Today's Featured Video:
Save Some Time To Dream Live At Farm Aid 2009
John Mellencamp's most recent studio album is 2008's Life Death Love and Freedom, produced by T Bone Burnett, featuring the singles/videos My Sweet Love, Troubled Land, and A Ride Back Home. The album debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard album chart and is one of John's most critically praised releases, including a 4 star review from Rolling Stone. Click HERE to listen to the full album. » MORE DETAILS
In 2009 John released the live companion album Life Death LIVE and Freedomfeaturing live versions of tracks from John's 2008 album Life Death Love and Freedom recorded during John's 2008 tour. Listen to a stream of the album: QuickTime - MySpace » MORE DETAILS
New Song from John Graces Second “NCIS” Soundtrack
The second volume of a specially produced soundtrack for the hit CBS TV series “NCIS” features another cut from John.
“NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack – Vol. 2,” which CBS Records, released on Nov. 3, includes John’s “Someday The Rains Will Fall.”
“Rains” was recorded in San Antonio during the sessions for John’s forthcoming “No Better Than This.” It joins “Troubled Land,” one of the key tracks from “Life Death Love & Freedom,” which appeared on the first “NCIS” volume.
Click HERE to visit the "NCIS" soundtrack website which includes a sample of John's new song. Order the album from Amazon.com by clicking HERE
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John's Appearance on “Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...” is Now Available
John’s appearance on the acclaimed Sundance Channel music TV series “Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...” is available for download now exclusively at the iTunes Store, with DVD release on Nov. 3.
The episode with John also stars Kris Kristofferson, Rosanne Cash and Norah Jones. Unlike earlier epidodes of the series—which focused mostly on a single artist like Elton John and Smoky Robinson--it took on the nature of a Nashville “guitar pull,” where several songwriters sit around swapping songs and stories.
John had lived in London briefly during the height of British punk rock and the start of Costello’s career. A contrite Costello conceded that he should be the last one to question a fellow rocker’s stage name, since he himself works under one. He also hailed John’s then new “Life, Death, Love, And Freedom” album as “one of his very best.”
“It was an honor and a joy to be on that show,” John later recalled. “Elvis Costello is arguably the best songwriter of our generation, and an engaging host who showed interest in all of us. It was so interesting to me that I forgot I was on television, because I was so interested in what everyone had to say. Then I looked up and saw myself on the monitor and said, ‘Oh, shit!’”
Download on iTunes ($1.99 to $2.99 per episode)
Preorder DVD on Amazon.com
Preorder Bluray DVD on Amazon.com
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John a Big Part of Big Hall of Fame Set
John has four tracks on a huge upcoming DVD box set release from Time Life in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Sept. 11 release is entitled “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live” and comes in several configurations, including a 9 DVD collection featuring rare, one-of-a-kind performances from the induction ceremonies of the Rock Hall Of Fame, shot during the last 24 years. Each disc also features exclusive induction speeches by rock legends along with over an hour of bonus material, including rare, behind-the-scenes and rehearsal footage.
Priced at $120, this edition contains 125 performances. But there’s an even bigger version available exclusively online for $265 that also includes five DVDs from “The History of Rock n’ Roll” series, plus a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: The First 25 Years book.
Amongst the 9 DVD's John is represented by performances of “Pink Houses,” “Small Town” (performed acoustically), “ROCK in the USA” and “Glad All Over,” the Dave Clark 5 hit that Joan Jett performed in tribute to the classic 1960s Brit group’s Hall of Fame induction in the same 2008 ceremony as John’s. Jett is backed by John and John’s band, with able assists from previous inductees John Fogerty and Billy Joel--who inducted John that night.
Click HERE for more information about the $120 edition and HERE for more about the $265.
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Examiner.com: No Better New Album For John Mellencamp
July 31st, 2009 - John Mellencamp isn’t wasting any time on his current tour with Bob Dylan.
During off days, he’s busy recording No Better Than This, his studio album follow-up to his acclaimed album from last year Life Death Love And Freedom (a condensed live version, Life Death Live And Freedom, came out a month ago).
