''For Better, or Worse'' is the seventeenth studio album by

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

. It consists of tracks in which Prine teams with an all-star array of female singers to tackle carefully chosen vintage country tunes in duets. The album was also released in vinyl format that also included a MP3 download pass for the album. It is his first studio album release in 9 years since 2007's '' Standard Songs for Average People''.

Background

The album is the second compilation album featuring duets with Prine. The first Prine's compilation of duets was in 1999 when he recorded the similarly styled ''

In Spite of Ourselves ''In Spite of Ourselves'' is the 13th studio album of John Prine, featuring duets with various well-known women folk and alt-country vocalists, released in 1999. The album was Prine's first release since successfully battling throat cancer. The ...

''. The 15 tracks contain 14 duets with 11 female artists (with

Iris DeMent Iris Luella DeMent (born January 5, 1961) is an American two-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician . DeMent's musical style includes elements of folk, country and gospel. Early life DeMent was born in Paragould, Arkansas, the 14t ...

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, "I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 ...

and

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that re ...

recording two duets and

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

Susan Tedeschi Susan Tedeschi (; born November 9, 1970) is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks’ and other musicians. Early li ...

, Holly Williams,

Morgane Stapleton Morgane Stapleton (née Hayes), is an American singer-songwriter and the wife of Chris Stapleton. She performs background, harmony and duet vocals in her husband's band and was instrumental in the creation of his debut album '' Traveller''. A so ...

, Amanda Shires,

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American country singer. She has won six Grammy Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, and three Academy of Country Music Awards. Musgraves self-released three solo albums and one as Texa ...

and Prine's wife Fiona Prine recording one duet each). The last track is a solo recording, "Just Waitin'", by Prine. Two of the artists, Iris DeMent and Fiona Prine had been featured in the 1999 album as well.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 2 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Country Albums chart and number 30 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It also reached number 7 on the US Independent Albums chart and number 5 on the US Folk Albums chart. The album has sold 43,700 copies in the US as of March 2017.

Track listing

Personnel

* John Prine - lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

Kenneth Blevins Kenneth Blevins (born in Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake ...

– drums * Shad Cobb – fiddle *

– vocals on tracks 1 and 13 *

Lloyd Green Lloyd Lamar Green (born October 4, 1937) is an American steel guitarist noted for his extensive country music recording session career in Nashville performing on 116 Chart Hit, No.1 Country music, country hits including Tammy Wynette's “D-I-V-O- ...

– pedal steel guitar * Mark Howard – acoustic guitar, mandolin * Dave Jacques – upright bass * Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica *

– vocals on track 3 *

– vocals on track 10 *

– vocals on tracks 6 and 11 *

Pat McLaughlin Pat McLaughlin is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in Waterloo, Iowa, but moved to San Francisco, California in the early 1970s. There McLaughlin began to write songs, playing alone at open mic nights and in the ...

– mandolin *

- vocals on track 12 * Tim O'Brien – fiddle, mandolin *

Al Perkins Al Perkins (born January 18, 1944) is an American guitarist known primarily for his steel guitar work. The Gibson guitar company called Perkins "the world's most influential dobro player" and began producing an "Al Perkins Signature" Dobro in ...

– pedal steel guitar, resonator guitar * Fiona Prine – vocals on track 14 * Amanda Shires – vocals on track 8 *

– vocals on track 7 *

– electric guitar, vocals on track 4 * Pete Wasner – piano, Wurlitzer piano * Jason Wilber – acoustic guitar, electric guitar * Holly Williams – vocals on track 5 *

– vocals on tracks 2 and 9

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums John Prine albums Oh Boy Records albums Covers albums