John Prine's 1986 album German Afternoons was his second release on Oh Boy Records, the independent label he formed with his manager Al Bunetta, and delves further into the country-flavored sound established on his 1984 release Aimless Love. Like Aimless Love, German Afternoons was co-produced by Nashville veteran Jim Rooney but also features contributions from the progressive bluegrass band New Grass Revival, and this accounts for Prine's return to the folk-sound of his early albums on songs like "Lulu Walls" and "Paradise", the latter a rerecording of the self-penned classic which appeared on the singer's debut John Prine in 1971. Perhaps the most significant song that appears on German Afternoons is "The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness", which became a concert staple and an instant classic for many Prine devotees.
