In an era of deluxe reissues, streaming abundance, and ever-expanding archives, listeners are inundated with music from the past. Recent examples range from Bob Dylan‘s 39-CD The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1976 Live Recordings to the Beatles‘ five-CD deluxe edition of Revolver. For listeners, the question becomes not whether the material is valuable, but how much time and money they have to absorb it.
Over a career spanning nearly five decades, John Prine released 18 studio albums and 12 live recordings. Some were great records, most were very good, and some had only a few wonderful songs. Prine‘s record company has just issued a curated archival album celebrating the 30th anniversary of his 1995 LP, Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings, appropriately called Found Dogs. The collection gathers alternate takes, solo acoustic performances, demos, and previously unreleased songs from the Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings sessions.
For Prine’s legion of fans, the album is a welcome gift. This material comes from a pivotal period in the singer-songwriter’s career and shows his growth and development as an artist. The included selections are well chosen for revealing his expanding palette.
An excellent example is the demo of his mysterious masterpiece “Lake Marie”. The song showcases his ambitions and gifts. He blends seemingly unrelated narratives, folklore, crime reportage, and personal memory into a creative and spiritual whole full of humor, melodrama and telling details: “You know what blood looks like in a black and white video? / Shadows, shadows! That’s what it looks like.” Prine’s earlier works tended to focus on one story at a time. This tale is much more complex. Even in demo form, the performance reveals Prine’s complete commitment to the song’s strange emotional world.
Old fans will also enjoy the excavation of three original songs never released in any form before: “World Without Love”, “Dogs in Burlington”, and “My God Thank You John”. These tracks reveal how comfortably Prine’s songwriting occupied adjacent territory to other American masters. “World Without Love” recalls Bruce Springsteen‘s romantic yearning.
Meanwhile, “Dogs in Burlington” and “My God Thank You John” evoke the affection for place and character associated with Jimmy Buffett and New Orleans’ piano masters. Yet all three remain unmistakably John Prine songs. By this point in his career, Prine’s voice was fully formed, making these echoes feel less like influences and more like points of connection.
Those new to Prine will find stuff to enjoy here. While they may not know the difference between alternate takes of songs here (“Ain’t Hurtin Nobody” and “Quit Hollerin at Me”) or acoustic ones (“All the Way With You” and ” Humidity Built the Snowman”) from previously released versions, the ones included here are quality works in their own right. They deserve to be heard. By comparison, the Johnny Horton cover “All for the Love of a Girl” and the previously unreleased “Hey Ah Nothin'” feel more like archival curiosities than essential discoveries.
Found Dogs is best suited for John Prine fans looking for hidden gems from the Singing Mailman. Those seeking an introduction to Prine would be better served by beginning with Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings itself and treating Found Dogs as a rewarding companion volume.