But Mellencamp is using a different kind of studio to record No Better Than This, in keeping with his stated intention of making a different kind of album. In fact, the veteran singer-songwriter has called it “a complete change of style—and voice,” since he is recording his new songs in the style of classic folk blues records from the 1930s and ‘40s.
With that in mind, Mellencamp has already recorded at the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia (the oldest African-American church in North America), as well as the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis. Other historic buildings in the South will be used for future sessions, including the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, where blues pioneer Robert Johnson recorded blues staples like “Sweet Home Chicago” and “Crossroad Blues.”
Mellencamp has penned over 30 new songs for the project—way more than needed for an album’s worth of material. One song that is likely to make the cut is “Save Some Time To Dream,” which he performed at The Bob Dylan Show with John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson tour stop earlier this month at the New Britain Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut.
“Save some time to dream,” he sang, in a solo acoustic segment, “because a dream will save us all.”
The tour is one of the big concert packages of the summer and is being staged mainly at minor league baseball parks. Mellencamp’s participation—and his album recording sessions—are being lensed by famed photographer Kurt Markus for a documentary film project.
No Better Than This is being produced by T Bone Burnett, who produced Life Death Love and Freedom. It is being taped with antique recording equipment in order to get the sound and feel of the vintage blues recordings that are its model.
The new album is projected for release in early 2010.
Click HERE to read the article on their website (includes a studio photo).
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X Marks the (Elvis) Spot
August 3rd, 2009 - John, guitarist Andy York, and Life Death Love and Freedom producer T-Bone Burnett recorded last week at Memphis' legendary Sun Studios. “I stood on the X where Elvis stood [to record],” Mellencamp said with a grin the next day during a show in Durham, NC as quoted by writer Jelisa Castrodale. He continued before playing the new cut "Save Some Time to Dream" saying, “It was the most fun I’ve ever had making a record.”
On Tuesday, March 9th, the “Double Indemnity episode of the hit CBS TV series
“NCIS” will feature John’s “Someday The Rains My Fall.”
The tune was recorded in San Antonio during last year’s sessions for John’s
forthcoming “No Better Than This” album. It was released last November on “NCIS:
The Official TV Soundtrackl—Vol. 2.”
Previously, “Troubled Land,” one of the key tracks from “Life Death Love &
Freedom,” appeared on the first “NCIS” volume.
By Adam Sheets - Sometime in the next week as part of my job, I will be writing a newspaper
review of the new Johnny Cash album. However, I will probably not post it here
because it will probably not live up to the high standards of this site. To be
honest, I'm not really looking forward to it.
"What?," you ask, "You're not looking forward to new Johnny Cash?!" Of course I
am looking forward to the music itself; in fact, I can hardly wait until
tomorrow for the release, but what I am not looking forward to is writing a
review whose intended audience is people who did not know Johnny Cash ever
existed until after he was dead.
That is why I am thankful for No Depression and the great work done by all of
you here. You guys actually care about quality music and a good blog post or
video on this site can brighten up a bad day. I'm hoping the following can maybe
do the same for one of you.
Prior to my discovery of more “underground” Americana artists like Uncle Tupelo
and the Bottle Rockets, most of the music I listened to could still be
considered Americana; I just didn't know it. There was CCR, Dylan, the Byrds,
the Band, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Neil Young, etc. But for the
narrative ballads of the working class, songs I could and still do relate to, I
relied on people like Springsteen, Seger, Petty, and Mellencamp. All of these
artists have a place in the Americana genre, in my opinion, but none more so
than Mellencamp. He was often called “the poor man's Springsteen” in the early
days but he outgrew that label long ago.
John Mellencamp, in my opinion, is remembered more for an unfortunate mistake
during his early career than an excellent 30+ year body of work. And the worst
part is that one of the mistakes was not even his and was not even very unusual.
From Mark Twain to Bob Dylan to John Wayne, dozens of iconic figures have
changed their names to achieve stardom. True, none of those names were half as
ridiculous as "Johnny Cougar", but it was the '70s and it was nowhere near the
MOST ridiculous stage name, nor is it the most ridiculous stage name ever
invented (for proof, just look at this week's hip-hop charts).
