John Prine Bruised Orange Lyrics

It took John Prine seven years to make his peace with the "New Dylan" expectations that accompanied his critically hailed 1971 debut. Which isn't to say that the Illinois-born singer/songwriter didn't make some fine music in the years that passed between his initial recording and this, a comfortable-as-an-old-shoe collection that signals the start of Prine's settling-in period. Folk-circuit fellow traveler Steve Goodman's sympathetic production suits Prine just fine. The songs, meanwhile, are sprinkled with wise and witty wordplay. "Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone" chronicles a misbegotten movie promotion. "If You Don't Want My Love" is an oddly unrepentant exercise in self-pity copenned with reclusive pop producer Phil Spector, while "Aw Heck" is its polar opposite--a sing-it-from-the-rafters celebration of passion ("I could get the electric chair for a phony rap / Long as she's sittin' in my lap"). It's not faint praise to note that Bruised Orange is thoroughly likable. --Steven Stolder