John Prine, who passed away in April, was one of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of his generation and recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the GRAMMYs – indeed Rolling Stone once called him “The Mark Twain of American songwriting”. As part of various posthumous releases this year, the Rhino label have announced a newly remastered seven-CD boxed set that includes the first seven studio albums of his career, recorded with Atlantic Records and Asylum Records. ‘Crooked Piece of Time: The Atlantic & Asylum Album (1971-1980)’ will be available as a limited edition on October 23rd and is available for pre-order now here.
The set includes the following albums presented in mini-LP replica sleeves: John Prine (1971), Diamonds In The Rough (1972), Sweet Revenge (1973), Common Sense (1975), Bruised Orange (1978), Pink Cadillac (1979) and Storm Windows (1980). The clamshell box also contains poster inserts and a 20-page booklet with new liner notes written by acclaimed music journalist David Fricke. The cover art, commissioned especially for the set, is a painting by artist Joshua Petker that’s based on a photo of Prine taken by Jim Shea.
In addition to earning the Lifetime Achievement Award this year, Prine also won Grammy® Awards for The Missing Years (1991) and Fair and Square (2005). His songs have been recorded by a long list of artists, including Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, Carly Simon, George Strait, Norah Jones, John Denver, Miranda Lambert, The Everly Brothers, Bette Midler, Paul Westerberg, Tammy Wynette and Dwight Yoakam.
You can read AUK’s obituary for John Prine here.
