CD Odyssey Disc 1855: John Cougar Mellencamp

Last week my amazing wife Sheila sourced me a used CD rack (these are increasingly hard to find – thank you, Sheila!). It holds another 90 albums!

Sadly, this record will not be one of them.

Disc 1855 is…The Lonesome Jubilee

Artist: John Cougar Mellencamp

Year of Release: 1987

What’s up with the Cover? John sits at the bar with a local workin’ man. I expect John is suggesting through this photo that he likes hanging out with the regular folks. That would work better if he weren’t looking away awkwardly. It’s got a very “sit near me, but not with me” vibe.

I prefer to think right before this photo was taken John sat down and tried to befriend this guy to which he replied, ‘not interested’ and we’re catching the moment mid-spurn.

How I Came To Know It: I saw this record in the bargain bin at my local record store for a low $3. I liked one of the songs from when it came out, so despite my historic misgivings about Mellencamp, I decided I would give it a go.

How It Stacks Up: I have two Mellencamp albums, this one and the classic “Uh Huh”. “The Lonesome Jubilee” comes in at a distant second.

Ratings: 2 stars

When I reviewed “Uh Huh” back at Disc 1794, Mellencamp made me eat the unkind words I’d spoken about him in my youth. Did “The Lonesome Jubilee” have a similar impact? Two words: uh-uh. That is not to say this is a terrible record, only that it is just OK.

“The Lonesome Jubilee” has two things to say, and Mellencamp says them a lot, without much variation. Thing 1: “The good old days were pretty great, eh?” and Thing 2: “Boy, things aren’t great these days.” These are not earth-shattering but they can make for a song or two. The results here are a bunch of inoffensive, efficient, radio friendly social commentary with no surprises.

The draw from the outset for me is the lively and vibrant “Paper in Fire” featuring the talented fiddle playing of Lisa Germano. This caught my attention for a couple of reasons back in 1987. I’m not going to deny it – one of those reasons was how great Germano looked playing that fiddle in that shift dress in the music video.

The main reason though, was in 1987 I had limited exposure to fiddle music and Mellencamp bringing that American style fiddle playing into pop music was novel and interesting. My deep and abiding love for all style of fiddle playing was still just around the corner, and through “Paper in Fire” I was unwittingly whetting my appetite for things to come.

I have since come to be exposed to a lot of fiddle music by some exceptional masters of their craft. Germano’s playing is still solid – even with Mellencamp mostly using it in the arrangement like trumpet flourish – but with so much more under my belt now it is just one of many fun fiddle hooks, and no longer a revelation.

Back in 1987 “Cherry Bomb” was also a hit but unlike “Paper in Fire” I hated that song, which was severely overplayed. I am pleased to tell you this hate has been purged from my heart, and I now think it’s one of the record’s better offerings. Sure it has a sometimes tired and obvious exploration of “we were once kids, and now we have kids” but the tune is solid and I dig Crystal Taliefero’s guest vocals.

This is also a good time to point out that the “Lonesome Jubilee” “Cherry Bomb” is not the same song as the Runaways song of the same title, which is both better and has more to say. But there is room in my heart these days for two “Cherry Bombs” so that’s not a problem.

The rest of this record is just OK. I wasn’t irritated by any of the songs (well, OK, “Rooty Toot Toot” is pretty irritating), but nor did I feel like I was going to be urgently fumbling through my music collection so I could hear them either.

“The Lonesome Jubilee” demonstrates that Mellencamp knows how to write and sing, but it mostly had me thinking of other artists in my collection that just do what he’s doing better. It is a bunch of “life is harder now” stuff, competently delivered, but a bit preachy and unsurprising.

Two stars for this two-note record that is going to be moving along out of my collection.

Best tracks: Paper in Fire, Cherry Bomb

CD Odyssey Disc 1794: John Cougar Mellencamp

Apologies for my absence, gentle readers. The holidays take a bite out of the kind of time needed that meet the criteria of Rule #4 (listening only counts when done alone when I’m doing nothing more than driving, walking, or painting).

As a result, this album took a whole week to get through, but it was an enjoyable week.

Disc 1794 is…Uh-huh

Artist: John Cougar Mellencamp

Year of Release: 1983

What’s up with the Cover? This looks like a photograph that’s been painted on to look ‘arty’. It depicts John Cougar Mellencamp with an array of angels behind his head. I do not understand what the addition of these angels are supposed to represent, although angels are represented (by their absence) in the song “Golden Gates”.

