When John Prine told a story, he could convey that which comprised birth, death and every oddity in between in a warm light just as funny and sweet and twisted and devastating and filled with levity as the whole of life itself—regardless of who happened to be listening. Nowhere is that gift more apparent than on his prolific 1971 self-titled debut album, in which Prine built the foundation of his career and won over an unimaginable number of hearts, with only a couple decades and change of life under his belt.