The Songs of John Mellencamp

I'm going to try to keep this post to a reasonable length, although it will be a challenge. When talking about John Mellencamp and his music, I could probably go on for days. I should write a book, quite frankly, and would in fact enjoy doing that. Something that goes into the songs. Something that fans and musicians alike could sink their teeth into. I actually read a Rolling Stone piece at John Mellencamp's website entitled My Life in 15 Songs, which I thought offered some really good insight into John's mindset where his music is concerned. It's a great read and you can check it out on his website.

Anyway, my wife took me to see Mellencamp in Florida on his tour to support the awesome album No Better Than This. The show was great. We had balcony seats right over the stage and I even made a little trip down to stand at the front of the stage, looking right up at Mellencamp as he belted out his set with the heart of a true music legend -- a performer who, no matter how great he becomes, remains down to earth and true to his roots and his fans. That was one of the best concert experiences of my life, and I've had many. A fantastic show in southern Florida. I have a shirt from the concert that shows all of the names John has used throughout his career crossed out until it finally just says John Mellencamp. Very cool.

My introduction to John Mellencamp came when I was about seventeen. I heard I Need a Lover on the radio. I bought the album John Cougar (that was the name he was using then) and put it on the turntable. It wasn't long before I wore it out. I soon found out that I Need a Lover wasn't the only good track on the album. There was Night Dancin', The Great Midwest, Do You Think That's Fair, Sugar Marie, and a beautiful ballad entitled Taxi Dancer. There were others too, but these are some of my favorite cuts. Being from the Midwest myself, The Great Midwest had lyrics that really resonated with me:

Great Midwest (John Mellencamp)

Everything is slower here, everybody's got a union card.
They get up on Sunday, go to church of their choice,
Come back home, cook out in the backyard.

And they call this the Great Midwest
Where the cornfields grow and flow.
They're all five years ahead of their time
Or twenty-five behind, I just don't know.

Well, from the time I listened to that record, I was a Mellencamp fan and it hasn't slowed down. I immediately bought everything he came out with, first on vinyl, then cassette, then on CD.

The next record, with one of the best titles I've ever heard, Nothin' Matters and What If It Did. is another favorite and only solidified my love for John's music. I wish I knew how he really felt about some of these earlier tracks. You always hear that he hates the stuff. To be honest, I thought there were some damn good songs here. In fact, the whole album was good. In particular, the ballad Make Me Feel, the melancholy ode to a childhood sweetheart, To M.G. (Wherever She May Be), and Cheap Shot, his spit-in-the-face rocker aimed at record companies, Cheap Shot, are outstanding. That doesn't even take into account that This Time and Ain't Even Done with the Night are here as well.

American Fool was next. What can I really say? Hurts So Good, Jack and Diane, Hand to Hold, Danger List, Thundering Hearts . . . hit after hit. The album was a huge success and well earned.

The Uh-Huh album saw John changing his name from John Cougar to John Cougar Mellencamp, easing us all toward his eventual return to his real name, John Mellencamp. The songs on this album included the killer tracks Pink Houses, Crumblin' Down, Authority Song, and Play Guitar. The album also saw John leaning more toward the idea of using his music to highlight some of the issues faced in America. The song Pink Houses was foreshadowing for how John would begin casting a harsh light on serious issues on his future albums, beginning with his next (and maybe my favorite Mellencamp) Scarecrow.

Scarecrow brought attention to the plight of the American farmer. John didn't just sing about it, he did something about it too, organizing Farm Aid with Willie Nelson. Rain on the Scarecrow, with its ominous guitar intro, Minutes to Memories, Between a Laugh and a Tear, Small Town, and Rumbleseat are some of my favorite tracks from this album (and some of my favorite Mellecamp songs period).

The Lonesome Jubilee, another masterpiece. Cherry Bomb, Check It Out, Paper in Fire, the brilliant Hotdogs and Hamburgers, and Hard Times for an Honest Man are some serious highlights. This album also introduced a different sound, with the addition of violin as a regular component of the music.

Big Daddy followed with an extremely poignant tune called Jackie Brown. The songs tugs at my heart every time I hear it. Check out the first verse:

Jackie Brown (John Mellencamp)

Is this your life, Jackie Brown?
Poorly educated and forced to live on the poor side of town.
Is this your daughter, Jackie Brown?
This pretty little girl
In the worn out clothes
That have been hand-me down.
Is this your wife, Jackie Brown?
With sad blue eyes, walking on eggshells so you don't see her frown.
Is this your family, Jackie Brown?

Pop Singer was a big hit from Big Daddy and one that sounds really good live. Another of John's anti-industry tunes, this time aimed at the posers and those who forget what the music is all about.

Whenever We Wanted. I love this album. Songs like Again Tonight, Get a Leg Up (a fun song that harkens back to Mellencamp's earlier days), Love and Happiness, and Now More than Ever, which includes some of the best lyrics I've ever heard.

Now More than Ever (John Mellencamp)

If you believe won't you please raise your hands.

Let's hear your voices, let us know where you stand.
Don't shout from the shadows 'cause it won't mean a damn.
Now more than ever.

I haven't really kept my word about trying to keep this post down. I warned you. In an effort of get back on course, I'll attempt to sum up the rest of John's albums. There have been great tunes from all of them, Human Wheels, Dance Naked, both album titles and song titles. I loved both of these songs and the albums were pretty damn cool too. There was a cover of Van Morrison's Wild Night on Dance Naked done as a duet with Meshell Ndegeocello that sounded as if it could have been original John Mellencamp.

Mr. Happy Go Lucky had some top notch material as well. Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First), Just Another Day, and The Full Catastrophe are all stand-out tracks. The next album, John Mellencamp, featured some cool songs. I'm Not Running Anymore, Summer of Love, and You're Life Is Now are some of my favorites. The lyrics to Your Life Is Now are powerful and really resonate with me.

Check out this verse from Your Life Is Now.

Your Life Is Now (Mellencamp/Green)

Would you teach your children to tell the truth?
Would you take the high road if you could choose?
Do you believe you're a victim of a great compromise?
'Cause I believe you could change your mind and change our lives.

Rough Harvest was an interesting album where John did some of his tunes in different versions, acoustic and otherwise. I like the version of Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First) as good or better here than the original. Other songs done in drastically different forms include Between a Laugh and a Tear, Jackie Brown, Rain on the Scarecrow, Human Wheels, and Minutes to Memories.

Cuttin' Heads with the deeply moving Peaceful World and Trouble No More (blues and folk covers) with Teardrops Will Fall came next. Freedom Road produced the massive single Our Country and the haunting Ghostowns Along the Highway.

Life, Death, Love and Freedom. An album full of deep, emotional material. A hard, honest look at life. I don't know how I missed this album, but I didn't catch it when it first came out. When I saw John on the No Better Than This tour he sung Longest Days from Life, Death, Love and Freedom. I was blown away from the moment he introduced the song until the moment he finished it. It was truth on a level like I'd never heard before. I looked at my wife and said, "What was that? What did he just sing?" Amazed. Dumbfounded. Hard to describe exactly what that song did for me. If I could just write one song like that in my whole life and Mellencamp does it all the time. I won't even print a sample of the lyric here. Just get the album, listen to the song, take it in.

No Better Than This was just stunning. Produced by T-Bone Burnett (as was Life, Death, Love and Freedom) and recorded at a number of historical places throughout the US, No Better Than This saw John going back to the basics, recording with minimal equipment and no effects. It was all about the songs. No Better Than This, Thinking About You, No One Cares About Me, and another moving, meaningful word of advice from John, Save Some time to Dream.

A couple of albums I'll mention (stuff prior to John Cougar) because there really is some neat songs on the records and I believe theyy are necessary for the true Mellencamp. These albums have been released in different formats through the years and you can find them all on CD. Chestnut Street Incident, A Biography, and The Kid Inside.

Chestnut Street Incident consists of a lot of cover songs and a couple Mellencamp gems, American Dream and Chestnut Street Incident being two of the latter. John's versions of Pretty Woman and Do You Believe in Magic are also worth a listen.

A Biography is notable because it includes early versions of I Need a Lover and Taxi Dancer from the John Cougar album. There's also a track called Night Slumming that I like.

The Kid Inside was recorded in 1977 but it was released until 1983. Not really sure what John's thoughts are about this album or the legal aspects surrounding it, but I'm happy it saw the light of day. Tracks like Kid Inside, Take What You Want, Cheap Shot (not the song from Nothin' Matters and What If It Did) and American Son make this a must-have for Mellencamp fans.

These are the studio albums. There are a couple of nice compilations, The Best That I could Do 19788- 1988, Words and Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits, and On the rural Route 7609. The first of these three compilations is a good starting point if you've been living under a rock and don't know who John Mellencamp is. The other two are great for collectors because they include a lot of bonus stuff. There's also the new John Mellencamp box set that collects all of his studio releases into one super beautiful package.

As of this writing John Mellencamp is working on a new album to be released in 2014, again produced by T-Bone Burnett. I don't have any specifics because he's still in the writing process. Keep you posted.