Description
The songwriter’s first album of new music in 13 years is wise and economical. John Prine is a virtuoso at understatement, finding the joy in the mundane, and writing about what it means to be alive. Tree of Forgiveness is his first set of originals in over a decade. It’s produced by Dave Cobb, and it’s frequently brilliant, with all the qualities that define Prine’s music. At 71, his voice adds wizened gravitas to the class-conscious “Caravan of Fools” (“Late at night you see them/Decked out in shiny jewels”). And of course, it nails the death meditation “When I Get to Heaven,” a mix of punchlines, sweet sentimentality and looming void. It’s precisely what Bob Dylan – a major fan – was referring to when he famously described Prine’s writing as “pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree.”
