I had given up on John Mellencamp awhile ago. The last consistently interesting records he made were in the early to mid-1990's. His latest, No Better Than This, is defiant evidence that it is never too late to recapture that magic. This is a record that he could not have made in his younger days. It is a significant record for him too, one that may set him up for musical relevance for the next 20 years or so if he can continue down this path in inspired ways.
I say it is defiant, and it is. It is stubborn music, down to how he recorded it. Recorded all in mono using vintage 50's and 60's recording equipment, he even carefully chose the three recording locations to ensure the right mojo: Sun Studios in Memphis, The First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga. (a church dating back to 1775) and most interesting to me, in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel here in San Antonio, which is where Robert Johnson conducted one of the only two recording sessions of his life back in 1936. As you can imagine by now, this music has a retro feel. It is more rockabilly, country, folk and blues than modern rock and roll (and not coincidentally, it is Mellencamp's debut on Rounder Records). Which is fine, because this music really suits Mellencamp these days. His lyrics have always been connected to these older musical genres of the common man, but he rarely made records that committed 100% to those styles musically. He would add elements to be sure (Lonesome Jubilee is a brilliant example of combining those elements with modern rock), but he always kept one eye on the pop charts. Evidently he has given up on mainstream chart success.
As he approaches his 60's (!), his voice is rougher through years on the road, smoking cigarettes and hard living. It works perfectly with gritty rockabilly beats and bluesy/folky acoustic guitars. He tentatively set off down this road on his most recent records (Trouble No More, Freedom's Road and Life, Death, Love and Freedom), but he hedged his bets on those records. Here he finally commits. A reviewer on Amazon.com stated that this record reminds him of the Rick Rubin-produced Johnny Cash records during the musical renaissance in the last decade or so of Cash's life. I could see Mellencamp filling that gap easily for the next 20 years, recording gritty records of Americana based in folk, blues, country and rockabilly idioms, and only occasionally veering into rock and roll.
That is why this record is significant. Mellencamp has set himself up for the next few decades in a musical world where he is at home and where he can age gracefully instead of trying to belt out more "Jack and Diane"-clones in his 60's. It also helps that the tunes here are quite good, catchy and the record has a wonderful organic and coherent sound to it.
ABOVE: This is the video for the title track, "No Better Than This." Far from the best tune on the album, it does at least give you a feel for the sound. (It was the only tune from the album I could find on YouTube.)
Rating: **** out of *****
2 comments:
You make this sound interesting, against all odds. I might at least listen to the samples on itunes. But what do you mean he's setting himself up for the next few decades? Is he going to be recording soul records in his 80s? 90s? Is there precedent for that?
He isn't quite sixty, so he could do this type of music in his 60's and 70's, a la Johnny Cash and many blues artists who performed well into their old age. My point is that this type of music doesn't make a 60 year old man look ridiculous on stage. It works, and it is still worth listening to.
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