"Life is short even in its longest days" sings John Mellencamp on his 2008 release, "Life Death Love and Freedom". I have been a big Mellencamp fan since the Cougar days and thought his previous record, "Freedom's Road" was excellent. With "Life Death Love and Freedom", John Mellencamp takes a hard exit off "Freedom's Road" to deliver the antithesis: a strange and dark record that makes little effort to be melodic. If you are looking for a traditional sunny and catchy Mellencamp record to brighten your summer, you will not find it here.
Truth be told, I am having a hard time digesting this record. The songs are rooted in folk and blues, which would be fine, but they are far from memorable. In fact, some are downright irritating. Consider "If I Die Sudden" - a candid song instructing us what to do with Mellencamp's corpse. Some would make a good case that unmelodious music is fitting with the subject matter, but, as John warns, life is short...too short to waste on songs like this.
The record is rather unique in the extensive Mellencamp catalogue. Similarities exist in "Big Daddy" and "Trouble No More". The unique elements would have been welcome if they were just better songs. The record is consistent and cohesive, but in this case, it means the suffering just takes too long to end. The refreshing blast of all things Mellencamp that fans would expect just never comes, which is a real shame since lyrically this record is one of his best.
There were a couple of tracks that did not give me the urge to hit fast forward. The opener, "Longest Days" is a sober and sparse tune, setting the serious tone for what is to come. But it is engaging, sounding like an early Bob Dylan piece without the harp. It would have made a great rocker. "My Sweet Love" sticks out like a sore thumb on this release being the closest the listener gets to the type of stuff they'd expect from John Mellencamp. "Mean" is a bit brilliant in being the nicest request to jerks to stop being jerks. I also think the last couple of tracks are OK, especially enjoying the lyric on "For The Children".
This one sounds like Johnny Cash Mellencamp and for a melodic rock fan, I warn you to proceed with caution on this one.
iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 11, 13, 14
John Mellencamp: Official site.
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