John Mellencamp Releases Most Socially Conscious Album of His Long Career

John Mellencamp seems to be on a roll. Only 17 months after Strictly a One-Eyed Jack, the 71-year-old heartland-rock-turned-roots rocker from Seymour, Ind. is back with a new album of all original music. Orpheus Descending, released on June 16, isn’t exactly cheerful listening and in many regards mirrors its predecessor, but it’s not all doom and gloom. That said, while I dig the album overall, especially from a musical perspective, I would advise against listening to it if you’re feeling down.

Mellencamp has always been known for writing outspoken songs, whether it’s about the hardship of American farmers (Rain on the Scarecrow), the crumbling state of the American dream (Pink Houses) or gun violence (Easy Target). But in the past, he typically combined socially conscious tunes with other, oftentimes more upbeat songs. By contrast, Orpheus Descending mostly has a dark vibe, with Mellencamp addressing some of the toughest challenges in present-day America, such as gun violence, homelessness and political division.

During a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, John Mellencamp noted he won’t quit smoking, which he has done since the age of 10, adding he’s “proud to say that I just had my lungs MRI’ed and they look like kids’ lungs,” he said while puffing on a cigarette. “The doctors don’t understand it.” Well, I wish you good luck and good health, John!

Musically, Orpheus Descending is great, though it doesn’t present anything new we haven’t heard from Mellencamp in the past 20 years. I’ve listened to him since the days of the little ditty ’bout Jack & Diane, and he’s come a long way. I love his gradual transition from straight heartland rock to rough, often stripped-back roots-oriented music. Thanks to a chain-smoking habit, Mellencamp’s voice has also changed a lot along the way and now sounds pretty weathered, a bit like Tom Waits or Bob Dylan in more recent years.

One of the exciting things about Orpheus Descending is the return of violinist Lisa Germano, who first could be heard in 1987 on what I would consider my favorite Mellencamp album, The Lonesome Jubilee. She became a regular for the next 11 years until John Mellencamp, his 15th album. Other musicians on Mellencamp’s latest album, as listed by AllMusic, include Andrew York (bass, guitar, music direction, backing vocals), Troye Kinnett (harmonica, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals) and Dane Clark (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Each has worked with Mellencamp for at least 10 years.

Time for some music. I’m skipping the first two tracks, Hey God and The Eyes of Portland, which I previously reviewed here and here, and go right to The So-Called Free, a great bluesy tune. Lisa Germano’s fiddle sounds as sweet as ever. Regarding the song’s topic, I guess it’s pretty self-explanatory.

Amen is not a prayer, though with all the tough topics Mellencamp addresses, one cannot escape the thought the country could use some. In this case, Mellencamp appears to refer to political division. Quoting from the lyrics: There are people out in the alleys/There are people across this land/There’s a sadness across this country/With people who just don’t give a damn/We continue on with the sickness/Like we have so many times before/Amen, and Amen, and shut the door…

At the outset of this review, I noted Orpheus Descending isn’t all doom and gloom. On the title cut, Mellencamp injects a bit of hope. While the tune starts on a down note, seemingly criticizing the police over heavy-handed crowd control tactics, Mellencamp also sings, I don’t care what they say/If there’s a will/There’s got to be a way/If there’s a will/There’s always a fucking way…Not exactly cheerful, but at least a hint that not all may be lost!

Understated Reverence is a piano-driven ballad, which presents a nice contrast to the otherwise rootsy and bluesy music. Lyrically, Mellencamp appears to sing about death, but not in a threatening way. He name-checks Bukka White, a delta blues guitarist and singer who is best known for the songs Shake ‘Em on Down and Po’ Boy.

The last track I’d like to call out is the only song on the album that wasn’t penned by John Mellencamp: Perfect World, by Bruce Springsteen. If you’re following Mellencamp’s music, you probably recall The Boss also appeared on Strictly a One-Eyed Jack where he collaborated with the man from Indiana on three tunes and sang on two (Wasted Days and Did You Say Such A Thing). In this case, Springsteen’s role focused on the writing, though the harmonica part, presumably provided by Troye Kinnett, sounds like something you could picture Springsteen playing.

