In the songs of John Prine, there exists a near-perfect intersection of understatement and insight. Prine does not trumpet his truths: they just emerge, crawling out of sparse, carefully arrayed and encapsulated moments, presented with unflinching, unsentimental clarity. The contrasts and paradoxes Prine uncovers - combined with his unquestionable abilities as a craftsman - have insured that his music continually influences generation after generation of maverick artists.