Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Tracks (1999)

I remember all too well the first time that I heard Bruce Springsteen. It was in the spring of 1975 and the song was "Born To Run." I was lying in bed, ready to go to sleep when I heard the opening chords of the song drifting up through the heating duct from my sister's radio. It was unlike anything that I had ever heard, and I quickly tuned in my radio to the song. The power of the music, the lyrics spoke to me in a way that I had never felt. This was rock & roll with teeth and I couldn't get enough of it.

I ran out the next day and bought all of the Springsteen albums that I could find, but neither of them had that magic song. Sure, they were great, and they grew on me as time passed by, but I'd have to wait until the fall of that year to buy Born The Run the album. It proved to be well worth the wait. Born To Run was a grand artistic stroke, Springsteen's "make-it-or-break-it" album and it soon became the one constant on my turntable. Although it was to be almost another year before I'd see Springsteen perform live, like many others in the autumn of 1975, I'd become a die-hard Bruce fan.

Almost twenty-five years have passed since then, and all of us – Bruce included – have gotten a little older. Bruce's fans have literally grown up with him, passing through marriage and parenthood into middle age along with our artistic touchstone. I've personally seen Springsteen perform live over a dozen times during the years, own every legitimate album (and more than a few bootlegs), videos, fanzines and a lot of the other flotsam and jetsam that go along with a lengthy and successful career. It's for folks such as myself – the life-long, die-hard Bruce fan – that the four CD compilation Tracks was released.

It's become almost chic the past few years to dis Bruce, dismissing him as a relic of the eighties, a commercial artist that never achieved the hipster status of the rising tide of "alternative" artists. Fan interest in Bruce has remained high through the years, however, and if his work in the nineties hasn't sold on par with his 1984 blockbuster Born In The U.S.A., well, what other artist's work has held up as well as Bruce's? Prompted, perhaps, by the unquenchable thirst of Bruce fans for new music (or, at least, unheard music), and certainly pushed by the recent twelve disc bootleg The Lost Masters series, Tracks collects 66 demos, outtakes, B-sides and assorted rarities and places them in a nice neat box for the Bruce fan.

It's a nice collection, a fine reflection of where Springsteen has been and where, perhaps, he's headed with his music. Always a prolific songwriter who is said to throw away four or five songs for every one that makes it onto an album, Springsteen's rejects are famous for becoming hits for other artists. Although the collection is a little light on the early period of Bruce's career, Tracks nonetheless covers in some detail the important, ground-breaking 1977 to 1983 period that led up to Born In The U.S.A. and subsequent superstardom.

Disc one begins with several tracks from Springsteen's initial 1972 demo session with Columbia Records and John Hammond, the great label A & R man that signed him. The first four tracks on the disc eventually made it onto Springsteen's debut album in vastly superior versions than those offered here. From here the disc jumps around, mixing early (i.e. 1973-74) songs with Darkness On The Edge Of Town outtakes (1977-78). The Born To Run period seems to be pretty much glossed over entirely, with only a couple of (deservedly) rejected songs placed here. There's still some good stuff on the disc, though, such as the live studio cut of "Rendezvous" (a minor hit for Greg Kihn, done better by Bruce), "Iceman" and Bruce's equally-wonderful version of the Southside Johnny chestnut "Hearts Of Stone."

Although many scribes have tagged disc three as their favorite, I personally like the material provided on the second disc. Representing the post-Darkness, pre-River era Bruce, the second disc in Tracks is almost a classic album in its own right. Take the first thirteen songs, throw away the somber "A Good Man Is Hard To Find (Pittsburgh)" and "Wages Of Sin" and you've got the core of The Ties That Bind, a legendary unreleased and often-bootlegged
Springsteen disc that has taken on almost mythical proportions. Many of these songs are from the 1979 Power Station sessions and there's some great material here.