However, it is not the angels that caught and held my attention with a horrified fascination, it was the shoes. That is one ugly pair of loafers, Mr. Mellencamp. And while I know it was the style at the time, the flash of white socks does not help.

Attention folks that are currently white-socking it around out there: you do you, but know that this is not a look that time treats kindly.

How I Came To Know It: This album was everywhere when it came out, and I know it from years of music videos, high school dances, house parties and general media exposure, much of which I considered unwelcome at the time.

Most recently this comes to me via my wife Sheila’s recent penchant for picking up albums at bargain-bin prices from thrift stores and bringing them home on spec. While this has eaten up a lot of additional real estate for the music collection, it has also been welcome for at least three reasons.

First and most obvious – you get a lot of deals and the misses are inexpensive. Case in point: this CD set her back a mere $4.

Second, it is fun to live dangerously and not know whether you’ll like something or not. Reminds me of the adventure of shopping for music back in the days before I stalked prospective records on Youtube and Bandcamp before purchasing.

Third, I don’t acquiesce to AI algorithms finding music for me, and this is one more avenue to expand my musical horizons in ways I otherwise might not.

How It Stacks Up: John Cougar’s “Jack and Diane” was one of my first two ever purchased 45s (the other was Steve Miller Band’s “Abracadabra”) but as far CDs go, this is my only Mellencamp album, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5

Four stars will be a shock to all those who have heard me – usually after one too many cocktails – refer to Mellencamp as “shitty Bruce Springsteen”. A very unkind and unfair moniker indeed for an artist that is so much a part of the fabric of American rock music. My other favourite falsehood is deeming Lynyrd Skynyrd “shitty Molly Hatchet” but that is more about getting a rise out of Skynyrd fans. Besides, who doesn’t love Molly Hatchet?

Please put your hands down, Skynyrd fans; I don’t have time to spend the afternoon tallying all your votes, and we’re here to praise “Uh Huh” not start a second round of “Sweet Home Alabama”.

Let’s return to Mr. Mellencamp, and “Uh Huh”, one of the seminal albums of eighties rock and roll, that holds up admirably more than forty years after its release. This record is a master class of how some simple rock and roll riffs and heartfelt lyrics, delivered with honesty and integrity, are more than enough to make a classic record.

First and foremost a shout-out to the production decisions. This was 1983, and rock musicians everywhere were starting to experiment with all manner of bad ideas. Synthesizers, drum machines, saxophone solos (excepting the great Clarence Clemons) – the list is long and abhorrent. These aren’t bad ideas overall, but they belong to New Wave and pop music and tend to suck the life out of the grit required to make good old rock and roll.

Mellencamp doubles down on what makes rock be rock, going so far as to include a song, “Play Guitar” which is essentially about this idea. Sure he also includes the very Casio-sounding “Jackie O” on this record, but it is the exception that proves the rule, and so I (mostly) forgive it.

Lyrically, this record digs into the plight of working-class America, and people struggling to get by and realize the American dream. “Pink Houses”, “Authority Song” and “Golden Gates” all capture the sentiment, and the upbeat rock vibe is a nice juxtaposition against the hard message underneath. As Mellencamp himself sings on “Authority Song”, when he rails against the system he “comes out grinnin’”. Not because he wins (n.b. the song makes clear that ‘authority’ always wins) but smiling means not giving “the man” the satisfaction. Sometimes that’s enough.

In many ways the album is the flip side to the darker tones of Springsteen’s “Darkness at the Edge of Town” and “Born in the USA”, telling similar stories with a blush of optimism and bravado. Same outcome but delivered with more major chords.

So does this mean I’ll forever stop that unfair (and incorrect) comparison I’ve made over the years? Given that I’ve just waxed poetic about the brilliance of “Uh huh”? Given that I still have that 45 of “Jack and Diane” squirrelled away somewhere? Given that I continued to harbour a secret (until now) and abiding love for the song “Paper in Fire” since its initial release?

Reader, I cannot promise that. Mostly because cognitive dissonance is a powerful force. I will say that “Uh Huh” is a great record, and I’m going to leave this review a humbled and wiser man. I’ll also go explore both “Scarecrow” (1985) and “The Lonesome Jubilee” (1987) and see how they suit me now that my eyes have been opened.

I’ll also do my best to upgrade the reference to “upbeat Bruce Springsteen”, or maybe even “the Underboss”. Take the win, John.

Best tracks: Crumblin’ Down, Pink Houses, Authority Song, Play Guitar, Serious Business, Golden Gates