This decision, however, was made by his manager in 1975, with no approval by
Mellencamp. Why didn't he change it when he changed managers? Try to look at it
from his perspective: he was a young up-and-coming singer who certainly didn't
want to lose the fan base he currently had, however small that base may be. He
ended up adding his real surname at the absolute height of his popularity, which
says a lot about his integrity.
I've had to spend two paragraphs defending him and what are we forgetting while
we read that? The most important aspect: the music. Simply put, I think
Mellencamp could possibly be the most commercially successful of all Americana
artists, and although commercial success sometimes means bad music, in this case
it does not. His music is very rural in nature, yet with an urban R&B feel that
he picked up from the radio, like if Hank Williams had lived to lead a garage
band in the mid-'60s. His influences range from rockabilly, traditional country,
pre-WWII country blues, British folk music of the 1960s, early punk rock, and
everything in between. Now can a guy like that really be that bad?
I will give you a suggestion of albums you may want to check out depending on
your tastes.
If you are into pure, Rolling Stones, flavored rock 1983's classic rocker
Uh-Huh and 1991's edgy and slightly experimental Whenever We Wanted
can't be beat. “Crazy Ones” from the latter sounds like a classic Buck Owens
honky tonk tune, filtered through a punk aesthetic, then played by a Midwestern
bar band who did not have a volume control on their amps. The fact that it is
completely original (and relatively minor in his catalog) says a lot about the
conglomeration of influences he has.
Roots rock fans will enjoy 1979's John Cougar, 1985's Scarecrow,
1999's Rough Harvest and 2007's Freedom's Road. It was the first
album of that group which made me a fan when he told my life story in vivid
detail on “The Great Midwest”. To most, that would just be a decent song, to me
it was a song that changed my life.
Folkies should like 1987's rustic The Lonesome Jubilee, 1989's extremely
quiet and personal Big Daddy, 2003's cover album Trouble No More,
and 2008's Life, Death, Love and Freedom. These albums are where he
really takes risks, whether adding instruments traditionally associated with
bluegrass and other folk genres, transforming a traditional tune made famous by
Charlie Poole into a protest of the Iraq War, or laying himself bare, as on
Big Daddy or Life, Death, Love and Freedom. It is the latter that I
want to talk about for a while here because there are some of you who probably
haven't given him a chance since the 1980s.
Life, Death, Love and Freedom is both the most recent (until later this
year), as well as the best album of his career. It is the one where he finally
got it 100% right and I would have a hard time not calling it the best album of
the last decade (even the normally clueless Rolling Stone named it the 5th best
of its release year).
Part of it is that he has finally found the right producer. He seems to be a
'30s folkie stuck in the body of a '70s rock star and who better to produce him
than T Bone Burnett who knows a thing or two about the music of that era. This
is a very minimalist approach and given the overtones throughout about death and
loneliness, I immediately thought of three things upon first hearing it: Dock
Boggs, Johnny Cash, and Springsteen's Nebraska.
The album begins with “Longest Days”, with just a foreboding acoustic guitar and
Mellencamp's vocals. Here he makes it clear that his hit-making days are over
and having previously broken up “Jack and Diane” on one of his '90s albums, here
he buries them for good. “All I got here,” he moans, “is a rear-view
mirror/reflections of where I've been/so you tell yourself I'll be back on top
someday/But you know there's nothing waiting up there for you anyway”.
This attitude continues throughout the record on the song “If I Die Sudden”, a
tune very reminiscent of “In My Time of Dying” where he growls orders about what
to do in the event of his death as a Jimmy Reed electric guitar pattern plays
beneath him.
Elsewhere on the album he laments that “All my friends are sick or dying and I'm
here all by myself/All I got left is a headful of memories and the thought of my
upcoming death”, displays his dark humor on “John Cockers”, asks Jesus to save
him and admits suicidal thoughts on “A Ride Back Home”, and ventures into Phil
Ochs' territory with “Without a Shot” and “Jena”, the former containing a
beautiful Gothic mandolin.
