In Spite of Ourselves

1	(We're Not) the Jet Set / Iris DeMent 2:36
2	So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) / Connie Smith 2:29
3	Wedding Bells/Let's Turn Back the Years / Lucinda Williams 3:47
4	When Two Worlds Collide / Trisha Yearwood 2:21
5	Milwaukee, Here I Come / Melba Montgomery 2:21
6	I Know One / Emmylou Harris 2:41
7	It's a Cheating Situation / Dolores Keane 2:56
8	Back Street Affair / Patty Loveless 2:47
9	Loose Talk / Connie Smith 2:44
10	Let's Invite Them Over / Iris DeMent 2:11
11	'Til a Tear Becomes a Rose / Fiona Prine 2:50
12	In a Town This Size / Dolores Keane 3:31
13	We Could / Iris DeMent 2:17
14	We Must Have Been out of Our Minds / Melba Montgomery 2:16
15	In Spite of Ourselves / Iris DeMent 3:33
16	Dear John (I've Sent Your Saddle Home) 2:27

Barnes & Noble

Raspy voiced troubadour John Prine, best known for the heartfelt ballad "Angel from Montgomery" and irreverent social commentary including "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore," devotes himself to duets with an album of country classics -- and then some. "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds" is sung here with country standard bearer Melba Montgomery, and Prine revels in some lesser known nuggets like the bizarre honky-tonk jukebox take on wife swapping, "Let's Invite Them Over," which he performs with Iris DeMent. Country great Connie Smith guests on two songs, and there's a pair of unexpected duets with Irish songstress Dolores Keane as well. Prine's conversational style fits best with Patty Loveless's high lonesome sound on "Back Street Affair," Emmylou Harris's cracked crystalline phrasing on "I Know One," and Lucinda Williams' delta dialogue on "Wedding Bells." The delicate duet with his wife, Fiona, on "When a Tear Becomes a Rose" shows that Prine can handle the softer side of things, too. But lest things get too sentimental, he closes with a song for (and with) the guys, "John I Sent Your Saddle Home." Ironic, funny, and sentimental -- would you expect anything less from John Prine? Kerry Dexter

All Music Guide

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 Prine's favorites is Iris DeMent, and her unique vocals grace four of the tracks here, including "(We're Not) The Jet Set," "We Could," and Prine's lone songwriting appearance, "In Spite of Ourselves," a song written for the upcoming Billy Bob Thornton film, Daddy & Them, in which Prine appears. Trisha Yearwood, Connie Smith, Fiona Prine, Melba Montgomery, Emmylou Harris, Delores Keane, Patty Loveless, and Lucinda Williams all share the studio with Prine, creating some mighty powerful duets. From Freddie Hart's "Loose Talk" to Don Everly's "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. Prine's duets are backed by some of the very best musicians available. Buddy Emmons and Dan Dugmore, two incredible pedal steel players, and Sam Bush, Kenny Malone, Jason Wilber, Jim Rooney, and Marty Stuart are just a few of the stellar players featured on the album. Overall, In Spite of Ourselves ranks as one of Prine'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