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(More customer reviews)With "No Better Than This" John Mellencamp deepens the rich, intimate simplicity of his last record, focusing on strong song craft. Recorded in mono, the album is disarmingly warm and inviting, giving the songs room to breathe with lo-fi, unadorned arrangements. T-Bone Burnett once again takes up production duties.
This is not an album that will ship a million records, but it is ripe for an audience looking for hearty Americana.
As time soldiers on so too does Mellencamp's persona. Like his contemporary Bruce Springsteen, he has become something of a retrospective malcontent with his 60s creeping up on him. He still harbors the restless spirit of a much younger man, calling out for social justice and pondering life's big questions straightforwardly.
In the heartbreaking, matter-of-fact "The West End," for instance, he proves himself a first-rate poet as he magnifies the vicious circle - the "broken promises" - that keep the oppressed immobile in contemporary society.
"For my whole life I've been down in the West End/It sure has changed here since I was a kid/It's worse now - look what progress did/Someone lined the packers out - I know who that is."
He also ponders the possibility of a better existence beyond mortal life on "A Graceful Fall" with a cynical eye:
"'Cause I'm sick of life, yeah, it's easy to do/When everything is so hard has been handed to you/Yeah I'm sick of life, it's been lost, it's been found/I will see you in the next world if there is really one."
The subject matter is not always harrowingly heavy, of course. Mellencamp waxes poetic on finding euphoria in life's most affirming moments in the upbeat title track and lead single, even though a bittersweet sense of urgency peaks out through the song's sunny surface - after all, time passes quickly.
"Give me clear vision and don't let me miss anything," he swiftly sings
Could Mellencamp have launched a commercially successful career with an album like this? Of course not. That does not discount it.
Whether he cannot shake pessimism in the face of life's obstacles ("No One Cares About Me"), explores the potential for a more fulfilling existence ("Save Some Time to Dream") or revels in the mystery of what cannot be changed ("Clumsy Ol' World") Mellencamp remains thoroughly and remarkably engaging throughout "No Better Than This."
He writes story songs that immediately grab and speak to people of all walks of life- the essence of American music.
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In an age of auto-tuned, computerized recordings, John Mellencamp's approach on his Rounder debut, No Better Than This, is refreshing. 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 stunning 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."
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