CD Reviews- John Mellencamp- No Better Than This

The Background:
In an age of auto-tuned, computerized recordings, John Mellencamp's approach on his Rounder debut, No Better Than This, is very different. The entire album was recorded with Mellencamp and his band all playing live in one room using a 55 year-old Ampex tape recorder and just one vintage microphone. Legendary producer T Bone Burnett captured the thirteen new Mellencamp originals at three historically important locations: Sun Studio in Memphis, TN (where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis all first recorded); the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, GA (the oldest Black church in North America, dating to 1775); and in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, TX (where Robert Johnson made his first recordings in 1936). The songs on No Better Than This reflect classic American musical traditions including blues, folk, gospel, rockabilly, and country, while addressing such themes as the need for hope, the nature of relationships, and narratives that recount extraordinary occurrences in everyday life. Mellencamp says of the album, "It was absolutely the most fun I've ever had making a record in my life. It was about making music - organic music made by real musicians - that's heartfelt and written from the best place it can come from."

The Review:
Going back to the John Cougar days, Mellencamp always flirted back and forth across rock and roll, Americana, folk and country- walking across genres fairly seamlessly. He probably did it better and more seamlessly than any other artist of his time- always being and feeling authentic along the way. No Better Than This is much more acoustic and much more country than anything he’s released previously. He’s also much more mellow on this album. And while there’s some great tracks on the album, this reviewer isn’t ready for Mellencamp to give up his rocking ways quite yet. He’s not quite sixty. And while artists before him have gone to a stripped down acoustic direction- think Cash’s American Series, Kristofferson’s most recent or even Tom Jones’ latest album- they’re much older artists with deeper lyrics that deal with legacy, death and God. Mellencamp’s just too young to completely give up his rock and roll side. What we love about him as much as anything is his ability to get his groove on with such classics as “Paper In Fire”, “Jack and Diane” and more recently, his duet with Me'shell Ndegeocello on “Wild Night.” Those are all great tracks- and a side that’s missing on this album. Ironically, and perhaps a bit counter-intuitive to that last comment, two of the better songs one the album are acoustic guitar only without even any percussion. “Thinking About You” finds Mellencamp looking back fondly on that first childhood relationship and now, several decades later, wondering what she’s doing now. In the form of a phone call, he reaches out to her. The song is at once philosophical, romantic and contemplative. “Love at First Sight” on the other hand is a two-sided comical take on the perils of falling in love at first sight- particularly since Mellencamp has been married three times. The first half of the song is all lovey-dovey and roses with the perfect sequence of events: romance, love, marriage and kids. After the bridge, things begin falling apart with arguments, getting hit with a frying pan and finally being whacked by his wife- doing him in. It is definitely a humorous take on the dating scene. Slightly fuller on the instrumentation depth scale is the opening track, “Save Some Time to Dream.” Mellencamp has been long been a crusader for the working man (25 years of Farm Aid probably tell that tale better than any other stat) and the lyrics preach the importance of saving some time to dream, for those dreams might save us all. An additional powerful song is “Easter Eve” It tells the story of John and his fourteen year-old-son who are eating dinner when a strange man sitting with his wife comes over and threatens them. A fight ensues and his son narrowly escapes death but with a beer bottle across the jaw, subdues the attacker. They all go to jail. But that only stands as a surface story. Behind the scenes, the wife of the crazed husband has been too fearful to leave her spouse. Now jailed, she has the opportunity for her own rebirth of personal freedom. The symbolism and comparison on this Easter- with Jesus’ own rebirth- is a powerful one. Through a fight, trials and tribulations, she is able to have a rebirth of her own- similar to a Phoenix. It’s a great analogy and a great story song- easily the favorite track on the album.

Sounds Like:
Classic gravel-voiced Mellencamp set to Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s Raising Sand

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
Save Some Time To Dream
Thinking about You
Love at First Sight
Easter Eve

The Verdict:
Three Stars Out Of Five