Detroit Free Press: "No Better Than This" Single Review

By Martin Bandyke

And if you think that the new John Mellencamp single "No Better Than This" (****) sounds like early Johnny Cash mixed with a little Elvis Presley, it's no coincidence. The title track from Mellencamp's forthcoming album on Rounder, this one was recorded in Memphis at the historic Sun Studio, the very same place where the King and the Man in Black recorded their first songs in the mid-'50s. A blistering workout done boom-chicka-boom style and featuring Marc Ribot and album producer T-Bone Burnett on guitars, "No Better Than This" was captured in glorious mono on vintage equipment with no overdubs.

This song is a tantalizing appetizer for Mellencamp's new full-length album, out Aug. 17.