Before John Prine's 1971 debut got him dubbed the next Dylan, he was a Chicago mailman playing his homespun folk tunes at an open mic. These two discs contain a radio appearance and a live set right before he went national (the title is the headline of a review by Roger Ebert). It's a fine introduction to a richly imagistic Midwestern everyguy whose languid good nature defied singer-songwriter smugness – from the stoner anthem "Illegal Smile" to "Great Society Conflict Veteran’s Blues" (later renamed "Sam Stone"), during which the audience joins Prine's brokenhearted chorus, "There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes," with a lamenting familiarity.

Listen to "Illegal Smile":

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."