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John Mellencamp - Life Death Love And Freedom |
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Written by Tracy Farnsworth
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Aug 07, 2008 at 09:48 AM |
Artist: John Mellencamp
Album: Life Death Love And Freedom
Release: July 15, 2008
Label: Hear Music
Rating: 8 out of 10
Website: www.mellencamp.com
Life, Death, Love And Freedom is the latest release from John Mellencamp, a musician I have loved for decades. This album is a little change of pace, rather refreshing I feel. It's showcasing his song writing with powerful lyrics and more acoustic guitar than I think I've ever seen from him. T Bone Burnett produces the album, and it's great to see the pair teaming up. I think they've done an incredible job with this latest album.
In his first few years, John Cougar avoided using his true last name, Mellencamp, at the advice of others. Eventually, John Cougar Mellencamp was born, followed by the permanent drop of Cougar. His music has evolved over the years from the gritty rock tunes found in "Hurt So Good" to the thoughtful, storytelling tunes like "Rain On The Scarecrow" off the album Scarecrow.
The opening lines of Life Death Love And Freedom prove that listeners are in for a storytelling album. I'm not really sure how to categorize it. Most of the album uses a strong mix of bass, acoustic guitars, some drums and some electric guitar. It's a gentler Mellencamp, almost more country than rock, yet it really isn't country either. The artist has been calling it "modern electric folk," and I think that's as good a description as I could come up with.
The first song, "Longest Days" grabs you. "It seems like once upon a time ago, I was where I was supposed to be. My vision was true and my heart was too. There was no end to what I could dream." The lyrics this time around are truer, maybe even slightly depressing, but so very true.
"My Sweet Love" is scheduled to be the first release from this album. I'm not sure who is singing with him. Apparently, Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town is the woman singing with him. I lack liner notes to know for certain, but the voice sounds right. All I can say is that their vocals blend extremely well together.
Move into the third track, "If I Die Sudden." Knowing that Mellencamp had a heart attack a number of years ago, I wonder just how much of the song covers his true feelings. Either way, I like the message that comes from the song, which is basically, don't turn my death into a long mourning session, "just put me in the ground."
"John Cockers" is upbeat with a nice bass line to it. It's the story that I like. We're talking about a man who states: "I have a wife and a family, but I ain't got no friends." John Cockers is a loner who admits he's ready for life to end and plans to "dig his own hole" when the time comes.
My favorite song on the album is the track titled "A Ride Back Home." The music grabs me, kind of has a Latin feel to it. I'm not sure who is singing with him and haven't been able to find out yet; possibly it is Karen Fairchild again. Either way, her voice blends well with Mellencamp's.
"Jena" is one of the more controversial songs on the album. Apparently, Jena, Louisiana's mayor is already upset over the song that he calls "inflammory" and that it makes Jena look like a town filled with racism. Regardless, I really like the rock melody and the lyrics that paint an incredible picture of the Jena trials.
Mellencamp's long time fans are now adults raising teens of their own. We've seen friends die, children die and our views of the world have definitely changed. Mellencamp has also matured over the years. His voice has that whisky like quality that you hear about. It's gritty, deep, rich and definitely fits well into this music style. I think Scarecrow will always be my favorite album, but Life Death Love And Freedom is coming very, very close.
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