UK's The Times: Life Death Love And Freedom CD Review
4 out of 5 Stars
By Victoria Segal
When John McCain started using Mellencamp's songs to soundtrack his campaign, the veteran singer-songwriter firmly asked him to stop. Life Death Love and Freedom - a weighty set of thematic concerns in anyone's book - goes some way to explaining his feelings with a collection of songs that wear their unsentimental humanity on their well-worn denim sleeves. Jena, dealing with recent racism in a Southern town, and Troubled Land highlight Mellencamp's politics. But it's the dying-of-the-light laments Without a Shot and Don't Need This Body that tap into an authentic spiritual gloom.
Click HERE to read this article online.
By Victoria Segal
When John McCain started using Mellencamp's songs to soundtrack his campaign, the veteran singer-songwriter firmly asked him to stop. Life Death Love and Freedom - a weighty set of thematic concerns in anyone's book - goes some way to explaining his feelings with a collection of songs that wear their unsentimental humanity on their well-worn denim sleeves. Jena, dealing with recent racism in a Southern town, and Troubled Land highlight Mellencamp's politics. But it's the dying-of-the-light laments Without a Shot and Don't Need This Body that tap into an authentic spiritual gloom.
Click HERE to read this article online.