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Rough Harvest

John Cougar Mellencamp - Rough Harvest Audio CD

A fair review of the John Cougar Mellencamp "Rough Harvest" 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: Rough Harvest
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-08-17
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Love and Happiness 2: In My Time of Dying 3: Between a Laugh and a Tear 4: Human Wheels 5: Rain on the Scarecrow 6: Farewell, Angelina 7: Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First) 8: Jackie Brown 9: When Jesus Left Birmingham 10: Full Catastrophe 11: Minutes to Memories 12: Under the Boardwalk 13: Wild Night [Live] - John Mellencamp, Me'Shell Ndeg�ocello

An Intermezzo from Mellencamp
Mellencamp has used this term to title one of his songs, namely "Key West Intermezzo (I saw you first)". An "intermezzo" is a piece of music composed for the purpose of linking two larger compositions together. This CD functions as an intermezzo between releases of new, original work.

This intermezzo has a function. It serves to present some of Mellencamp's best tunes in a different light, bringing their messages home ever more fully. These songs either represent Mellencamp's influences (the strikingly beautiful "Farewell Angelina" and "In my Time of Dying") or Mellencamp's most profound, and often most personal, songwriting efforts. "Jackie Brown" gets a more rythmic, percussive arrangement, as does "Between a Laugh and a Tear". "Scarecrow" gets its tempo slowed a bit, and its arrangement made stark, so that it no longer sounds like a heartland rocker's tune, but rather like something a delta bluesman would perform. Although a few songs remain faithful to their mostly-acoustic original recordings (see "Key West Intermezzo" and "When Jesus Left Birmingham"), many of these tunes utilize their new arrangements to demonstrate their strength and vitality.

Throughout his career, Mellencamp had developed from a rocker who showed occasional depth and insight into a great songwriter. The versatility of his tunes stand as a testament to his ability to communicate some fundamental truths about the realities he sees around him. By stipping down his arrangements a bit, and calling upon his blues, folk and country influences, Mellencamp enables his work to communicate more clearly the everyman experiences and insights that form the cornerstone of his best work. For example, "When Jesus Left Birmingham" has as its protagonist a man who observes, in himself and in those around him, the limitations of the human ability transcend worldly circumstances and act solely according to the dictates of the conscience and heart. Stripping the song down a bit allows the starkness of the song's observations to ring even more truly.

If you like Mellencamp, you might be pleasantly surprised by this recording. I highly recommend this CD.

Rough Listen
On Rough Harvest, rather than reinventing his songs, Mellencamp strips away all identity and charm and leaves us with a set of tired and listless songs that sound far inferior to the originals. When Eric Clapton re-recorded Layla, he sounded refreshed and inspired and thus gave us a true reinvention of his classic song. Rough Harvest is a disservice to both the artist and his fans, fulfilling nothing more than a contractual obligation at the expense of those who bought this album.

Mellencamp reworked

An early reviewer said it best this CD is Mellencamp Unplugged. Sure John Mellencamp was fulfilling his Mercury record contract, but I like this idea much more than another greatest hits record or live album. Mellencamp and his band took a number of his early songs and based on old interviews or two, I think these are some of his favorite songs and reworked them. The CD sounds like the Studio C CDs put out by radio station KBCO each year.

The songs are given a country style and some come out in a more enjoyable. I especially enjoy "Love and Happiness" in this style. I've always like "Human Wheels" and the covers, "Farewell Angelina", "Under the Boardwalk" and "In My Time of Dying" are excellent. Two other gems are "Between a Laugh and a Tear" and "Jackie Brown. " The whole effort gives you a feel of a concert in a small bar.

This is a CD for Mellencamp fans and shouldn't be looked at as a complement to his greatest hits CD. Keep that in mind and you will enjoy this CD.

Rough cuts.
The problem with these songs is that Mellencamp re-did them in 1997 and most of them turned out mediocre the second time around. I'm a big Mellencamp fan and seldom find fault with anything Mellencamp does but "Rough Harvest" is very much a contract fulfiller. I do like "Between A Laugh And A Tear" and the songs Mellencamp covers like "In My Time Of Dying", "Farewell Angelina" and "Under The Boardwalk". For the most part "Rough Harvest" is only for hardcore Mellencamp fans who are completists. What Mercury records or Mellencamp should have done instead of re-doing lesser known songs is put out "The Best That I Could Do: 1989-1996. " It could have contained all of Mellencamp's best tracks from "Big Daddy" through "Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky" all digitally remastered with a bonus track or two thrown in.

Harvest Reaps Rewards
Instead of giving them a bunch of subpar, leftover tunes, he set about to rework songs from his back catalog. After leaving Mercury for Sony, John Mellencamp still was contractual obligated to Mercury for one more release. Most of the songs are album tracks or minor singles, but they are not generally considered his most popular. What Mr. Mellencamp does is strip the songs down to their skeleton and adds back just a little bit of skin. The songs have a stark, raw, personal sound that makes them sound new again. "Love & Happiness", "Human Wheels", "Jackie Brown" and "Under The Boardwalk" stand out, but there isn't a bad track in the bunch. Rough Harvest is great listen as it is interesting to hear an artist go back and revisit old songs. It would have interesting to hear him give the same treatment to more familiar songs like "Cherry Bomb' or "Jack & Diane". Hopefully somewhere down the line, he'll consider it.

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.