"Roulette," an almost forgotten B-side is one of Bruce's most powerful songs, a cautionary tale of what – nuclear holocaust? environmental disaster? Whatever, it's a hard-rocking song with aggressive lyrics. Dismissed as an example of Springsteen's penchant for "frat rock" (and what's the problem with that? Many of rock's great one-hit-wonders achieved their popularity on the frat circuit), "Where The Bands Are" is a great rock & roll tune, a love song wrapped up in an ode to the power of rock music. "Loose Ends" and "Be True" are also fine songs, rollicking numbers with solid performances. "Ricky Wants A Man Of Her Own" is a humorous tale of teen rebellion and "Living On The Edge Of The World" rings with the chime of Danny Federici's farfisa.

Not to downplay the material provided on the third disc of Tracks. "My Love Will Not Let You Down" is a fine example of Springsteen's heartfelt romanticism, a gentle song with a tasty guitar break. "This Hard Land," Springsteen's populist parable is familiar from its placement on his greatest hits albums. "Frankie," a rare live favorite from the Born To Run era finally sees the light of day here along with another throwaway hit, "Pink Cadillac" (popularized by the Pointer Sisters).

The story-song "Brothers Under The Bridges ('83)" serves as a bookend to the same-named closing track on the fourth disc, the earlier song showing the characters as kids, the later song offering its protagonist as a no-longer innocent adult. Much of the fourth disc is low-key ruminations on love and life, similar to Tunnel Of Love. Not that the songs are completely without charm here: "Part Man, Part Monkey" is kind of funky, a hilarious send-up of humanity
while "Back In Your Arms" is a lovely love song similar to many on Human Touch.

Many have pointed out that Tracks features many songs that Springsteen didn't think were good enough for inclusion on an album, using that excuse as a reason to lessen impact of the collection. Nonetheless, more than a handful of the songs here have been hits for other people or have proven themselves as live favorites. Some are among the best songs that Springsteen has ever written, and just because they didn't find a place on a certain album doesn't mean that they're no good. True, Tracks isn't the kind of collection that's going to win over new fans – Springsteen is too well known, his music too acutely documented to offer many surprises. For the long-time fan, however, wanting to compliment their knowledge of Bruce's evolution, I'd easily recommend Tracks as a fine starting point.

(Ironically, although many thought that the release of Tracks would dampen the parade of bootleg Bruce CDs, less than a month passed before enterprising 'leggers had raided the vaults with several releases of studio material not found on Tracks. If Bruce really wants to stay a step ahead of these gray area CDs, he'd be better off taking his cue from Frank Zappa, King Crimson or the Grateful Dead and release his own official "bootlegs." Dig into the vault, Bruce, and start putting out collections of individual live performances. Not only would die-hard fans buy them up, but new converts would also flock to your door.) (Columbia Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Tracks from Amazon.com)

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Live In New York City (2001)

Bruce Springsteen has sold a lot of records during his career, but it has always been his live performances that have drawn the lion's share of the acclaim. I've personally seen Springsteen perform eight or nine times during the past 25 years and can honestly say that out of the 300+ shows that I've seen during my critical career, his shows dominate my top ten. Whether with the full E Street Band or solo with just a guitar and a harmonica, Springsteen is a dynamic and charismatic performer, a fact that has made him second only to Led Zeppelin as one of the most bootlegged rock artists of all time.

All of which makes the 2-CD Live In New York City a mixed blessing. Culled from the last two nights of a remarkable year-long "reunion" tour with the E Street Band, the set offers some wonderful performances from what, by all accounts, was a powerful pair of shows. Springsteen and crew revisit some old classics, reinvent some obscurities and even introduce a couple of new songs. Much as with the previous Springsteen live box set, however, all of the rough edges have been removed from Live In New York City.

