John Mellencamp might not be quite as deep as Springsteen or Cash, but he’s no middlebrow. He’s perpetually well-meaning, like Tom Petty was and Dave Grohl is, and there aren’t that many (any maybe) rock voices for the plaints of rural America, unless you count Neil Young, who’s Canadian anyhow, and whose songs about urban life jar me harder anyway.
JM isn’t subtle, and he’s not edgy. But the music gets his message across, and it’s unique. The soul-inflected back-up singers and the “found instrument” aspect of this record are really winning. They almost make it seem like JM is fronting a pick-up band, walking through a small town serenading passers-by. It’s a carefully-crafted approach. I wasn’t surprised to see Rob’s further comments about him being a studio obsessive. But he’s also legitimately a man of the people, unlike Boston’s uber-nerd Tom Scholz, another studio obsessive, and that shows well. In that regard, the closest comparison I can think of is John Fogerty of CCR.
Stylistically Lonesome Jubilee is not so much me — and it would probably be better to hear this live (as some of you have indicated). I like crunchier guitars, and faster tempos. But Rob is right that there aren’t really any clunkers here musically. The hits in the States were “Cherry Bomb”, “Paper and Fire” and “Check It Out”, and they all still sound good, especially the last, because the snare drum takes over. Of the songs I didn’t know, “We Are The People” has a kind of preciousness (since it’s effectively a prayer) that annoys me some lyrically, but as a tune, it works. Same with “Down and Out In Paradise”, which again carries a lack of subtlety (“Dear Mister President . . .”) that may be necessary to convey the message in 1987 but sounds uncomfortable in the age of Trumpian politics. But “The Real Life” I liked more. For whatever reason the lyrics strike me as more relatable, maybe because demanding relief from suffering from someone is different than conveying that you need relief via a character, and I find the latter a more effective approach in a pop song. My favo(u)rite of the ones I didn’t know is “Hot Dogs and Hamburgers” which would get by on the title alone (pretty much the diet of the weekend everywhere in America!) and has a real Heartbreakers chord progression which is always going to hit me in the right place.
Unopposed as I am to barbecues and farmers, and well-meaning musicians who voice concerns others don’t or won’t, I found this a reasonable listen even though musically it’s not necessarily my speed. I am going 7/10 because I think Mr. Mellencamp deserves credit for quality, care and intent.
