John Prine on Sam Stone

From the AV Club:

There's an old cliché about having a lifetime to write your debut record, and only a few months to write your second. It explains why many artists suffer from the dreaded sophomore slump, but it doesn't quite account for the startling greatness John Prine displayed on his first record. Songs as deep and wise as "Sam Stone" and "Hello In There" don't seem like the reflections of an ordinary 24-year-old, and they weren't. Prine was a fully formed, extraordinary songwriter right off the bat, and while he kept on writing great songs for nearly 40 years, the foundation of his career will always be John Prine.