Great Days: The John Prine Anthology is a compilation album by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 singer John Prine

John Prine

John Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...

, released in 1993.

Reception

Writing for Allmusic, critic Steven Thomas Erlewine called the album an excellent summary of Prine's work and wrote "... this provides a nearly flawless recap of his career — so much so that it's not only for neophytes, but also reminds longtime fans why they loved him in the first place." Music critic Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...

 also praised the compilation, writing "There aren't 41 best Prine songs. There are 50, 60, maybe more; the only way to resolve quibbles would be a bigger box than commerce or decorum permits... Prine's a lot friendlier than your average thriving old singer-songwriter (Young, Thompson, Cohen), and his disinclination to downplay his natural warmth or his folk-rock retro may make him impenetrable to victims of irony proficiency amnesia."

Track listing

All songs by John Prine unless otherwise noted.
Disc 1

1. "Illegal Smile" – 3:13
2. "Spanish Pipedream" – 2:41
3. "Hello in There" – 4:32
4. "Sam Stone
   Sam Stone (song)
   "Sam Stone" is a song written by John Prine about a drug-addicted veteran with a Purple Heart and his death by overdose.The most familiar refrain in the song is "There's a hole in daddy's arm, where all the money goes"...
   
   " – 4:16
5. "Paradise
   Paradise (John Prine song)
   "Paradise" is a song written by John Prine for his father, and recorded for his 1971 debut album, John Prine. Prine also re-recorded the song for his 1986 album, German Afternoons. The song is about the impact of coal mining both while in activity and what happens to the area around the Green River...
   
   " – 3:15
6. "Donald and Lydia" – 4:30
7. "The Late John Garfield Blues" – 3:06
8. "Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You" – 2:10
9. "The Great Compromise" – 4:56
10. "Sweet Revenge" – 2:41
11. "Please Don't Bury Me" – 2:51
12. "Christmas in Prison" – 3:13
13. "Dear Abby" – 4:22 (live)
14. "Blue Umbrella" – 3:31
15. "Common Sense" – 3:11
16. "Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard" – 3:20
17. "Saddle in the Rain" – 3:35
18. "He Was in Heaven Before He Died" – 2:16
19. "Fish and Whistle" – 3:15
20. "That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round" – 3:22
21. "Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)" – 5:20

Disc 2

1. "Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone" – 2:55
2. "Automobile" – 4:23
3. "Killing the Blues" (Roly Salley
   Rowland Salley
   Rowland Salley is an American musician, songwriter and artist, sometimes called Roly Salley. Salley is a bass guitarist and vocalist for Chris Isaak's band Silvertone...
   
   ) – 4:38
4. "Down by the Side of the Road" – 5:04
5. "Living in the Future" – 3:26
6. "It's Happening to You" (Prine, John Burns) – 2:19
7. "Storm Windows" – 5:07
8. "One Red Rose" – 3:19
9. "Souvenirs" – 3:33
10. "Aimless Love" – 3:08
11. "The Oldest Baby in the World" (Prine, Donnie Fritts) – 3:07
12. "People Puttin' People Down" – 2:50
13. "Unwed Fathers" (Prine, Bobby Braddock) – 3:32
14. "Angel from Montgomery
    Angel from Montgomery
    "Angel from Montgomery" is a country song written by John Prine, originally appearing on his self-titled 1971 album John Prine.-Background:...
    
    " – 4:34 (live)
15. "Linda Goes to Mars" – 3:10
16. "Bad Boy" – 3:30
17. "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" – 3:31 (live)
18. "It's a Big Old Goofy World" – 5:24 (live)
19. "The Sins of Memphisto" – 4:14
20. "All the Best" – 3:28

Personnel

• John Prine – vocals, guitar, background vocals
• Kenny Ascher – piano
• Barry Beckett
  Barry Beckett
  Barry Edward Beckett was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums...
  
   – piano
• David Briggs
  David Briggs (American musician)
  David Briggs is an American keyboardist, record producer, arranger, composer and studio owner....
  
   – organ, piano
• David Bromberg
  David Bromberg
  David Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
  
   – guitar, dobro
• James Brown – organ
• Al Bunetta – percussion
• Steve Burgh – bass, drums, guitar
• John Burns – guitar, background vocals
• Paul Cannon – guitar
• Tommy Cathey – bass
• Peter Bunetta – drums
• Gene Chrisman – drums
• Johnny Christopher – guitar
• Lewis Collins – horn
• Mailto Correa – conga
• Steve Cropper
  Steve Cropper
  Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
  
   – guitar
• Philip Donnelly – guitar
• Pat Coulter – background vocals
• Stuart Duncan
  Stuart Duncan
  Stuart Duncan is a bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. Born in Quantico, Virginia and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band, he has been a member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band since 1985, and is a much-in-demand session musician...
  
   – fiddle, mandolin
• Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass
• Bobby Emmons – organ
• Howie Epstein
  Howie Epstein
  Howard Norman Epstein , was a musician best known for his work with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early life:...
  
   – guitar, percussion
• Chuck Fiore – bass
• Steve Fishell – pedal steel guitar
• Donnie Fritts
  Donnie Fritts
  Donnie Fritts is an American session musician and songwriter. A recording artist in his own right, he has been Kris Kristofferson's keyboard player for over twenty years...
  
   – piano
• Bob Glaub
  Bob Glaub
  Bob Glaub is an American bass player and session musician. He's played with such artists and bands as Journey, Jackson Browne, Bee Gees, Eric Carmen, Linda Ronstadt, Leo Sayer, Warren Zevon, Rod Stewart, Donna Summer, Bonnie Raitt and many others....
  
