Act III: John Cougar Mellencamp

Uh-Huh (1983)
This is the album that brought Cougar his proper surname (Mellencamp) and credibility as an artist. He substantiated himself to be more than a pop star but one who had a pulse on the American consciousness with tracks like "Crumblin' Down" and "Pink Houses". "Authority Song" has one of the absolute opening riffs of the last twenty-five years and "Play Guitar" is arguably the catchiest song of the bunch and it's a mystery as to why it was never issued as s single. He proved to everyone that he is a no nonsense rocker with an album recorded in a brief 16 days. In fact I forgot how solid and rocking this album was until I revisited it. Only "Jackie O" does not work. Uh-Huh showed that while some artists are late bloomers, they also flourish brighter and live longer than the industries many one-hit wonders. Uh-Huh showed more than a pop star wanting to make it big but an artist slowly defining his voice and the landscape of music he wanted to tackle. "Crumblin' Down" "Pink Houses" and "Authority Song" still tear down arenas to this day. The album even has arguably a career defining lyrics that can sum up who John Mellencamp wanted to be and still is today…"Forget about all that macho shit and learn how to play guitar".

Scarecrow (1985)
Released during the same year he helped co-found Farm Aid, Scarecrow stands as John Mellencamp's masterpiece. Twenty-two years after its initial release, it does not sound dated in any way and could have been recorded just a few months ago. What makes Scarecrow an unqualified masterpiece was Mellencamp's ability to challenge himself and his listener. He could have stayed on course with pure rock along the lines of "Hurts So Good", but he branched out and expanded his musical template proving to be far more than a Dylan or Springsteen wannabe. He dug the heels of his boots deep and recorded one of the defining records of the 80's. To this day, the majority of this album is still performed live. It's the soundtrack to Middle America the same way Darkness on the Edge of Town and Born To Run were to lower class New Jersey. Mellencamp transcends all musical boundaries with an album that is as raw as it is rustic. Listening to it makes one feel like they are paging through an old photo album, it's a piece of Americana at its best. Despair and dreams are at the center of the album; the struggles of the heartland ("Rain On The Scarecrow", "Small Town"), Friday night fun ("Lonely Ol' Night", "Minutes To Memories") and the pure escapism that music gives to the soul ("Rumbleseat", "ROCK In The USA") are all showcased in a rousing anthemic album one can raise their fist to when listening to.
"Between A Laugh & A Tear" isn't as poetic as Dylan or Springsteen, but its simplicity makes it that much more digestible to the public. Mellencamp was often criticized for not having his lyrics be as profound or poetic as the two aforementioned artists here, but what everyone tends to overlook is the fact that every person who do what they do best and instead of Mellencamp trying to copy one of his heroes, he's found his own voice and is running with it the best he can. "Between A Laugh & A Tear" demonstrates this better than anything else in his catalog of songs.
There are songs of hope, redemption, anguish and searching for truth in the heartland of Reagan's America here and in my opinion (and I know millions will disagree with me) this was the album Springsteen should have made with Born In The USA.

The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)
Two-years after the countrified sounds on Scarecrow blasted across the American FM dial, Mellencamp returned with an album that continued to cultivate his sound. The albums sound was accentuated specifically by Lisa Germano's violin and John Casella's accordion which helped meld a perfect blend of country, blues, gospel, soul and roots rock into a package that became Mellencamp's unique trademark sound. When Springsteen incorporated violinist Susie Tyrell on his 2002 album, The Rising, the tables were finally turned as many compared what Springsteen was doing to what Mellencamp had done fifteen-years earlier. Today, The Lonesome Jubilee would probably be classified country but back in 1987, rock radio gladly embraced it. The musical texture on The Lonesome Jubilee is unlike anything else released in 1987 and it's almost shocking this album yielded three top-fifteen hits. The album was heralded as a masterpiece upon its release something I agree with today. Producer Don Gehman gives the album a natural and earthy feeling to it. During Mellencamp's sets on the Vote For Change concerts in 2004, he performed "We Are The People", a forgotten track from this album that will hopefully continued to be listened to in the future. The themes, all of which were written in 1987, are still valid today, twenty-years later. One essential reason to buy the 2005 remaster is for the bonus track, "Blues From The Front Porch" is a bluegrass number where Mellencamp does not even lend vocals. It's a lost gem and a welcomed one. This song would not have been out of place on 2003's Trouble No More, his bluegrass record. Toby Myers, Pat Peterson and Crystal Taliefero lend their vocal stylings to this revelatory song.

Unlike Scarecrow, The Lonesome Jubilee is underrepresented during live performances today. Aside from the three singles, the only other track performed with any kind of regularity was "The Real Life". I was shocked to find as many hidden gems as I did when I revisited this album; "Down & Out In Paradise", "Empty Hands", "Hard Times For An Honest Man" and "Rooty Toot Toot" were all but forgotten from my memory as I never see Mellencamp perform them. These songs are so developed that they make you not care about the carefree nature of "Hotdogs & Hamburgers". He has a treasure chest of goodies here on this one album and one wonders why he ignores performing such potent and relevant music for hard times? It's a shame the album (and most of Mellencamp's album cuts) rarely get performed because these tracks are vital to Mellencamp's legacy which should be remembered for songs like these instead of a car spokesman.

Big Daddy (1989)
In the spring of 1989, Big Daddy was quickly rising to the top of the charts when "Pop Singer" cracked the top-twenty. Then all of a sudden, the album and single disappeared without a trace. Mellencamp chose to not promote his final album with the name of "Cougar" attached to it. It's a shame he chose not to because it's the diamond in the rough of his catalog. It's easy to dismiss the record as it's a much more subdued and melancholy tone to it which does not quite radiate the same outward thrashing manner. OK, shoot me for using another Springsteen comparison but this was Mellencamp's Nebraska. However, while most of Bruce's songs were presented from the third person, virtually everything on Big Daddy is from the first person. When you hear what sounds like a man in the midst of a mid-life crisis, you know Mellencamp is singing about himself. He was going through a divorce right at the time of it's release and aside from an appearance on David Letterman, his lone support for the album were videos for "Pop Singer" and the second single, "Jackie Brown", which just missed cracking the Top-40. Here was a man who deep down did not have peace of mind, no matter how much success he had achieved. He was still unfulfilled. Over the years, I have re-discovered Big Daddy on more than one occasion. "To Live", "Void In My Heart", "Mansions In Heaven" all find an artist in crisis yearning for simpler times and a unified family. He has struggled with his demons and in 1989, had not yet overcome them.

A few years back, I saw Mellencamp perform "Big Daddy of Them All" acoustically in concert, with a sped up tempo, and the arrangement shed a completely new light upon it. He claims he wrote it about someone he knew, but I feel the character he based it on was autobiographical. This was the album where nothing was left concealed. Even despite the personal nature of the album, he couldn't go without encompassing a commentary of the state of America with a shot at Ronald Reagan, who had just left office mere months earlier, with "Country Gentleman". The issue of poverty is addressed on "Jackie Brown" while "Martha Say" shows a woman with angst walk to the beat of her own drummer while Kenny Arnoff pummels his drum sticks into splinters on the album's most defiant song.

Big Daddy is one of Mellencamp's most subdued and introspective albums, however, those who write it off for its minimalism are missing out. This is a noteworthy album of a man in crisis. Shortly after the summer of 1989, John Mellencamp began to paint and disappeared completely from the musical landscape for close to two years and when he returned…he was a new man in more than one way.