Among the English language's premier phrase-turners with music relevant to any age, the late great John Prine delivered songs that are both literate and personal. The skilled and compassionate storyteller enjoyed widespread critical acclaim in the wake of his groundbreaking eponymous debut and continued to write and perform songs that became central to our American musical heritage for nearly five decades. Dedicated to his mother Verna Prine, the intimate and playful John Prine Live was largely recorded during a three-day stint at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California and released in 1988 on the singer/songwriter's own label Oh Boy Records. As he explained to David Fricke in 1993: "We didn't have another artist to put out. The idea was to have me and my guitar, telling stories and doing songs - and buying me some time until I could get into the studio again."