   – bass
• Steve Goodman
  Steve Goodman
  Steve Goodman was an American folk music singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. The writer of "City of New Orleans", made popular by Arlo Guthrie, Goodman won two Grammy Awards.-Personal life:...
  
   – guitar, background vocals, harmony vocals
• Jack Hale – horn
• Alan Hand – piano
• Glen D. Hardin
  Glen Hardin
  Glen D. Hardin is an American piano player, songwriter and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such notable artists as Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, Ricky Nelson and many others.-Career:...
  
   – piano
• James Harrah – guitar
• Bishop Heywood – percussion
• Robert Hoban – fiddle, piano, background vocals
• Wayne Jackson – horn
• John Jorgenson – guitar, mandolin
• Leo LeBlanc – pedal steel guitar
• Mike Leech – bass
• Howard Levy – organ, harmonica, accordion, saxophone
• Andrew Love – horn
• Raun MacKinnon – vocals, background vocals, harmony vocals
• Jay Dee Maness – steel guitar
• Grady Martin
  Grady Martin
  Thomas Grady Martin was one of the most renowned, inventive and historically significant American session musicians in country music and rockabilly....
  
   – dobro
• Hugh McDonald – bass
• James Mitchell – horn
• Larry Muhoberac
  Larry Muhoberac
  Larry Muhoberac is an American musician, producer and composer who at various times has also been known as Larry Owens and Larry Gordon....
  
   – piano
• Dee Murray – bass
• Phil Parlapiano – accordion
• Rachel Peer-Prine – bass, background vocals, harmony vocals
• Tom Piekarske – bass, background vocals
• Dave Prine – fiddle, guitar, vocals
• Bonnie Raitt
  Bonnie Raitt
  Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
  
   – guitar, background vocals, harmony vocals
• Joe Romersa – drums, percussion
• Jim Rooney – guitar, background vocals
• Neal Rosengarden – bass
• Jim Rothermel – clarinet, recorder, sax, whistle (Human), whistle (Instrument), penny whistle
• Johnny Lee Schell
  Johnny Lee Schell
  Johnny Lee Schell is an American guitarist and songwriter. In the 1970s, he premiered as a prominent member of a Texas-based southern rock band, Baby. Since his professional debut, he has played with dozens of well known recording artists...
  
   – bass, background vocals, harmony vocals
• John Sebastian
  John Sebastian
  John Benson Sebastian Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and autoharpist. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, a band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000...
  
   – harmonica
• Jerry Shook – harmonica
• Corky Siegel – piano
• Bobby Whitlock
  Bobby Whitlock
  Robert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
  
   – organ, piano
• Bobby Woods – piano
• Rick Vito
  Rick Vito
  Rick Vito is a guitarist and singer. He was part of the band Fleetwood Mac between 1987 and 1991.Vito and Billy Burnette took over as guitarists after Lindsey Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac....
  
   – guitar, slide guitar
• Reggie Young
  Reggie Young
  Reggie Young was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studios Band , and is a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with artists such as Elvis Presley, B.J. Thomas, John Prine, Dusty Springfield, J.J...
  
   – guitar
• Sid Sims – bass
• Steve Spear – bass
• Benmont Tench
  Benmont Tench
  Benjamin Montmorency Tench, III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early years:...
  
   – organ, bass
• Mike Utley
  Michael Utley
  Michael Utley, often credited as Mike Utley, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. He is the musical director of the band...
  
   – organ
• Tom Radtke – drums, percussion
• Tony Newman – drums
• Angie Varias – drums
• Kevin Wells – drums
• Kenny Malone
  Kenny Malone
  Kenny Malone is an American drummer/percussionist from Nashville, Tennessee. He has been, since the 1970s, and continues to be a prominent session musician in folk, country and many other acoustic-based genres.-References:...
  
   – drums, tambourine
• Steve Mosley – drums
• Helen Bernard – background vocals
• Bob Bowker – background vocals
• Jackson Browne
  Jackson Browne
  Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
  
   – background vocals
• Liz Byrnes – background vocals, harmony vocals
• Judy Clay – background vocals
• Len Dressler – background vocals
• Phyllis Duncan – background vocals
• Gwen Edwards – background vocals
• Glenn Frey
  Glenn Frey
  Glenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Frey formed the Eagles after he met drummer Don Henley in 1970 and the two eventually joined Linda Ronstadt's backup band for her summer tour. The Eagles formed in 1971 and...
  
   – background vocals
• Kitty Haywood – background vocals
• Bonnie Herman – background vocals
• Diane Holmes – background vocals
• Cissy Houston
  Cissy Houston
  Emily "Cissy" Houston is a Grammy Award–winning American soul and gospel singer. She led a very successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Wishbone Ash and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist...
  
   – background vocals
• Vicki Hubley – background vocals
• Brooks Hunnicutt – background vocals
• Bonnie Koloc – background vocals, harmony vocals
• Greg Prestopino – background vocals
• J.D. Souther
  J. D. Souther
  John David Souther is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written numerous hits songs recorded by artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Glenn Frey of the Eagles.-Singing career:...
  
   – background vocals
• Don Shelton – background vocals
• Deidre Tuck – background vocals
• Jennifer Warnes
  Jennifer Warnes
  Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
  
   – background vocals
• Beverly White – background vocals
• Matthew Wilder – background vocals

Production notes

• Ken Perry – remastering
• Gary Peterson
  Gary Peterson (record producer)
  Gary Peterson is an American record producer. He is probably best known as the creator of Golden Throats. Peterson and partner Pat Sierchio produced four volumes of the series for Rhino Records, which collect bizarre examples of celebrities singing pop music classics.Peterson began as Rhino's first...
  
  – research
• Bill Inglot – remastering
• Carl Marsh – arranger
• David Fricke – liner notes
• Geoff Gans – artwork