Marissa Mulder: Souvenirs, A Tribute to the Songs of John Prine

October 3, 2021

Marissa Mulder returned to Birdland Theater for her in-person show since February 2020. With Jon Weber as her pianist and musical director, and Mike Rosengarten on guitar, Marissa presented the music and story of John Prine, the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter who was an early victim of COVID-19 in 2020. Marissa, a luminous strawberry blonde who radiates her joy in her singing as with everything she does, was in fine voice, interpreting Prine’s songs with great skill and feeling. Marissa, whose specialty is theme shows written around the deep-dive material of heralded singer-songwriters whose names are more well-known than their catalog, like Tom Waits, and new interpretations of Lennon and McCartney songs, brought that same approach to giving a virtual Master Class in John Prine, who had a knack for writing deep and whimsical songs that were especially acclaimed by other songwriters, such Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan and the late Nancy Griffith. Marissa has a gentle, nearly girlish sound that is often compared to that of the late Blossom Dearie, and is perfect for the material. The arrangements of these deceptively simple songs were terrific, with Weber and Rosengarten creating just the right melodic lines and tension for the material while allowing Marissa to shine.

Marissa opened with β€œParadise,” the first song he sang to his father. Her own father was in the house.

𝐴𝑛𝑑 π‘‘π‘Žπ‘‘π‘‘π‘¦ π‘€π‘œπ‘›’𝑑 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘˜π‘’ π‘šπ‘’ π‘π‘Žπ‘π‘˜ π‘‘π‘œ π‘€π‘’β„Žπ‘™π‘’π‘›π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘” πΆπ‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘¦
π·π‘œπ‘€π‘› 𝑏𝑦 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ πΊπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘’π‘› π‘…π‘–π‘£π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘€β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘ƒπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘ π‘’ π‘™π‘Žπ‘¦
π‘Šπ‘’π‘™π‘™, 𝐼’π‘š π‘ π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘Ÿπ‘¦ π‘šπ‘¦ π‘ π‘œπ‘›, 𝑏𝑒𝑑 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘‘π‘œπ‘œ π‘™π‘Žπ‘‘π‘’ 𝑖𝑛 π‘Žπ‘ π‘˜π‘–π‘›π‘”
π‘€π‘–π‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘ƒπ‘’π‘Žπ‘π‘œπ‘‘π‘¦’𝑠 π‘π‘œπ‘Žπ‘™ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘–π‘› β„Žπ‘Žπ‘  β„Žπ‘Žπ‘’π‘™π‘’π‘‘ 𝑖𝑑 π‘Žπ‘€π‘Žπ‘¦

β€œSouvenirs,” the show’s title song, was a tune Prine always dedicated to his brother, even singing the song to his dying brother on his deathbed. Some of Prine’s best material was written when he was a postal carrier in Mayberry, Illinois. He made his big break after film critic Roger Ebert caught his show entirely by chance and wrote about the β€œSinging Mailman.” Marissa’s family was in attendance from Syracuse, and she apologized to her dad from the stage after quoting Prine’s β€œF bomb” before launching into his β€œYour Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore.”

For β€œSam Stone,” Weber and Rosengarten, using ringing harmonic tones, created a delicate backdrop for Marissa to deliver a powerful message as relevant in the aftermath of the Afghanistan conflict as it was when our troops came home from Vietnam. The question asked, really, is β€œFor what?” We learned that Johnny Cash changed the controversial phrase that β€œJesus died for nothing” when he recorded the song, something Prine said was really the entire point. On β€œSpeed of β€œThe Sound of Loneliness,” Marissa was at her most vulnerable. With just Rosengarten providing a fingerpicked guitar, Marissa inhabits the song and its sorrow.

When was the last time you heard a song about a boy and an elephant? β€œSabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone,” about a former child star whose career reached its zenith with his first film, β€œElephant Boy.” The song is at once poignant and funny, with lines like β€œπ‘†π‘Žπ‘π‘’ π‘€π‘Žπ‘  π‘ π‘Žπ‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘€β„Žπ‘œπ‘™π‘’ π‘‘π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘›π‘˜. π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘–π‘Ÿπ‘™π‘–π‘›π‘’π‘  π‘™π‘œπ‘ π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘’π‘™π‘’π‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘›π‘‘β€™π‘  π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘›π‘˜.”

Marissa followed β€œSabu” with another very clever song, β€œDear Abby” is a collection of letters to Dear Abby and her responses (all written by Prine). Marissa was delightful singing lyrics like β€œπ‘†π‘–π‘”π‘›π‘’π‘‘, π΅π‘’π‘€π‘–π‘™π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘‘,” and informed us after the song that someone sent one of the stanzas to the actual β€œDear Abby,” who wrote that the writer clearly needed a psychiatrist.

Marissa sweetly sang β€œAngel From Montgomery,” most famously covered by Bonnie Raitt, who said that Prine was β€œprobably the closest thing for those of us that didn’t get the blessing of seeing Mark Twain in person.”

After telling a funny story about Prine’s goldfish that he loved so much he had it mounted, Marissa performed Prine’s uptempo song, β€œPlease Don’t Bury Me,” about his own imagined death, recorded 20 years before. β€œπ‘ƒπ‘™π‘’π‘Žπ‘ π‘’ π‘‘π‘œπ‘›β€™π‘‘ π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘¦ π‘šπ‘’ π‘‘π‘œπ‘€π‘› 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘π‘œπ‘™π‘‘, π‘π‘œπ‘™π‘‘ π‘”π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘€π‘›. 𝐼’𝑑 π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘£π‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘š 𝑐𝑒𝑑 π‘šπ‘’ 𝑒𝑝 π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘π‘Žπ‘ π‘  π‘šπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘™π‘™ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘.” The humorous lyrics took on a bittersweet poignancy, now that Prine is really gone. This would have been her final song, but Marissa performed an encore on β€œIn Spite of Ourselves,” with just Mike Rosengard on guitar. It was a terrific cap to a delightful show.

Marissa Mulder
Souvenirs, A Tribute to the Songs of John Prine 
Birdland Theater
315 West 44th Street, NYC