Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana: A Small But Good Crop Of Music

Go to the Post-Tribune site to read the full article Post-Tribune By Alan Sculley

This wasn't a plentiful year for CD and DVD box sets -- the kind of releases that make special holiday gifts for music fans. But there weren't many misses in this year's crop of releases, either. Here are the best of the bunch to my ears and eyes.

John Mellencamp: "On the Rural Route 7609" (Mercury/Island/UME) -- John Mellencamp has always been one of rock's true rebels. So it makes sense that he didn't make the typical career retrospective box set with "On the Rural Route 7609." Instead, he chose songs he felt best told his musical life story, mixing in a good number of alternate versions of familiar songs and lesser known, but illuminating, album tracks. What emerges is a portrait of an artist who grew from being a brash and generic young rocker into one of rock's most compelling songwriters, and an artist with plenty of insights into the human condition and life in America over the past 30 years. --HHHH