In Spite Of Ourselves
You've got to hand it to John Prine. On the first song on this collection of duets, he plunges valiantly into "(We're Not) The Jet Set," singing the part made famous byGeorge Jones, the Caruso of country music. And Prine, never blessed with the most pliant pipes, promptly pancakes a note flatter than Kansas. Aw, heck! The songwriter's songwriter takes a curious turn with his first studio album since 1995'sLost Dogs & Mixed Blessings. Here he's penned only the hysterically coarse title track, opting instead to coo a slew of classic lovin'-and-losin' country tunes withIris DeMent,Lucinda Williams,Emmylou Harris,Connie Smith,Trisha Yearwood,Melba Montgomery,Patty Loveless, Fiona Prine, andDolores Keane. Given Prine's ragged-but-right voice, the effect is something akin to casting a grizzled character actor opposite Katherine Hepburn inThe Philadelphia Story. And you know what? It'd probably still be a charming (albeit very different) movie, because romantic comedies, like country duets, are all about chemistry, which is somethingIn Spite of Ourselveshas in excess.--Steven Stolder