Today we have John Prine's second studio album Diamonds in the Rough. Released in 1972, the album is noted for its purposefully rough recording, which was a result of its limited production and only doing a handful of takes for each song.
The songwriting isn't as consistently strong as on his debut with "The Late John Garfield Blues" being his first and only throwaway both musically and lyrically. Prine is still charmingly humorous, his lyrics are still simple and crushing when he wants them to be, and he is still criticizing the US, but the music is stark and melancholy is now his main subject. Though he sings more confidently--which is good because the trick he pulled on his first album only works once--, he doesn't always sing with the emotional punch that, say, Tonight's the Night has and that these gloomy lyrics require. The only exception to the last is "Souvenirs," which broadcasts a powerfully visceral feeling of nostalgia. B+
