Stream John Prine's The Tree of Forgiveness in Full

Throughout the late winter, we've had the chance to hear tracks from John Prine's The Tree of Forgiveness, his first album of original songs since the Grammy-winning Fair & Square in 2005. The Tree of Forgiveness is out this Friday, April 13, and we've got a lot more to come in Thursday's edition of the Scene. But you don't have to wait until then to hear the record in its entirety: It's streaming in full as a first listen over at NPR.

Simply put, it's Prine doing what he does best: Addressing complicated topics like love and death and tucking his observations (never so neatly that you'd call them "packaged") into songs that help you come to terms with the truth. He's silly when he feels the time is right — just reading the title of "Egg & Daughter Nite, Lincoln Nebraska, 1967 (Crazy Bone)" is bound to elicit a chuckle. But even when he's talking about emptiness and loneliness, he leaves you with the sense that you're not alone. Give it a listen and put in an order at your favorite record store or preorder a copy via Prine's own Oh Boy Records.