The production team of Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin (with input, no doubt, from manager Jon Landau) has sonically sanitized the performances, leaving the listener with only part of the strength of the original performances. Bootlegs of these NYC shows – and, truth be told, of most of the tour – present the band warts and all, as one of the tightest and toughest rock & roll outfits to ever grace a stage. Although the sound quality of many of the bootlegs may not be as pristine as this legitimate release, the honest depiction of the performances is more compelling.

That minor cavil aside, Live In New York City is still a fine collection of performances. The album opening "My Love Will Not Let You Down" is a soaring, transcendent rendering of an otherwise overlooked entry from the Springsteen songbook. "Atlantic City" is offered with full band backing that, while removing the stark quality of the original studio version nevertheless shows a hidden power to the lyrics and the story told. The arrangement of "The River" is completely changed; transforming an already potent and dark-hued tale of lost dreams and desperation into a masterful modern blues song. Clarence Clemons' mournful sax opens "The River," leading into an acoustic passage and, eventually, Springsteen's sadness-tinged vocals. The song's sparse arrangement and incredibly delicate performance is superior to the studio version and breathes new life into one of Springsteen's more memorable pieces.

Afforded a full band performance, "Youngstown" rises above its acoustic roots to become a stormy maelstrom of rock & rage. One of the most powerful protest songs ever written, "Youngstown" is a fine example of blue collar blues, a chilling documentation of the decline of America's industrial heartland that ends with a wicked six-string battle courtesy of Springsteen, "Little" Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren. Springsteen's lively introduction of the band members during "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" echoes the "Boss" of old, crowning the E Streeters with various titles and honors to the delight of the audience. "Land Of Hope And Dreams," one of two new songs showcased on Live In New York City, is a throwback to The River era, a beautiful affirmation of faith in the face of adversity.

The other new song is the controversial "American Skin (41 Shots)." Inspired by the murder of an immigrant by overzealous NYPD officers, it is another powerful musical statement. Featuring a quiet instrumental undercurrent, the focus is on Springsteen's vocals, his questioning lyrics and the phrase "41 shots," repeated over and over by the band. A lengthy and appropriate silence follows the song, leading into the six bonus tracks tacked on at the last minute to make this a 2-CD set. The seldom-played "Lost In The Flood" sounds good in a live setting, guitars clashing and wailing behind the vocals. "Born In The U.S.A." is reinvented as a bluesy dirge while the album-closing "If I Should Fall Behind," another overlooked Springsteen gem, is offered as a quiet prayer. With vocals from Bruce, Patti Scialfa, Nils Lofgren, Little Steven and Clarence Clemons, the song is transformed from a folksy tale of love and loyalty into a spiritual wonder.

In our society's rush to unquestioningly embrace youth culture, it's become trendy, even required, to dismiss anything older than last week to the dustbin of history. In an era where even the Clash aren't considered "punk" enough by today's cultural standards, Springsteen – whose greatest commercial successes were a decade and a half ago – is considered a rock & roll dinosaur. As a year long, sold-out tour and this 2-CD live set prove, however, there's still plenty of life left in Springsteen and crew. The E Street Band plays with a joy and fury that musicians half their age will never equal, Springsteen's new songs show a skill, concern and relevancy lost to modern rock bands. Spoon-fed corporate pabulum by the music biz, today's youth don't realize that true musical giants still walk this planet. To paraphrase an old blues song, what the kids don't know we old geezers understand. (Columbia Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Live In New York City from Amazon.com)

Willie Nile - Beautiful Wreck Of The World (2000)

Released in 1999, I recently found this criminally overlooked album in the discount bin at the local used music store. If my memory hasn't failed me quite yet, Willie Nile was hanging around Nashville in late '99 – so it's possible that this copy might have come into my greedy little hands via some unappreciative person who originally received it from Willie himself. Regardless, as a long-time fan I was glad to stumble across it and if you, gentle reader, care a whit about finely-crafted songs and intelligent lyricism, you should be digging up your own copy.

