Among the English language’s premier phrase-turners with music relevant to any age, the late great John Prine was part of the Atlantic Records family for four albums – John Prine (1971), Diamonds in the Rough (1972), Sweet Revenge (1973) and Common Sense (1975) – before he jumped over to Asylum for another three records and eventually his own label Oh Boy.

Fittingly for a former mailman, 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. That debut featured a brace of songs that would make him a legend – tracks like “Angel from Montgomery,” “Sam Stone,” “Illegal Smile,” “Paradise” and the immortal “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” heralded a brave and literate songwriting voice.

So good were those songs and so striking was that album, that Prine’s second record, Diamonds in the Rough, is sometimes overlooked, though its best songs are equal to his best. Take a listen to “Everybody,” a conversation-with-Jesus tale that kicks off the record, with Prine sounding like Bob Dylan’s twin brother in 1966. Or check out the sideways waltz of “Rocky Mountain Time,” with its palpable sense of desolation, not to mention isolation and desperation. “The Great Compromise” is an end-of-the-romance chronicle / Vietnam War allegory on which sadness, confusion and anger vie for the primary response of the jilted narrator, and by song’s end it’s still unclear which will win the day.

Prine’s humor shines through on tracks like “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You” (“You’ve left my heart a vacant lot / I’ll fill it with another shot”) and “The Frying Pan,” as well as specific moments on other songs (like “Everybody”‘s meeting with Christ: “I said ‘Jesus you look tired’ / He said “Jesus, so do you”). And there’s a ton of pickin’ throughout, like the mandolin-forward “Take the Star Out of the Window” and the 12-string guitar arpeggios that form the foundation of “Souvenirs.” Diamonds in the Rough is a mostly acoustic affair, to be certain, and the playing is reminiscent of a high-quality bluegrass session employed to the service of some fine non-bluegrass songs.