Common Sense (John Prine album)

Common Sense
Studio album by John Prine
Released	1975
Recorded	Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN and Larabee Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Genre	Folk, Alt-country, Americana
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Steve Cropper
John Prine chronology
Sweet Revenge (1973) Common Sense (1975) Prime Prine: The Best of John Prine (1976)

Common Sense is the fourth album by American folk singer and songwriter John Prine, released in 1975.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(A-) [2]

Writing for Allmusic, critic Jim Smith wrote of the album "Unfortunately, the cloying production overpowers the lyrics and relegates them to an almost cursory notion, and it doesn't help that Prine hasn't come up with much new material of note. His wit is still sharp, but it no longer shines; consequently, Common Sense has the unfortunate distinction of being the worst of Prine's Atlantic albums."^[1] Music critic Robert Christgau wrote "Prine customarily strives for coherence, but this time he has purposely (and painfully) abjured it. He seems to regret this at one point--during a more or less cogent lament for a dead friend — but the decision was obviously unavoidable. It results in the most genuinely miserable album I've heard in years."^[2]

Track listing

1. "Middleman" – 2:29
2. "Common Sense" – 3:07
3. "Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard" – 3:17
4. "Wedding Day in Funeralville" – 2:25
5. "Way Down" – 2:21
6. "My Own Best Friend" – 3:11
7. "Forbidden Jimmy" – 2:52
8. "Saddle in the Rain" – 3:30
9. "That Close to You" – 2:45
10. "He Was in Heaven Before He Died" – 2:12
11. "You Never Can Tell" (Chuck Berry) – 3:17

Personnel

• John Prine – vocals, guitar
• James K. Brown – piano, keyboards
• Peter Bunetta – drums, background vocals
• Paul Cannon – guitar
• Tommy Cathey – bass
• Mailto Correa – percussion, conga
• Jackson Browne – background vocals
• Al Bunetta – background vocals
• Pat Coulter – background vocals
• Dan Cronin – background vocals
• Steve Cropper – guitar
• Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass
• Steve Goodman – guitar, background vocals
• Leo LeBlanc – guitar, steel guitar
• Alan Hand – piano, keyboards, background vocals
• Larry Muhoberac – piano
• Steve Spear – bass
• Rick Vito – guitar, slide guitar
• Greg Jackson – background vocals
• Brooks Hunnicutt – background vocals
• Glenn Frey – background vocals
• Herb Pedersen – background vocals
• Gwen Edwards – background vocals
• J.D. Souther – background vocals
• Bonnie Raitt – vocals, harmony vocals, gut string guitar
• Jim Rothermel – vocals, wind
• Jim Horn – horn
• Lewis Collins – horn
• Jack Hale – horn
• Wayne Jackson – horn
• Jackie Kelso – horn
• Andrew Love – horn
• Chuck Findley – horn
• James Mitchell – horn
• Dave Prine – guitar

Production notes

• Steve Cropper – producer
• Ron Capone – engineer, remixing
• Richard Rosebrough – engineer
• Barry Rudolph – engineer
• Stephen Innocenzi – mastering
• Paula Scher – design
• Bob Defrin – art direction
• Carl Marsh – strings, string arrangements

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1975	Billboard Pop Albums	66

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Smith, Jim. "Common Sense > Review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r15821. Retrieved July 9, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Christgau, Robert. "Common Sense > Review". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=John+Prine. Retrieved July 9, 2011.