In Spite of Ourselves - Prine, John (CD 1999)

I've been a John Prine fan for years but am not sure what prompted the purchase of In Spite of Ourselves, a CD of duets with Prine and some of his favorite female singers. And it sure wasn't what I expected the first time these (mostly) old country chestnuts kept me company.

However, I stayed with the CD and grew to enjoy many of these songs. But be forewarned from the beginning: In Spite of Ourselves is old-timey country music, the kind that hasn't been played on the radio since the 1960s. It bears almost no resemblance to the country music hits of today and it's also not much like Prine's usual collections of gently biting and witty folk songs.

Prine sets up the CD by saying he contacted most of his favorite female singers and was surprised when they agreed to sing duets with him. Although Prine is a superb songwriter, he wrote only one of these songs. The rest were written by a string of names familiar to anyone who visits the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Before I get to the meat of the review, you should know that Prine is not someone who will ever win awards for his singing voice. Although he is surprisingly expressive, his voice has the quality of sandpaper on concrete, with whistling sibilants. It's easy to like when you listen to one of his many hilarious novelty songs but it is a noise of a different nature when attempting to croon in a duet with an accomplished female voice. Regardless, there are many charms to these songs, some more so than others.

Here's the list of songs and his singing partners:

1. (We're Not) The Jet Set with Iris DeMent
2. So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) with Connie Smith
3. Wedding Bells/Let's Turn Back the Years with Lucinda Williams
4. When Two Worlds Collide with Trisha Yearwood
5. Milwaukee Here I Come with Melba Montgomery
6. I Know One with Emmylou Harris
7. It's a Cheating Situation with Dolores Keane
8. Back Street Affair with Patty Loveless
9. Loose Talk with Connie Smith
10. Let's Invite Them Over with Iris DeMent
11. 'Til a Tear Becomes a Rose with Fiona Prine
12. In a Town This Size with Dolores Keane
13. We Could with Iris DeMent
14. We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds with Melba Montgomery
15. In Spite of Ourselves with Iris DeMent
16. Dear John (I Sent Your Saddle Home) with a male chorus and no duet partner

I'd heard the names of most of Prine's duet partners but was unfamiliar with Iris DeMent and Fiona Prine. And although I'd heard of Melba Montgomery, Lucinda Williams and Dolores Keane, I can't say that any particular song pops into my mind for these singers. In any event, here's my take on this CD, cut by cut:

(We're Not) The Jet Set is a funny little song about how the singers are terminally unhip, preferring beer and weenies to steak and martinis (among other things). Prine's voice is his usually witty rasp but DeMent's is a comic alto that works perfectly with this novelty song. The only problem with (We're Not) The Jet Set is that it's just too short. One more verse would make it outstanding.

So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) is a weeper, nicely arranged with a tinkling country-style piano. It has a very old-fashioned quality to it that I admired once I listened a few times. But I can understand if some just don't have the tenacity to appreciate Connie Smith's soulful singing. It's a good song but not a great song.

Wedding Bells/Let's Turn Back the Years is actually a medley of two songs, Wedding Bells and Let's Turn Back the Years. They work together well as a story of a man who loses the love of his life to another man, only to wish her well on her wedding day. Yeah, it's an old story but it's done charmingly here and Lucinda Williams' voice has a sleepy quality that gives the song a dreamlike vibe. Very nice, very old-timey.

When Two Worlds Collide just doesn't work well for me. It sounds like something Hank Williams would have sung and Trisha Yearwood certainly sings well, but the duet just seems a little off. Perhaps Prine's rasp and Yearwood's purer tones just don't mix well.

Milwaukee Here I Come is more like the sort of stuff that Prine normally does and his nasal delivery is better matched in this song by Melba Montgomery's um... mature-sounding voice. (I want to say old but that's not as nice as mature.) This is a funny song about how she wants to go to Nashville and flirt with her favorite musicians, such as Earl Flatt and Lester Scruggs. He wants to go back to Milwaukee and work for a brewery. It's a cute song but again, very old-fashioned sounding.

I Know One is a pretty song with a nice performance from Emmylou Harris. Harris has one of the most wistful voices in music and it works well in this song about forgiveness. ("If you need a fool to forgive you, I know one.")

A lot of country songs are about runnin' around and cheatin' and that's the plot of It's a Cheating Situation. The song is a little slow and somber, but I like the storyline and Dolores Keane has an ache in her voice that delivers.

Cheatin' is also the theme of Back Street Affair, a bouncy number with Patty Loveless. This is one of those songs that make me want to sing along, which is a good thing. Loveless' strident and expressive voice makes it sound like she just might be someone with whom to share a back street affair.

Loose Talk has a nifty spiral melody and it's theme also revolves around love suppressed by others. Apparently everyone in town is watching the couple and getting the wrong idea. Its a bouncy tune that worked well as a drive-to-work song.

Let's Invite Them Over is one of those country songs where each of the couple loves someone else. Eh... Okay, get a divorce and move on, as I will to the next song.

'Til a Tear Becomes a Rose was a surprise. I assume that Fiona Prine is the wife of John Prine. Regardless of her connection, she arguably has the prettiest voice on this CD. With a dash of country twang, she delivers the emotions in this sad song that holds out the hope of redemption. This is a very pretty, old-fashioned country/bluegrass song.

In a Town This Size again mines the theme of two lovers who are thwarted by the people around them. This one is a little funnier than Loose Talk and it has a pleasant driving country rhythm. This is one of my favorites on the CD and again Dolores Keane has a gritty voice that squeezes some extra emotion from the simple words.

We Could is just a simple love song but Iris DeMent's comical voice gives it a sense of humor. Humor is a good thing and DeMent delivers just enough to make the song slide down easy.

We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds is an old-fashioned country waltz and I can picture twirling dancers in my mind. The song is simple fare for country music: A couple who has gotten a little wild decides to reconcile. I know, it's the human condition but it works as a country waltz.

In Spite of Ourselves is the only song on this CD written by John Prine and it shows. It is sparkling and modern, with some of Prine's best laugh-out-loud lines. Unfortunately, some of the best lines are PG13 in nature and won't be written here. But how about this: "She thinks all my jokes are corny, convict movies make her horny, she likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs, swears like sailor when she shaves her legs." Again, Iris DeMent's amusing delivery makes her perfect for this song and it's the best on the CD.

Dear John (I Sent Your Saddle Home) seems sort of tacked on at the end, as there is no female partner. However, it's a pretty good song about a sad sack who's wife dumped him and ran off with everything of value. It's another of my favorites from this CD. The very beginning of the song is a dead-ringer for the beginning of Hank Williams' Honky Tonkin'.

In Spite of Ourselves (the CD, not just the song) is a good CD but you have to be prepared for the old-fashioned country quality of these songs. Nothing like this is played on the radio today, or has been for 40 years. That doesn't make it bad but it does take some getting used to, something of an acquired taste. It took me several playings to acquire it but I learned to like several of these songs. It also introduced me to singers like Iris DeMent and Dolores Keane, both of whom have fine performances here. I particularly enjoy the humor in DeMent's voice.

Rating this CD is tough. After one listen, it was maybe two stars, then it slowly crept up from there. After several spins in my CD player, it's now at around 3.5 stars. Let's call it a strong three-star performance. If you're looking for Prine's usual witty observations, you will be disappointed. If you're willing to sit still for some feel-good old-timey country, In Spite of Ourselves deserves a spin in your CD player. However, if you're a fan of Prine's, I can understand skipping this for one of his solo CDs with all of his original songs. Just be sure you remember that In Spite of Ourselves is very different from Prine's solo CDs.