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John Mellencamp - Freedom's Road Audio CD

A fair review of the John Mellencamp "Freedom's Road" 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 Mellencamp reviews here, or go back to the John Mellencamp tabs.

John Mellencamp Band: John Mellencamp
Title: Freedom's Road
Rating:
Release Date: 2007-01-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Someday 2: Ghost Towns Along The Highway 3: The Americans 4: Forgiveness 5: Freedom's Road 6: Jim Crow 7: Our Country 8: Rural Route 9: My Aeroplane 10: Heaven Is A Lonely Place

This is our musical country
With "Freedom's Road," John Mellencamp went all the way for the expression, but forgot to put the musical muscle. I never begrudge an artist his or her politics, in fact, I endorse freedom of expression. It's something he corrected on the T-Bone Burnett produced ""Life, Death, Love and Freedom," but here, the songs are a retread of much of Mellencamp's best work without the spark. It comes across like some of John's lesser albums, like Human Wheels or Cuttin' Heads.

If it weren't for the inclusion of long-time concert fave "Our Country," this album would have a hard time being memorable at all. It has that big sing-a-long of a chorus that marks Mellencamp's best singles, and a lyric that has both a patriotic zeal and the hint of subversion that made classics out of "Pink Houses" or "Jack and Diane. " "Aeroplane" probably gets closest to hitting the mark afterwards. Then the duet with Joan Baez sounds good but comes off heavy handed, as does the murder ballad "Rural Route. " The band sounds terrific as always, but other than "Our Country," the 'x-factor' is missing.


Mellencamp's best in 10 years
The last one Mellencamp did that I would call near perfect was Mr. Freedom's Road is virtually a flawless record. Happy Go Lucky in 1996. The reason I give these albums such a high rating is because all of the tracks are equally strong. Most of Mellencamp's albums have some weak tracks thrown in. Freedom's Road does not. You can listen to it from start to finish, over and over again. How it failed to receive a Grammy nomination is beyond me. The only flaw I can see is that the eleventh song (Rodeo Clown) is hidden. You have to fast forward through four minutes of silence to get to it, which is mildly annoying. My favorite songs are Someday, The Americans, Forgiveness, and My Aeroplane. If you like Mellencamp at all, Freedom's Road will not disappoint.
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Great songs, well performed.
Buy the CD, and vote accordingly in the upcoming primaries. "Someday" and the other tracks on this album are appealing to anyone who wants "change you can believe in" for America. Need I say more?.


Another American lets unite CD
Im sick to death of hearing "Our Country", everytime I turn on the TV that song is playing in a Chevy commercial, i think hes beating a dead horse. I like this CD but it sounds like alot like his Scarecrow CD, not in the sense of the same songs but the same theme, he seems to keep driving home the messege of american ideals and I think we have been down this road already. . . enough already, we get the message. good song but we dont need to hear it every 30 seconds. I think John Mellencamp is a great songwriter but this CD is just another way of saying, Hey everbody, let get together and eat apple pie and be like the old days in the 60s, sorry but those happy days are long gone. In todays world thats not going to happen. anyways, good CD but seems to repeat a message he gave us back in the 80s. . .
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Worth buying
Some of John's albums along the way have been less accessible but not this one. I would disagree that this album is only for die-hard fans. If you have liked John's more popular music in the past you will like this album. Simplistic? Maybe. . . but maybe that's what people need sometimes. . . back to the basics. There are a lot of good things in America and a lot that needs to be improved. John, if you read this I could use a ride on your aeroplane.


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

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