James Velvet on John Prine

"He can write wry, dry, tragic, mundane and fantastic. … He's a wordsmith who seemingly pieces rhymes together effortlessly, often with comic results. Good story-telling alone does not explain why Prine's tunes have been covered by Johnny Cash, Dave Matthews, Kris Kristofferson, Ben Harper, Jimmy Buffet, Laura Cantrell and Tanya Tucker. There's a melodicism built into his finger-picked guitar playing, often in the key of G, 'the people's key.' Through waltzes and two-beats and straight-four time he can make melodies soar, push, plod, or skip depending on what the lyrics call for. Here's a good example: The title track of his 1999 album of gal/guy duets is 'In Spite of Ourselves,' sung with Iris DeMent. He uses the same three chords (C, F and G) throughout the song. In the verses, the melody stays on the beat with very few rests, emphasizing the dead-pan humor. … But in a romantic chorus, sung in two-part harmony, the melody stretches out and arches over the beat, with plenty of rest time between phrases ('In spite of ourselves/we'll end up sittin' on a rainbow/against all odds/honey we're the big door prize') giving the song a true love feel" ("Live Music," New Haven Advocate, 5/7/09).