There was always a darkness below the surface of even his most commercial music
and here he brings it to the forefront.
Mellencamp has always been a huge fan and supporter of the Americana genre,
performing a Steve Earle songs in concerts long before Earle was well-known,
writing songs for The Blasters, and producing albums for James McMurtry. He was
also a member of the short-lived supergroup The Buzzin' Cousins, along with
McMurtry, John Prine, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Dwight Yoakam. I tend to
believe that Mellencamp himself has been an Americana artist since at least
1985, and possibly sooner.
Personally, I hear his influence every time I listen to artists like Deer Tick.
But this is a participatory community, so what do y'all think?
Click HERE to read the No Depression Blog online and read the comments.
John will appear in DIRECTV’s second of four one-hour “Farm Aid Presents”
specials taped at Farm Aid 2009, airing on The 101 Network on DIRECTV over the
next few months.
"Farm Aid Presents Gretchen Wilson & Friends" premieres on Feb. 22 at 9 p.m.
Eastern Time and Pacific. In addition to Wilson's exciting set, the program
features great performances by John along with Farm Aid board members Willie
Nelson, Neil Young and Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds), and Ryan Bingham & The
Dead Horses.
The current schedule for showings of "Farm Aid Presents Gretchen Wilson &
Friends" is:
-2/22 @ 9 pm EST/PST
-2/23 @ 7 pm EST
-2/24 @ 8 am EST
-2/25 @ 6 pm EST
-2/25 @ 11 pm EST/PST
-2/26 @ 7 am EST
-2/27 @ 10 am EST
-2/27 @ 9 pm EST/PST
-2/28 @ 11 am EST
-2/28 @ 7 pm EST
-3/9 @ 7 am EST
-3/14 @ 6 pm EST
-3/15 @ 7 pm EST
-3/27 @ 5 pm EST
-3/29 @ 6 am EST
Meanwhile, the first installment in the "Farm Aid Presents" series, "Farm Aid
Presents Jason Mraz & Friends,” continues to be shown as well. The program,
which premiered last month, also features performances by John and fellow Farm
Aid board member Willie Nelson, as well as the full Farm Aid set from Mraz and
songs by Will Dailey.
The current schedule for showings of "Farm Aid Presents Jason Mraz & Friends"
is:
-2/24 @ 6 pm EST
-3/17 @ 6 pm EST
-3/18 @ 8 am EST
-3/20 @ 7 pm EST
-3/20 @ 4 am EST
-3/26 @ 7 pm EST
-3/28 @ 3 am EST
-3/29 @ 8 pm EST/PST
-4/3 @ 6 pm EST
-4/12 @ 9 pm EST/PST
Still to come are "Farm Aid Presents Wilco & Friends," which is set to premiere
March 29 at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, and "Farm Aid Presents Jamey Johnson &
Friends," to premiere April 19 at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
Last night’s 21st annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. recognized last summer’s Bob Dylan/John Mellencamp/Willie Nelson tour as the Most Creative Tour Package.
The event is staged by the Pollstar trade publication, which covers the worldwide concert industry in a weekly print magazine and daily Web service.
John Mellencamp and his band will headline Rock Fest 2010 in Cadott WI on Saturday, July 17th. Rock Fest is four day music festival.
Rock Fest officials tell Mellencamp.com that attendee surveys over the past few years have had John at the top of the wish list for future fests. The venue is a naturally sloping amphitheater that can hold 25,000+ in the audience.
Tickets to the festival go on sale this Saturday, February 20th, at 8 AM CT. Please visit www.rock-fest.com for ticket pricing, complete line up and camping information.
John's official Fan Club, ClubCherryBomb.net, is partnering with Rock Fest to make available a limited number of one day VIP tickets only for PAID Club members. They will include a July 17th ticket in the reserved seating area right in front of the stage, along with complimentary lunch, dinner, drinks, VIP area and parking. This is a limited offer and only available here. Typically VIP tickets are only sold in a package for all four nights but Rock Fest and Club Cherry Bomb have come together for this exclusive offer for the PAID club member!
