John prine

[bgjunkie]

I was listening to some John Prine last night and wondered if anyone was doing his stuff on mandolin. I especially think that Souvenirs lends itself nicely to mando.

[Chris "Bucket" Thomas]

"Paradise" by Jim & Jesse. I have it on thier boxed set.

[wsm]

Paradise and Angle from Montgomery.

[AlanN]

Hello In There can work, and was done up very nicely by the Cache Valley Drifters years (decades) ago, wonderful playing by all, especially Bill Griffin, their talented mando boy.

[250sc]

Why would any of it not be suitable?

Or an even bigger question.....is there a style of music where mando would be unsuitable. (maybe rap, but mando can do percussion so aside from the fact that it would be boreing it could work. I find it pretty boreing with any instrumentation.)

[bgjunkie]

I guess it is that some songs just work better in my mind on mandolin than others. I can hear the song and things just flow better with chord voicings and such on the mandolin. Other songs I have to pick up my guitar and work through them first and then try to figure out how to make it work on mando.

Plus, I am trying to work up the courage to sing a song with my band, and I like the John Prine stuff I have heard so far.

[Patrick Killeen]

I do "Big Old Goofy World" on mando with a guitarist. #

We started off with me playing Irish bouzouki, which is what I use if I'm on my own, but we found that it worked much better with mandolin and guitar than with bouzouki and guitar. #

If you're learning the song to play with the band then don't worry too much about how it sounds with just you and your mando. #You might be better picking song you'd like to sing, training your guitarists to play it, and then working out a mandolin part.

Patrick

[250sc]

bgjunkie,

I understand. Your question just got me thinging about what song or style of music would I feel mandolin wouldn't fit in and I was stumped.

Since your working with a band I would think that any Prine song you felt comfortable singing would work. Just "sell" the vocals and use the mando as support. If you come up with a nice solo....all the better.

Good luck.

Looks like Patrick came up with much the same answer while I was typing.

[Neil Gladd]

I've done "Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian" at a party, but not in public.

[bgjunkie]

I would like to be able to work something up that would stand on its own (mando only) as much as possible. Plus I get together with a couple of guitar playing buddies and would like to be able to lead the song and have them strum along for once.

[James P]

I do "Ain't Hurtin' Nobody." #
[...]
You can fool some of the people part of the time
In a rock and roll song
Fifty million Elvis Presley fans
Can't be all wrong
[...]

And I know I've played "Paradise" with somebody in the last coupla years. #Prine is one of the best. #I'd never try to cover it, but my favorite of his is probably "Lake Marie."

[Rob Wallace]

A bit off topic here, but I just picked up the new John Prine & Mac Wiseman cd and it's chock full o' great old tunes.

Rob

[AlanN]

"Put my socks in a cedar box, just get em outta here"

[Russ Jordan]

John Prine re-recorded a lot of his popular songs on the cd "Souvenirs". He did this after his throat cancer surgery/treatment as he could no longer sign the songs in the original keys. There is quite a bit of mandolin (Jason Wilbur) on this recording.

I saw JP at Merlefest 2006--it was my favorite show of the whole weekend.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

I do "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" on the 'dola. Does that count?

Daniel

[RobP]

We do "speed of the sound of loneliness" in my band w/guitar, mando and 3-part harmony. Nice song to sing/play.

Also, I have done "souvinirs" at a pickup gig with a guitar player friend -- we worked out an arrangement in the afternoon and played that night.. the crowd loved it. We also did Dear Abby.

Rob

[earthsave]

Paradise was the first song I ever sang solo in public. We dont do the Jim and Jesse version, but more like the way John does it, in 3/4 at a med-slowish temp if I recollect, but with Bluegrass instrumentation.

I've see another small group, mando and guitar do Sam Stone and several other Prine songs very nicely.

[caddy jim]

I used to play "Paradise" at jams with Evan Reilly, him on "the fern" of course, me on guitar. I thought it worked well. I've heared others do his stuff as well. It all sounded good. Prine and Wiseman is a neat cd.

[Enigmatic Recluse]

I've see another small group, mando and guitar do Sam Stone and several other Prine songs very nicely.
I was thinking some tremelo would work well on the chorus of Sam Stone. The problem with performing that song in public is you end up with a room full of people feeling empty, staring at their shoes.

[David M.]

Play alot of Prine, but mainly on flattop because I prefer singing w/the guitar vs mando. Occassionally Paradise on mando cause the fiddle part is nice on the mando.

My newest fave to play on guitar of his is Long Monday from his latest record. Capo on 5th, fingerpick it with G chords. Great great song and fun to sing.

[B. T. Walker]

Just to show how ignorant I am, I didn't know "Paradise" was a John Prine song, but I loved it the first bluegrass jam I went to and learned it. I learned to sing "Dear Abby" from a high school buddy's big brother back in the '70s. The last verse was very funny to an adolescent, and I never forgot it. Naturally, it was one of the first songs I figured out on mando.

[bgjunkie]

Well I still haven't done any Prine on mando, but I sang "Please Don't Bury Me" the last time I got to jam with some buddies of mine. I also tried "Frying Pan" but fell a little flat on that one for some reason.

[Ken Berner]

"In Spite Of Ourselves" (rather explicit) by John Prine and Iris Dement is one of the most entertaining songs yet. "Speed Of the Sound Of Lonliness" is my favorite to play on mandolin and "Paradise" is wearing quite thin by now. Mr. Prine is a pure joy!

[Soupy1957]

A buddy of mine up in the Maine north woods where I grew up, taught me a few of Johnny Prine's songs years ago.

One that I play rather frequently at our local jam is "Flag Decal," on guitar.

Haven't tried to move it over to the mando yet.

-Soupy1957