John Mellencamp seems like a guy that only does what John Mellencamp wants to do. I mean this guy had a heart attack and still smokes like a chimney so does he really care what you think? I don't think he does. So what does he do in the year 2010? … Mr. Mellencamp has decided to write 13 songs in 13 days and record them in mono!
So here it is… Mellencamp's 21st studio offering "No Better Than This" a CD whose title seems tailor-made for some snarky critic to have a field day with. Luckily, I'm above that. Now this is not the first time Mellencamp has decided to write and record an album quickly. 1983's "Uh-Huh" (Crumblin' Down, Pink Houses, Authority Song) was recorded in 16 days and 1994's "Dance Naked" (Wild Night, L.U.V.) was written and recorded in 14 days.
Unlike those albums which were recorded in a traditional recording studio, "No Better Than This" was recorded in 3 specific locations: 9 of the 13 tracks were recorded at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, 3 at the First African Baptist Church in Savannah and 1 in Room #414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio … the very same room where Blues legend Robert Johnson recorded "Stones In My Passway" in 1936.
Mellencamp didn't just want to record in mono, he wanted to go one step further and make an album that sounded like the music his Grandparents might have listened to in the 40's and 50's. On that note he has succeeded. There are no overdubs on this CD -- just Mellencamp and his band playing live in a room together. The songs themselves are not hit singles. You'll find no "Jack & Diane" or "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." on this disc. What you will find is a man paying tribute to the music he probably heard as a kid sitting on the back porch with his family.
Is the CD itself good? I guess that depends on whether or not you want to hear music that sounds 50 or 60 years old. Some of the songs such as "Love At First Sight" and "Clumsy Ol' World" are great, and had they been recorded differently or fleshed out more, might have actually been radio friendly. But, unlike the contemporary sound of Bruce Springsteen's CD "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions," this CD just sounds too old-fashioned.
My final word is this… I will actually predict that this CD will be nominated for, and possibly win the Grammy for "Album Of The Year" -- not because it deserves it but because it's one of "those" albums. Produced by T. Bone Burnett, released on Rounder Records etc., this is just the type of CD that the Grammy Awards celebrates year after year. For effort I would give it a 10 but as a CD that you want to listen to over and over again…
Drumroll please… 6 out of 10 drumsticks
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