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Avg: 3.5 (51 ratings)
- Date Released: April 24, 2007
- Genre: Country/Folk
- Style: Americana
- Label: Oh Boy Records
A bluegrass master and a legendary songwriter team up for a classic standards album.
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We Say...
If John Prine is one of America’s greatest singer-songwriters — and he is — you might wonder why he’d need to make covers albums at all. But Standard Songs for Average People, like 1999’s In Spite of Ourselves, is not only a classic collection of other people’s material but a great duets album as well. With In Spite, Prine sang 15 old country songs with nine women and threw in an original that topped everything, just to keep you on your toes; here, he and bluegrass great Mac Wiseman settle into their respective easy chairs and go kneecap to kneecap on 14 songs of varying provenance.
With expert backing from a number of Nashville pros and the plummy Carol Lee Singers offsetting the ragged headliners, the results are as relaxed as a game of cribbage with the best man from all three of your weddings. Highlights are plentiful, from Lester Armistead’s yowled background vocals on “Pistol Packin’ Mama” and “The Blue Side of Lonesome” to the magnificent spoken intro to Tom T. Hall’s “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine” (Prine: “How old do you think I am?” Wiseman: “Well, I don’t know.” Prine: “Man, I turned 65... about 11 months ago.”) to a surpassingly gentle, definitive “Old Cape Cod.” As a roommate who overheard the album put it, “I want to fry an egg to this.” -
They Say...
The title tells the story well enough on Standard Songs for Average People, a set of 14 country-leaning classics interpreted by venerable singer/songwriter John Prine and bluegrass balladeer Mac Wiseman. While Prine has never possessed a classically strong voice, he knows how to communicate a lyric well enough (even lyrics he didn't write himself), and it's clear that he loves the songs he's selected for this project (Prine also co-produced with David Ferguson). Whatever Prine may lack in vocal polish, Wiseman easily brings to the table; if his voice is a bit sandier than it was years ago, he can still make the weepers sound convincingly sad and the uptempo numbers bring a smile when he's singing. The arrangements and production recall the smooth but homey sound of Nashville's countrypolitan era, and the pickers bring the songs across with a simple but impressive aplomb (especially Tom O'Brien on guitar and banjo and Joey Miskulin on accordion). And the songs...well, certain songs become standards because they're so good almost no one can go wrong with them, and on this set "I Love You Because," "The Blue Side of Lonesome," "Saginaw, Michigan," and "Old Rugged Cross" sound fresh and engaging, even though you've probably heard them hundreds of time before. And while they may not be as well-known, Tom T. Hall's "Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine," Kris Kristofferson's "Just the Other Side of Nowhere," and Bob Wills' "Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age" sure sound like classics coming from Prine and Wiseman. The craft is strong on Standard Songs for Average People, but at its heart it sounds like two friends singing some old songs they love on a quiet evening, and that's part of the album's strength -- these are 14 songs sung by two guys who know a great tune when they hear it, and they allow these numbers to work their magic simply, which serves them very well.
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| 01. |  |
Blue Eyed Elaine |
2:34 |
|
| 02. | |
Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age |
2:26 |
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| 03. | |
I Forgot to Remember to Forget |
3:01 |
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| 04. | |
I Love You Because |
4:22 |
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| 05. | |
Pistol Packin' Mama |
2:43 |
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| 06. | |
Saginaw, Michigan |
2:55 |
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| 07. | |
Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine |
4:36 |
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| 08. | |
Old Cape Cod |
2:25 |
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| 09. | |
Death of Floyd Collins |
3:25 |
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| 10. | |
The Blue Side of Lonesome |
4:09 |
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| 11. | |
In the Garden |
3:08 |
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| 12. | |
Just the Other Side of Nowhere |
2:36 |
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| 13. | |
Old Rugged Cross |
3:31 |
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| 14. | |
Where the Blue of the Night |
3:01 |
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14 Total Tracks, 44:52 Total Length
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Credits
- Mac Wiseman - Guitar (Acoustic) // Mac Wiseman - Vocals // John Prine - Guitar (Acoustic) // John Prine - Arranger // John Prine - Vocals // John Prine - Producer // Lloyd Green - Pedal Steel // Pat McLaughlin - Guitar (Acoustic) // Pat McLaughlin - Guitar // Pat McLaughlin - Harmonica // Pat McLaughlin - Mandolin // Pat McLaughlin - Ukulele // Pat McLaughlin - Harmony Vocals // Pat McLaughlin - Guitar (Baritone) // Mike Bub - Bass // Al Bunetta - Management // Jack Clement - Dobro // Jack Clement - Guitar // Stuart Duncan - Fiddle // Jamie Hartford - Guitar (Electric) // Ronnie McCoury - Mandolin // Pat McInerney - Drums // Joey Miskulin - Accordion // Tim O'Brien - Banjo // Tim O'Brien - Guitar // David K. Shipley - Mastering // David Jacques - Bass // Lester Armistead - Harmony Vocals // Kenneth Blevins - Percussion // Kenneth Blevins - Drums (Snare) // Carol Lee Singers - Vocals (Background)
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