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CD reviews

The Lonesome Jubilee

John Cougar Mellencamp - The Lonesome Jubilee Audio CD

A fair review of the John Cougar Mellencamp "The Lonesome Jubilee" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all John Cougar Mellencamp reviews here, or go back to the John Cougar Mellencamp tabs.

Band: John Cougar Mellencamp
Title: The Lonesome Jubilee
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Paper in Fire 2: Down and Out in Paradise 3: Check It Out 4: Real Life 5: Cherry Bomb 6: We Are the People 7: Empty Hands 8: Hard Times for an Honest Man 9: Hotdogs and Hamburgers 10: Rooty Toot Toot

Still my favorite Mellencamp album
Every song on this album is exceptionally strong. I first bought this album (on cassette) when it was released. I eventually purchased it again on CD. Unfortunately, as I grew older, it began to collect dust as my tastes changed.

What's most interesting to me, however, is the way I have rediscovered this album as I now approach 40. I began seriously listening to Mellencamp again a few years ago and this album (now in MP3, wow I'm getting old) blares from my iPod's earbuds with regular frequency. But it's more than simple nostalgia that drives me back to The Lonesome Jubilee. The lyrics mean more to me now than ever before, as I face the same concerns that he wrote about before I was old enough to drive.

God bless you John. .

John Cougar Mellencamp takes on Moral Conscience, Getting Older, and the Broken Boulevard of American Dreams......
Always changing. The world of a Seer is constantly on the move. Everything becomes fast-paced and then, I have my times to relax and reflect - and then it's onwards to some super-charged thing or another. Well. . . . that was my cheap bid for sympathy. I can see it didn't work. No matter. I still have many tricks at my disposal. Hey! If I can deal with a castle dragon and a sea serpent, why should you presuppose that I will ultimately fail at my goals? Never! I am Metamorpho - hear me roar!
I have always, always liked this album from the day it was released. It is rock for sure, but with a distinctive twist which differentiates it from so many other sounds. First off, he embellishs his work with fiddle, accordian, pedal steel guitar, mandolin and a host of many other instruments. He makes it distinctive and puts his own identity stamp on this music. It is hard-nosed, hard edged, and knowing Mellencamp, his own brand at mid-western rock. Go ahead, move with it, have that drink, feel the music. These songs will catch you and hook you most definitely. But, with that incredible movement, there is way much more that lies beneath the surface.
In some ways, I feel that John Cougar Mellencamp is an under-rated artist. I really don't feel he gets the credit he deserves. If anything, this album will prove the pundits wrong. In this offering, he is the working, blue collar man, looking at life with honesty, clarity, urgency and sometimes, distress and regret. He covers alot - and makes you think in the process. Alot of time, his jumpy, good rockin' tunes belie their true nature. He is making statements here with great concern. He is the conveyor of our fears, dreams and aspirations. So well done.
"Paper In Fire", with that express train beat, relates disappointment with out goals when we get so close and they escape our grasp. We can envision our own, sometimes broken aspirations, within this song. In "Down and Out In Paradise", with its erratic meter, exposes the struggle of people just trying to survive and get by. It is, and still is, a condition affecting many in America today.
"The Real Life", one of my favorites, conveys the need, within us all, to move on with life after the let-downs. Time is important, and the admonition to live your life to the fullest. "Cherry Bomb" is a look back towards one's own youth. The next three songs, "We are the People", "Empty Hands" and "Hard Times For an Honest Man" harkens towards life's trials, despair, survival,regrets and recriminations. It is the struggle and the over-coming which is so important here.
He wines down with "Hotdogs and Hamburgers", which offers the enigma of choice between honesty and deceit in a tale of the American Indian. Do we chose integrity instead of getting what we can with no conscience? These are the types of questions he asks. Very atypical for a rock album. He ends with "Rooty Toot Toot" which, appropriately. takes a step back. After all these great concerns, he resolves the album by, in essence, advising you not to try so hard. Again, he advises that despite all the bad things that have an effect on us, to take it slow and enjoy life the best you can. A fitting ending to a wonderful album.
If you like rock music with meaningful motifs, then this is the one for you. Grave concerns, but the music uplifts. Interesting combination.
In closing, I am brushing up on some magic tricks for next time. In the meanwhile, I am taking John's advice and taking it easy with my life. Who cares if the dragon burns down half my castle? It's a sunny day outside folks! 4 1/2 Stars.

Breezing down that Americana Freeway------your, Metamorpho ;)

.

The Lonesome Jubilee

All the songs have a catchy hook and cool story behind them. John really put it all together on this one, songwriting, musicianship, he definitely paints great pictures with his music and words. He cleverly uses a lot of different instruments that are not normally use on rock records.

The whole album stays on that rural midwestern theme, but don't let that fool you, all of the songs on this album are anywhere from 3-5 star in quality. Recordings highlights, Paper and fire -- Cherry Bomb etc. great stuff.

Doesn't reach the bar set by "Scarecrow", but pretty close
While this album didn't produce a #1 hit like "Jack and Diane", it spurned four Top 40 hits and was a complete album from top to bottom. Although John Mellencamp (still known in the 1980s as John Cougar Mellencamp) would have success with such hits as "Jack and Diane" and "Hurts So Good"; in 1985, Mellencamp would deliver what would prove to be his signature album entitled "Scarecrow". "Scarecrow" seemed to come along at the right time. It was around this time that the 1980s music landscape was undergoing changes. The 80s music scene was beginning to move away from a synth-pop sound to a more guitar-laden sound. Mellencamp's "Scarecrow" would be a success not only because it would embrace this guitar-laden sound, but it would also provide a mix of socio-political commentary with hometown roots experience. Other artists such as Bruce Springsteen ("Born in the USA") and John Fogerty ("Centerfield") had already had success with this formula before "Scarecrow" made it big - so clearly this was a formula that would be around for a while. Therefore, it would make sense for Mellencamp to continue down the road he started with "Scarecrow". This follow-up would be 1987's "The Lonesome Jubilee". While "The Lonesome Jubilee" doesn't quite hit the level of its predecessor "Scarecrow", it comes very close.

