankheit diesmal dominieren, aber auch ein Anti-Bush-Statement, quasi ein Protestsong, an zentraler Stelle steht: 'Some Humans Ain't Human' - Prine-Zynismus. Musikalisch gibt's eine feine Palette von meist semiakustischen Balladen gespickt mit Memphis-style Midtempo-Rockern und Nashville Countrysongs Marke "days gone by". Die beiden Covertitel stammen von Blaze Foley und der Carter Family. Feat. Jason Wilber, Shawn Camp, Pat McLaughlin, Dan Dugmore, Jerry Douglas, Dave Jacques, Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Mindy Smith.

(Glitterhouse)

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. The lyric sheet for Fair and Square reads like classic John Prine, with plenty of sly regular-guy wit and pithy observations on the state of life ("Crazy as a Loon"), love ("She Is My Everything") and the world around us ("Some Humans Ain't Human" and "My Darlin' Hometown"), but the spare, simple production (by Prine and engineer Gary Paczosa) and the rueful tone of Prine's vocals suggest a man who is just a bit weary, though that seems to be not a matter of health as much as advancing maturity and the world around him (with "Some Humans Ain't Human" explicitly addressing the War in Iraq amidst other recent failures of compassion). It's significant that the disc's "bonus tracks" are easily the most upbeat -- the funny henpecked husband's tale of "Other Side Of Town" and "Safety Joe," a witty warning about the dangers of too much caution. There's plenty of fine music on Fair and Square (Jerry Douglas and Alison Krauss are among the stellar pickers on-board) and there still isn't anyone who writes quite like John Prine, but for the most part this album is an unusually spare and subdued effort from an artist who usually can't help but crack a smile; with any luck he'll be feeling a bit more hopeful next time out, though this is still great music for a quiet afternoon.

(by Mark Deming , All Music Guide)