In Spite of Ourselves
is
John Prine
's tribute to the music he grew up with -- good country songs written by folks like
Roger Miller
and
Jack Clement
. It is, at the same time, a golden opportunity for him to collaborate with some of his all-time favorite female vocalists. In the liner notes booklet,
Prine
tells the story: "I made a list of my favorite girl singers and the first nine I called said 'yes.' I nearly fell over." One of
's favorites is
Iris DeMent
, and her unique vocals grace four of the tracks here, including
"(We're Not) The Jet Set,"
"We Could,"
's lone songwriting appearance,
"In Spite of Ourselves,"
a song written for the upcoming
Billy Bob Thornton
film, Daddy & Them, in which
appears.
Trisha Yearwood
,
Connie Smith
Fiona Prine
Melba Montgomery
Emmylou Harris
Dolores Keane
Patty Loveless
, and
Lucinda Williams
all share the studio with
, creating some mighty powerful duets. From
Freddie Hart
's
"Loose Talk"
to
Don Everly
"So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad),"
the album manages to create a seamless scrapbook of both old and new songs, artists and memories.
's duets are backed by some of the very best musicians available.
Buddy Emmons
Dan Dugmore
, two incredible pedal steel players, and
Sam Bush
Kenny Malone
Jason Wilber
Jim Rooney
Marty Stuart
are just a few of the stellar players featured on the album. Overall,
ranks as one of
's finest works, a scrapbook of country classics, interpreted by some of the genres best female vocalists, in duet with one fine American singer and a great songwriter. ~ Michael B. Smith