John Mellencamp-ROUGH HARVEST-CD - 1999
- John Mellencamp/The Island Def Jam Music Group/Universal Music Company/Mercury Records-
- 731455835526 - 300 grn
Released In HDCD.
Just when critics seemed ready to consign him to the 1980s of nostalgia bin, John Mellencamp began to release some of the most surprising music of his career. Albums like Mr. Happy Go Lucky fulfilled the difficult transition the Indiana singer-songwriter began on Scarecrow from a clichéd Bruce Springsteen of the heartland to an iconoclastic, dark-witted musical poet. Those charmed by Mellencamps 90s renaissance will find this collection of unreleased studio recordings and live tracks to be further evidence of his growth as an artist. Largely recorded during a 1997 touring break, Mellencamp deconstructs previous work such as "Rain on the Scarecrow", "Jackie Brown", and "When Jesus Left Birmingham" and recasts them with a stripped-down, rootsy sensibility thats equal parts country and blues. Its much to his credit that these unadorned songs stand effortlessly alongside covers of early Bob Dylan ("Farewell Angelina" and the gritty "In My Time of Dying", cover from Dylans debut), as well as a deliciously folksy version of the Drifters "Under the Boardwalk." A live take of Van Morrisons "Wild Night" is the only track here that stoops to Mellencamps early persona, but set against the rest of the rest of this rustic jewel of an album its a refreshing coda. Another gratifying surprise from an artist who refuses to be pigeonholed.
Comes In A Standard Jewel Case With Clear Tray Includes 8-Page of Foldout Leaflet.
Made In The EU.
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