John Mellencamp- "Life Death Love and Freedom"
Charlotte Downes
Issue date: 7/23/08 Section: The Edge
Don't turn your nose up at John Mellencamp - after all, most of the best music you'll find are the albums you steal out of your dad's collection.
Odds are, you'll love John Mellencamp's "Life Death Love and Freedom" as much as you loved "Jack and Diane." In his latest release, Mellencamp worked with producer T Bone Burnett to create a moodier, darker sound that differs greatly from the John "Cougar" Mellencamp days of tight T-shirts and jukebox-oriented anthems that went great with PBR.
The country sound and social commentary might remind some fans of the 1985 album "Scarecrow" or the 1987 album "The Lonesome Jubilee," but this time infused with a blues-oriented solemnity. Heavy themes saturate the album, such as the track "Jena," a testimony of the injustices of the racially-charged Jena 6 trial in Louisiana. Oftentimes, themes of the songs are a little harder to pin down with words. They often translate into a basic emotion, such as the bone deep weariness of "A Ride Back Home," where simple, spare guitar work beautifully transfuses emotion from Mellencamp's strings directly to the listener's heart. Preceded by the spare, bluesy "Don't Need This Body," where Mellencamp sings of the lonely "10 billion hours" he has put in, asking Jesus for help but saying he "won't bother him no more," Mellencamp forms a one-two punch. Easy listening, this is not.
However, not all tracks are simmered down to their most basic, raw elements. "My Sweet Love" will get fans of the Stray Cats excited. With a rockabilly influence, Mellencamp chose to team gospel backup vocals with kickback lyrics, providing listeners with a little oasis of light music during a long stretch of gut-wrenching testimonies from middle America.
You might want to pick up Brazilian pop band CSS's new release, "Donkey," for some lighter listening while you're out. After the heavy tracks, you might need it. But then again, maybe not. Mellencamp's arresting and unpretentious sound, often described as a blend of Tom Petty, Bob Segar and Bruce Springsteen, will grab you somewhere down in your little Midwestern tummy with its folksy, bluesy grit, and always manages to satiate on days when you crave music with just a little more sustenance. You may not have heard Mellencamp since a 1996 ride in your dad's pickup truck, but really, that might be all the more reason to check John Mellencamp out again. As he says in the track "Troubled Land," Mellencamp may have a "pain in his side, but he keeps traveling on."
Fans can hope to hear some of the new tracks along with the classics this September at the 2008 Farm Aid concert, where Mellencamp will perform with Neil Young, Willie Nelson and Dave Matthews in Massachusetts to raise money for American Farmers.
Odds are, you'll love John Mellencamp's "Life Death Love and Freedom" as much as you loved "Jack and Diane." In his latest release, Mellencamp worked with producer T Bone Burnett to create a moodier, darker sound that differs greatly from the John "Cougar" Mellencamp days of tight T-shirts and jukebox-oriented anthems that went great with PBR.
The country sound and social commentary might remind some fans of the 1985 album "Scarecrow" or the 1987 album "The Lonesome Jubilee," but this time infused with a blues-oriented solemnity. Heavy themes saturate the album, such as the track "Jena," a testimony of the injustices of the racially-charged Jena 6 trial in Louisiana. Oftentimes, themes of the songs are a little harder to pin down with words. They often translate into a basic emotion, such as the bone deep weariness of "A Ride Back Home," where simple, spare guitar work beautifully transfuses emotion from Mellencamp's strings directly to the listener's heart. Preceded by the spare, bluesy "Don't Need This Body," where Mellencamp sings of the lonely "10 billion hours" he has put in, asking Jesus for help but saying he "won't bother him no more," Mellencamp forms a one-two punch. Easy listening, this is not.
However, not all tracks are simmered down to their most basic, raw elements. "My Sweet Love" will get fans of the Stray Cats excited. With a rockabilly influence, Mellencamp chose to team gospel backup vocals with kickback lyrics, providing listeners with a little oasis of light music during a long stretch of gut-wrenching testimonies from middle America.
You might want to pick up Brazilian pop band CSS's new release, "Donkey," for some lighter listening while you're out. After the heavy tracks, you might need it. But then again, maybe not. Mellencamp's arresting and unpretentious sound, often described as a blend of Tom Petty, Bob Segar and Bruce Springsteen, will grab you somewhere down in your little Midwestern tummy with its folksy, bluesy grit, and always manages to satiate on days when you crave music with just a little more sustenance. You may not have heard Mellencamp since a 1996 ride in your dad's pickup truck, but really, that might be all the more reason to check John Mellencamp out again. As he says in the track "Troubled Land," Mellencamp may have a "pain in his side, but he keeps traveling on."
Fans can hope to hear some of the new tracks along with the classics this September at the 2008 Farm Aid concert, where Mellencamp will perform with Neil Young, Willie Nelson and Dave Matthews in Massachusetts to raise money for American Farmers.
Be the first to comment on this story