As mentioned above, "The Lonesome Jubilee" does focus on a guitar-laden sound. This album does make more use of the fiddle than "Scarecrow" does. Also mentioned, the socio-political commentary that started on "Scarecrow" also continues on "The Lonesome Jubilee". For the most part, 8 of the 10 tracks could be classified as socio-political commentary. I do think that this particular collection has a bit of a "darker" view of things than "Scarecrow" did. I feel the lyrics on "The Lonesome Jubilee" are on-par with "Scarecrow". I do think the music is where this album falls short. It's not that the music is bad, but I felt some of the melodies were missing something special - despite the creative use of the fiddle. Mellencamp handles more of the songwriting - writing 9 of the 10 songs solo. He only co-writes one song with his long-time collaborator - George Green.

Overall, while not a central theme to the album - you can hear the concept of "loneliness" on several songs - thus mapping back to the album's title - "Lonesome Jubilee". To me the deeper concept here is the plight of those people who are struggling just to make ends meet. Here is a track by track breakdown of this album:

"Paper in Fire": The opening song on the album. This is one song where I do like the melody - especially the fiddle. The song's title "Paper in Fire" is used as an analogy to describe "dreams going up in smoke". We also hear some great background vocals - including some co-lead vocals by Crystal Taliefero.

"Down and Out in Paradise": This is a great song lyrically as Mellencamp constructs a "letter" to the President from someone who has come upon hard times. While I'd consider this song lyrically innovative, I didn't like the melody that he put to these lyrics. More solid fiddle work.

"Check It Out": This is another social commentary. "Check It Out" will be sung about the everyday things that affect the average song. This song is solid both musically and lyrically - the melody toward the end of the song is terrific. Mellencamp uses more fiddle as well as background vocalists, but the guitar work is awesome here.

"The Real Life": This might be the strongest song of the collection and the most underrated. Basically Mellencamp sings about a woman named Suzanne and a man named Jackson - both whom have seen to have hit that "mid-life" crisis for different reasons. This song also explores the "loneliness" theme.

"Cherry Bomb": This song was nice at first, but eventually I got a bit bored of it. It's solid lyrically as Mellencamp looks reminisces about "the old days". There is more fiddle on this song. Another positive is that this song is sung in the form of a duet and it seems to work.

"We are the People": This also can be a candidate for the strongest and most underrated song. This song discusses racism, the homeless, and loneliness. It also delivers a strong message toward "leadership" in terms of how this issue needs to be addressed. There is some great music in this song.

"Empty Hands": Mellencamp sings this song from the point of view of a struggling working class man. The song discusses the hard times this man and his wife Maryanne are having. A key line in this song is "Without hope; without love; you've got nothing but pain".

"Hard Times for an Honest Man": This song sums up much of what this album demonstrates - fiddle work, background vocals, and once again lyrics that discuss the struggles of the everyday man.

"Hotdogs and Hamburgers": Kind of a cheesy song title, but Mellencamp uses this as an analogy for making choices (i. e. one often has to choose between hamburgers and hotdogs just as one makes choices in life). This song has a lot of acoustic guitar. It also contains some fiddle and background vocals.

"Rooty Toot Toot": This song was meant to lighten things up to close up some of the darker more serious themes on the album. Mellencamp discusses a fun-day he has with his gal - "Teddi Jo". Not the strongest song, but it does have some good percussion.

The liner notes contain all of the lyrics, songwriting, and musician credits. I would have like to have seen the musician credits aligned with the songs. Overall, while there are areas where "The Lonesome Jubilee" doesn't quite hit the bar that "Scarecrow" set, this is by no-means a poor follow-up. Despite some of the weaker points, I would consider this a solid follow-up album. If you liked "Scarecrow", this album is also worth checking out".

I will have to catch up on my Mellancamp collection
In the following years, I bought Mellancamp's UH-HUH; SCARECROW; the album in question here, LONESOME JUBILEE; and HUMAN WHEELS. I jumped on the John Mellencamp bandwagon when he had his breakthrough album, AMERICAN FOOL. I liked all of them a lot except for the last one, HUMAN WHEELS, so after that I abandoned the Mellencamp bandwagon.

Recently I inserted LONESOME JUBILEE in the stereo for the first time in probably ten or more years. While I had liked it back in the late 1980s, the outstanding musicianship and especially the Reagan era-inspired lyrics, now relevant again in the dark days of George W. Bush, have me listening to the C. D. as frequently as possible. Back then, I considered SCARECROW to be the best John Mellencamp release I had heard, but THE LONESOME JUBILEE may be even better. Check other reviews here, and you'll see other music fans naming those two as Mellencamp's jewels.

I even gave HUMAN WHEELS another spin and liked it better.

John Mellencamp, I am going to catch up on your music.

Rock and roll fans, I recommend LONESOME JUBILEE.

You can see a complete list of all John Cougar Mellencamp discography, or go back to the John Cougar Mellencamp tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.