Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 9, 1995 TAG: 9506090067
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Breakthrough.
OK, maybe not break through the way Tom Petty did, or like the Madonnas and Michael Jacksons out there. But break through nonetheless from the quirky cult hero that he's been for 25 years to the bona fide commercial success that he's on the brink of becoming.
Then again, this is John Prine we're talking about, the man who has given the world such blockbusters as ``The Oldest Baby in the World'' and ``Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard.'' He could languish in goofy obscurity awhile longer still.
Either way is fine by Prine, who plays the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium Sunday night.
Commercial success is something he had pretty much given up on after all these years, he said in a recent telephone interview from his home in Nashville.
``I had kind of blanked that totally out.''
Enter Howie Epstein.
Epstein is best-known as the bass player in Petty's much-respected band, the Heartbreakers. But Epstein also is a record producer of some reputation - and, it turned out, a longtime John Prine fan.
Prine didn't know Epstein, although he was aware that some of the Heartbreakers occasionally popped up at his live shows when he played Los Angeles.
Then, one day, Prine's management company got a call from Epstein, who was looking around for a new project to produce.
It was a strange position for Prine. Although he had a loyal base of fans, as far as being a hot commodity, the 48-year-old singer/songwriter had long ago become a forgotten soul.
``I never looked at myself as looking for a producer,'' he said, referring to a perk that more in-demand artists enjoy.
In fact, Prine was dropped by the major labels as far back as 1980. Since then, he has recorded on his own label, Oh Boy Records, with continuing critical acclaim - and commercial obscurity.
The bassist/producer persuaded him to fly out to Epstein's home recording studio in L.A. and give it a whirl. Prine liked what he heard.
``Just the rough stuff sounded pretty good,'' he said.
Prine has high praise for Epstein as a producer. He said he has a good ear for arrangements, he can play just about any instrument, and he likes a song to take on its own identity.
Their first collaboration resulted in 1991's ``The Missing Years,'' which earned a Grammy for best contemporary folk recording and sold a surprising 200,000-plus copies, a breakthrough in itself for the Oh Boy label.
Prine and Epstein teamed up again for his latest release, ``Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings,'' which is poised to take off from where ``The Missing Years'' left off.
With ``Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings,'' Epstein has given Prine a proper `90s sonic wallop without compromising his oddball tragedy-meets-comedy songwriting style. This updated sound - Prine jokingly calls it ``big and shiny'' - has given him a second chance now in the mainstream marketplace.
More important to Prine's potential rebirth, however, has been a completely unrelated - and unexpected - development: the advent of an increasingly-popular new radio format, adult album alternative.
Adult album alternative, which has yet to make inroads in the Roanoke market, is aimed at listeners who like adventurous music, but not so adventurous that it causes their ears to bleed. It has helped launch new acts such as Sheryl Crow and Crash Test Dummies, and supported other artists like Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett.
When Prine released ``The Missing Years,'' this friendlier format had not yet been fully developed. But now, ``Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings'' is being embraced like no other album of his career.
It's almost hard to believe, Prine said, admitting to a secret desire to prove it to himself.
``I need to jump in a rent-a-car and turn on the radio.''
At the same time, finding the mainstream is not, he said, his measure of manhood. For him, the real accomplishment is in getting a record written, recorded, mixed and mastered.
``That's a success,'' he said.
And really, the jury is still out. Even with a bulked-up sound and receptive radio, Prine is still Prine. ``Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings'' doesn't offer up anything as weird as ``Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard,'' but it does boast its share of strangeness in songs like ``Quit Hollerin' at Me,'' ``Humidity Built the Snowman'' and ``Big Fat Love.''
They don't exactly sound like future classics.
John Prine: Sunday, 7:30 p.m., Roanoke Civic Center auditorium. With Victoria Williams. Tickets, $20, $25, $30, at the box office (981-1201), Ticketmaster outlets (cash only) or charge-by-phone (343-8100).
by CNB