Here’s a Spotify link to the album:

Orpheus Descending was recorded at Mellencamp’s Belmont Mall Studio in Belmont, Ind., like its predecessor and Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, his excellent 2017 collaboration album with Carlene Carter. Mellencamp also produced the album, and as a serious painter, he provided the cover painting as well.

Strictly a One-Eyed Jack barely made the Billboard 200, reaching no. 196, though it climbed to no. 5 and no. 30 on Billboard’s folk and rock charts, respectively. Interestingly, it did much better on the Swiss and German pop charts where it reached no. 6 and no. 24, respectively. I think it’s safe to assume with Orpheus Descending, Mellencamp won’t win a popularity contest either, particularly in the U.S. But I also suspect he doesn’t care at this stage in his career.

Sources: Wikipedia; Los Angeles Times; AllMusic; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

It’s Saturday, which means time to take a fresh look at new music releases. This week, I decided to highlight five new tunes. The first four are included on albums, while the final pick is a single. All tracks came out yesterday (May 12).

Alfie Firmin/Lost On Me

Starting us off today is Alfie Firmin, a British singer-songwriter based in Southend-on-Sea, a coastal town about 40 miles east of London. Firmin just released his latest album Absentee. From his Bandcamp page: Containing 10 new original songs, ‘Absentee’ is Alfie’s 4th full-length album since 2018 (three as a solo artist and a fantastic album he did as part of the band Vestiges in 2018) and follows on from and expands upon the laid-back folk-rock sound hinted at on Alfie’s 2020 release ‘Waiting On’ (Self Released). ‘Absentee’ is Alfie’s most accomplished album to date. From the McCartney-esque piano balladry of ‘Lost on Me’ to the horn-laden folk-rock of ‘Can’t Stop Thinking About You’ alongside the Laurel Canyon country-shuffle of ‘December Third’ it is an album that is well-versed in the traditions of classic singer-songwriter pop filtered through the lens of Alfie’s distinctive croon. In my book, Firmin’s music is nice power pop. Here’s the above-noted Lost On Me, which indeed has a Macca vibe. I also can hear a dose of Gilbert O’Sullivan in here – lovely tune!

Bailey Zimmerman/Religiously

Bailey Zimmerman is a country-oriented singer-songwriter who already scores two multi-Plantinum no. 1 singles in the U.S. on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart since he emerged 2.5 years ago. Zimmerman, who was born in Louisville, Ill. and worked in the meat-packing industry and for a union gas pipeline before launching his current career, first started posting original music to his TikTok account in December 2020. In January 2021, he released his debut single Never Comin’ Home, followed by Fall in Love the next month, which became one of the above-mentioned no. 1 singles on the Country Airplay chart. He’s now out with his first full-length album Religiously. The Album. Here’s the opener and title track, which appeared as one of several singles. The tune was co-written by Zimmerman, Alex Palmer, Austin Shawn, Frank Romano and Marty James. This young artist certainly if off to an impressive start!

Parker Millsap/Wilderness Within You (feat. Gillian Welch)

Parker Millsap is an American singer-songwriter from Purcell, OK I first included in a Best of What’s New installment two years ago. According to his AllMusic bio, Millsap brings a maverick intensity to his brand of Americana. Ranging from the spare acoustic tone of his early-2010s output to the more nuanced structure of 2018’s rock-driven Other Arrangements, the singer and songwriter continued to hone the layers of his sound heading into the next decade. His fifth album, 2021’s Be Here Instead, was recorded live in the studio with a full band, and he fused acoustic and electronic instruments for 2023’s Wilderness Within You. Here’s the title track of his sixth and latest album, co-written by Millsap and Ryan McFadden. It features Americana artist Gillian Welch on harmony vocals – beautiful!

