Kurt Vile has released a posthumous collaboration with John Prine on the late singer-songwriter’s own “How Lucky”. The single, shared on Thursday, comes from a new five-song EP from Vile, entitled Speed, Sound, Lonely KV (ep), due out on October 3rd.
This marks the second posthumous release of Prine’s since his death back in April of COVID-19. In June, his estate released his final song, titled “I Remember Everything“, along with a video of him performing the tune in his living room.
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Vile recorded Speed, Sound, Lonely KV (ep) over a period of four years during several sessions in Nashville under the watchful eye of former Johnny Cash sideman David “Fergie” Ferguson. The EP features two originals and three covers, and hosts contributions from Dan Auerbach (Black Keys), as well as Nashville legends Bobby Wood, Dave Roe, and Kenny Malone. One of the covers on the collection is “Gone Girl” from the late “Cowboy” Jack Clement, whose out-of-print All I Want To Do In Life is among Vile’s favorites. The other two are Prine songs, “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness” and “How Lucky”, the latter of which features Prine himself.
Along with the release of the song, Vile shed some light on how he came to know Prine.
It was backstage at the Station Inn where Ferg introduced me to John Prine for the first time. And the first thing John told me was that he heard and liked my version of “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.” I knew Ferg had showed him that recording, but it was wild to hear him acknowledge it to say the least…. meeting him then was a perfect moment to do so, but also comical… I had my daughter Awilda back there with me at that moment — who was 6 at the time — and other interesting people were around like Billy Ray Cyrus, who was being really funny and cool… the other big reason I was there in Nashville at that time was to catch Prine’s two 70th birthday shows at the Ryman… so to see him a couple nights before his big shows, warming up on such a tiny stage in a moment when i was sort of “in the scene” was a real treat and a trip… i had to break the ice by asking Billy Ray in front of everyone if he ever heard that Cypress Hill song where they namedrop him, to which he replied ‘no, i never heard it!’
Listen to Kurt Vile and John Prine collaborate on “How Lucky”, from Vile’s forthcoming EP Speed, Sound, Lonely KV (ep) and click here to pre-order it. Scroll down to see the full tracklist.
Kurt Vile, John Prine – “How Lucky”
[Video: Kurt Vile]
[H/T Stereogum]