It took John Prine seven years to make his peace with the "New Dylan" expectations that accompanied his critically hailed 1971 debut . Which isn't to say that the Illinois-born singer/songwriter didn't make some fine music in the years that passed between his initial recording and this, a comfortable-as-an-old-shoe collection that signals the start of Prine's settling-in period. Folk-circuit fellow traveler Steve Goodman 's sympathetic production suits Prine just fine. The songs, meanwhile, are sprinkled with wise and witty wordplay. "Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone" chronicles a misbegotten movie promotion. "If You Don't Want My Love" is an oddly unrepentant exercise in self-pity copenned with reclusive pop producer Phil Spector , while "Aw Heck" is its polar opposite--a sing-it-from-the-rafters celebration of passion ("I could get the electric chair for a phony rap / Long as she's sittin' in my lap"). It's not faint praise to note that Bruised Orange is thoroughly likable. --Steven Stolder