Nighthawk/Highest Score

Nighthawk are a fairly new rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark, blending classic arena rock and hard rock. From their Bandcamp page: Nighthawk started out as a solo project by Robert Majd (bass player in Metalite & Captain Black Beard). The idea was just to have some fun, play guitar and write some energetic rock’n’roll. The debut album featured a bunch of different singers. After that first album release in the summer of 2021 Robert got an itch to do more. This time the stakes would be higher. With the world famous Abbey Road Studios booked, a band and a collection of songs needed to match the caliber of the studio. Björn Strid (The Night Flight Orchestra, Soilwork & Donna Cannone) joined on lead vocals, Magnus Ulfstedt (Ginevra) on drums, John Lönnmyr (The Night Flight Orchestra) on keyboards and Christan Ek (Captain Black Beard) on bass. Nine original tunes together with two covers (of Kiss and Bruce Springsteen classics!) were recorded live in the studio in just two days. Here’s Highest Score, the opener of Nighthawk’s new album Prowler. Their melodic hard rock sounds pretty accessible.

John Mellencamp/The Eyes of Portland

The Eyes of Portland is the second lead single from John Mellencamp’s upcoming 25th studio album Orpheus Descending, scheduled for June 25. Fans who caught the heartland-turned-roots rocker on his current tour already heard the tune, since Mellencamp has included it in his setlist. This follows the first single Hey God, which came out on April 20 and which I covered here. Like that tune, The Eyes of Portland is an outspoken socially conscious song. It’s classic Mellencamp delivered in his distinct vocals roughened by decades of cigarette chain-smoking. I love the man and I’m really looking forward to the album!

So how about a Spotify playlist of the above and a few extra goodies? Ask and you shall receive!

Sources: Wikipedia; Alfi Firmin and Nighthawk Bandcamp pages; AllMusic; YouTube; Spotify

The Follow-Up: John Mellencamp & Foo Fighters

New singles and forthcoming albums by John Mellencamp and Foo Fighters I didn’t include in my Best of What’s New post from Saturday are a good reason for another installment of The Follow-Up. The idea of this recently introduced feature is to supplement my weekly new music revue with short takes of new music I missed or didn’t cover for other reasons.

John Mellencamp – Hey God

On April 20, John Mellencamp released Hey God, the first single from his forthcoming 25th studio album Orpheus Descending, which is scheduled to drop on June 25. Stylistically, the tune would have fit on Mellencamp’s previous album Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. When it comes to the lyrics, the roots rocker leaves no doubt about what was on his mind when he wrote the words.

Weapons and guns, are they really my rights
Laws written a long time ago
No one could imagine the sight
Of so many dead on the floor

Hey God, if you’re still there
Would you please come down
Hey God, if you’re still there
Would you please come down…

Like his two previous albums, Orpheus Descending was produced by John Mellencamp and recorded at his own Belmont Mall Studio in Belmont, Ind. He has performed Hey God and The Eyes of Portland, another (still unreleased) tune from the new album, during his ongoing Live and In Person 2023 North American tour, which is scheduled to run through late June.

Foo Fighters – Rescued

Last Wednesday (April 19), Foo Fighters announced their first album since the untimely death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in Bogotá, Columbia in March 2022 at the age of 50 during the band’s tour in South America. They also released Rescued, a great raw-sounding rocker and the album’s first single.

From a statement on the group’s website: Following a year of staggering losses, personal introspection and bittersweet remembrances, Foo Fighters return with But Here We Are, out June 2 on Roswell Records/RCA Records.

A brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year, But Here We Are is a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family. Courageous, damaged and unflinchingly authentic, But Here We Are opens with newly released lead single “Rescued,” the first of 10 songs that run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between.

Produced by Greg Kurstin [who in addition to Foo Fighters has worked with the likes of Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Beck and Paul McCartney – CMM] and Foo Fighters, But Here We Are is in nearly equal measure the 11th Foo Fighters album and the first chapter of the band’s new life. Sonically channelling the naiveté of Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut, informed by decades of maturity and depth, But Here We Are is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life.

Sources: John Mellencamp website; Foo Fighters website; YouTube; Spotify