Finding Success in ‘Missing Years’ : Pop music: John Prine, who will perform at the Coach House, says the popularity of his latest album caught him by surprise.

At a time when big business, big government and big entertainment seem increasingly to have failed us, it is encouraging that such a determined individualist as John Prine can succeed on his own terms.

After two decades of albums that were hailed by critics but that hardly set the marketplace on fire, Prine’s latest release, “The Missing Years,” has sold like hot dogs on the Fourth of July--250,000 copies so far. Such a hefty figure would be impressive for almost anyone short of Garth Brooks or Michael Jackson; what makes Prine’s accomplishment so extraordinary is that “The Missing Years” was released on his own independent label, Oh Boy Records.

During a phone call from a stop on a tour that will bring him to the Coach House tonight, Prine said the popularity of “The Missing Years” took him by surprise.

“I didn’t expect to see that,” he said. “I’ve never sold a record like that. Some of my records might have sold that much over the years but I’ve never had one come out and nine months later sell a quarter-million copies.”

Along the way, “The Missing Years” also picked up a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Prine received additional exposure when he opened for longtime pal Bonnie Raitt on her tour last year, and from his first ever music video, “Picture Show,” a song from the album. Prine said all those things helped boost “The Missing Years,” but he credits the success mainly to the inspired production of Howie Epstein.

“I bet the hardest-working thing was the record itself,” Prine said. “The record just went out there and while I was sleeping, it was selling. Howie Epstein just did such a darn good job.

“He spent a lot of time getting the tracks down so that it was all built around my acoustic guitar. We were able to spend a great deal of time on vocals. I didn’t mind singing a song over and over, because it was right where the song should be. Sometimes that is the hardest thing to find, especially on a simple tune. There seem to be a hundred different ways to do a simple song.

“I’m still listening to the record,” he continued. “I put it on every once in awhile and I can’t remember doing that with any of my other records. Usually by the time you’re all done working with an album, you’re tired of it. I just enjoy the sound of ‘The Missing Years.’ ”

One secret to the success of “The Missing Years” well may lie in the profound respect that Epstein--who plays bass in Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers--has for Prine as a songwriter. “He told me, ‘You can’t obstruct any of those words,’ ” Prine recalled. “I have even done that to myself when I’ve gotten in on the production of records.

“When it comes to mixing, I like to mix the vocal down into the music, and I guess with my stuff, that’s not the best thing to do. Howie just wanted to make sure that without going overboard I enunciated so that the casual listener could catch what was going on without somebody having to elbow him in the ribs. I think that made it easier for somebody to just play this record for somebody else and see if they liked it or not.”

Of course, it is not only Epstein’s sound but the quality of Prine’s songs that makes “The Missing Years” such a satisfying album. Unlike so many songwriters who seem to run out of inspiration after a couple of albums, Prine is still turning out such gems as “Picture Show,” “The Sins of Mephisto” and “Jesus the Missing Years,” which rank right up there with such enduring classics as “Sam Stone” and “Hello in There” from his debut album 20 years ago.

Prine said that songwriting is not really a chore for him. “The songs just keep coming. All I’ve got to do is be patient. I don’t write all the time. I just kind of wait around and write them in clumps of two or three.

“I think the only time I feel as though I’m working at it is when I co-write with somebody. When you are working with somebody else, you seem to draw more from the craft part of it. When I write by myself, I can write behind the steering wheel as well as with a guitar.”

The road itself can be a chore, though.

“Fortunately, my old songs have worn really well,” Prine said. “I still enjoy singing those songs. It’s the traveling part that gets to me. That was the part that was so romantic in the beginning. I’d go anywhere. I’d stop in a little college town on a little highway and I’d say, ‘Wow! I’ve never seen any place like this.’ I was excited to just travel, but after all these years, you kind of miss staying at home.”

But “The Missing Years” has helped make touring fun again, he added. “All I’ve had to do this year is just go out there and say thank you,” he said with a laugh.

His future plans include expanding Oh Boy Records to include other artists (the label has just released an album by songwriter Keith Sykes). And naturally, Prine intends to go back into the studio to cut another album with Epstein.

For now, though, he’s really looking forward to having some time off. “I’ll probably just do absolutely nothing,” he said. “I’m pretty good at that.”