The one day VIP tickets will be $176.50 plus taxes and fees each and will be sold directly via phone by Rock Fest using a PAID Club member exclusive password. The presale will begin on Friday February 19th, please watch the Club TOUR page for details. Visit their website for more details about the perks of a VIP ticket.
By Mike Leonard - Commentary - There was a point before the musical program
at the White House last week when John Mellencamp looked around the room and
wondered, “What am I doing here?”
The singers and performers assembled were mostly African-American and rightly
so. The program was put together in recognition of Black History Month and
titled, “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the
Civil Rights Movement.”
Morgan Freeman, Smokey Robinson, Natalie Cole, Yolanda Adams, the Five Blind
Boys from Alabama. That all made sense. All had either lived through the civil
rights era of the late 1950s and ‘60s or lived it vicariously through family
members and mentors.
Of the three white entertainers there, Bob Dylan clearly belonged. When he wrote
“The Times They Are A-Changin’,” the civil rights movement was very much on his
mind.
Joan Baez helped galvanize the aspirations of blacks and whites with her
ethereal version of the spiritual, “We Shall Overcome.” She played an important
role in the movement as well.
But for all of his musical success, the Bloomington-based Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame member still wondered, “Why me?”
He posed the question to Baez. And she answered with a tone that n assured him.
“Because you actually deal with race in your repertoire,” Baez said. “Most
people don’t anymore.”
Baez knew that much first-hand. She sang a duet with Mellencamp on the song “Jim
Crow” for his 2007 album, “Freedom Road.”
It’s hard to say whether Dylan was prescient or merely hopeful when he wrote
“The Times They Are A-Changin’.” But if you were to have asked anyone in 1963
whether they could conceive of an African-American occupying the White House in
2010, you likely wouldn’t have gotten much affirmation.
Change has come in fits and spurts, as they say. Even a year before his
election, most people would not have predicted that Barack Obama would become
the first African-American president.
And less than three years ago, you wouldn’t have seen Baez on any list of the
president’s honored guests.
Mellencamp pushed for the opportunity to entertain recovering soldiers at the
Army’s Walter Reed Hospital in April 2007, just months after the Washington Post
broke the story that the facility was in terrible shape and its patients were
getting less than the first-class care they deserved.
After some behind-the-scenes bureaucratic battles, Mellencamp got the military’s
OK. But when he said he was bringing Baez with him to sing on a couple of songs
(including “Jim Crow”), the answer was an emphatic no-go. “Joan had her plane
ticket and hotel booked,” Mellencamp told Rolling Stone magazine. “They didn’t
give me a reason why she couldn’t come. We asked why, and they said, ‘She can’t
fit here, period.’”
First Lady Laura Bush once canceled a White House poetry reading out of the fear
that someone might say something controversial — to her ears — about war. Seven
years later, protest singers are invited guests, and military officials and the
secretary of Defense are telling the public that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
discriminates against homosexuals and deprives the military of talented and
dedicated personnel they sorely need.
A complete, unedited version of John's performance of "Born in the U.S.A." from December's Kennedy Center Honors segment celebrating the music of honoree Bruce Springsteen has surfaced.
The four-minute clip really stretches out the song, which opens slowly with John on acoustic guitar, Kenny Aronoff clapping tambourines, and Andy York inserting electric guitar licks before the houseband gradually joins in, maintaining a mostly acoustic simmer for the first two before John cuts it off for at the two-minute mark for 30 seconds of a cappella Vietnam reminiscence. He then kicks it off into the full-fledged rock anthem made famous in Springsteen's hit version.
“I was very proud and humbled to have been able to play ‘Born In The U.S.A.’ in a different fashion--that I think was true to the feelings that Bruce had when he wrote it,” Mellencamp told us shortly after the program was taped on Dec. 6. “As just some kid in New Jersey making records, I bet he never imagined in his wildest dreams that he’d someday be honored in this fashion. I’m glad to have been there to acknowledge the influence he’s had on all of us.”
"Born In The U.S.A." 32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors