Life Death Love and Freedom

It's funny how an artists age shows in their music by what they sing about. I thought this cd was well put together and liked the female vocals too.

In my opinion this newest work of John Mellencamp is reminiscent of earlier times, especially My Sweet Love. This is a good feeling song that captures how I want to feel. The line, "sure feels good to feel good again is priceless!

Some of the tracks are rather melancholy but for the most part the songs are just songs of truth.

I especially like "Jesus, can you give me ride back home" I for one would have never thought to describe going home in this manner.

I also appreciate T Bone Burnett and his unique style gives a new perspective to Mellencamps work.

Additionally, bringing Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town to harmonize with him was pure genius. Her throaty voice lends new depth to John Mellencamp and also brings new fans who follow anything Karen does vocally.

John Mellencamp is far and away my favorite artist. When I first listened to his latest release Life Death Love and Freedom, I was not very happy about it. Nobody gets pumped up for a new album by their favorite singer only to listen to deep, sad songs for nearly an hour and comes away feeling excited.
Now that it has been over a month, I can give an honest opinion. The song lyrics are amazing. They are insightful and thought-provoking. The bareness of the songs is what keeps this from being a 5 star release to me. John knows how to rock and still get his messages across, but does not do it very much here.
14 songs are included, but I regularly listen to only 7 or 8. My Sweet Love, Troubled Land, Don't Need This Body, Ride Back Home, Jena, County Fair, and Brand New Song are all keepers. When you can honestly say that you love 7 songs on any release, it must be good. As a true Mellenhead though, I have come to expect more. I sure hope that John comes back ROCKIN' with his next release. One more of these naked, somber albums and I am not sure I can respond so kindly.
If you are not a big Mellencamp fan, save your money. The top 3 tracks in order to download are 1. My Sweet Love 2. County Fair 3. Troubled Land

An accoustic masterpiece...
Sad but glorious.
If you have more than 40, I bet you'll cry listening this album.
Mellencamp is God!!

If you are looking for a lot of nice dance music or superficial lyrics, this is not the cd for you. Mellencamp has gone to the marrow for this one. He writes elequently about his life, loves and mortality. Nothing is spared. John has proved himself to be an excellent writer of emotions and is at his best when he feels stongly about the injustices of life. He has never been better than this cd. All of his lyrics are cogent and beautifully constructed. The music is bare bones and prefectly produced by T. Bone Burnett. This is a standard of music making that will be a challenge for future music makers to rise to.