Saddled with the "new Springsteen" albatross early in his career (the eighties version of the "new Dylan" comparison leveled by unimaginative critics in the seventies), Nile never quite recovered from the critical overkill and commercial indifference. He only released three albums for Columbia before being shuttled off to relative obscurity. 'Tis a shame, too, since Beautiful Wreck Of The World proves that not only have Nile's artistic chops not diminished any since his 1980 debut, his skills have sharpened and matured during the past two decades.

Nile's greatest asset as a songwriter is his observational ability and the skill with which he shares what he sees. Beautiful Wreck Of The World kicks off with the ultra-clever and rocking "You Gotta Be A Buddha (In A Place Like This)." A wickedly tongue-in-cheek rundown of the modern world and tribute to the virtue of patience, the song includes one of my favorite refrains: "You laugh, you cry, you live, you die/you wake up in the morning and don't know why." The title track is a whimsical and humorous look at a world turned upside down while "Brain Damage" is a slightly offbeat love song that is as witty as it is accurate. "On The Road To Calvary," dedicated to Jeff Buckley, is filled with beautiful imagery and wordplay, as haunting a tribute to the late songwriter as will be written.

Although Nile's work evokes Dylan and Springsteen – his obvious artistic forebears – he is nevertheless an original voice with a singular lyrical vision. A vastly underrated talent, Nile has been frozen out of the mainstream music biz by trend-following cretins unable to recognize the man's skills or the aging 35-50 year old demographic that would appreciate a fresh and original singer/songwriter. Much like his contemporary Carolyn Mas or the recent efforts of wordsmiths such as Dan Bern or Nashville's Threk Michaels, Willie Nile is a man without a country. Talented as hell, Nile is nonetheless out of step with the industry in which he's trying to make a living.

Then again, as long as he makes records like Beautiful Wreck Of The World, we'll gladly march to the sound of Nile's different drummer. (River House Records)

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Grin - The Very Best Of Grin (1999)

Nils Lofgren has gained a fair degree of respect for his role as guitarist in Springsteen's E Street Band, receiving far fewer props for his solo efforts and studio work with Neil Young and Ringo Starr. Lofgren's is a career that dates back to the late-60s, however, thirty years as a journeyman rocker and visionary. Grin, Lofgren's first band, is one of those great cult favorites whose place in rock & roll obscurity outshines even Lofgren's wonderful, if mostly ignored solo career. Grin released four fine major label albums during their six years, 1968 - 1974, and toured constantly, supporting folks like Jimi Hendrix, the Faces, the Byrds and the J. Geils Band. The Very Best Of Grin offers a deeper retrospective look at the band than previous "best of" albums, a nineteen song history that pretty well sums up what Grin was all about musically.

Originally a trio, teenage guitarist Lofgren was joined by Washington D.C. music scene vets Bob Gordon on bass and drummer Bob Berberich, forming Grin. Signed by Columbia Records' Spindizzy imprint with a little help from Neil Young and producer David Briggs, the band relocated on the West Coast to record their debut album. The Very Best Of Grin includes four tracks from the band's first effort, including the surprisingly honky-tonkish "Everybody's Missin' The Sun." The previously unreleased "Nobody" is an outtake from the sessions for the first album and sounds a lot like a Lofgren solo song, offering a foreshadowing of music to come while the also unreleased "Sing For Happiness" from those sessions is a soulful ballad complete with lush backing vocals.

The band's second album, the conceptual 1+1, proved to be their signature disc, yielding what would be the closest Grin ever came to a hit single, the buoyant "White Lies." An energetic pop/rock tune with an undeniable hook, "White Lies" again sounds like solo Nils, the young guitarist developing his vocal chops and showing the charisma that would later attract a loyal following. 1+1 was broken into two sides, the "dreamy" side and the "rocking side," and The Very Best Of Grin includes a selection of material from both, six songs in all. "Hi, Hello Home" offers a countryish beat with fine harmony vocals by Nils and guest Graham Nash. The turbo-charged "Moon Tears" would become a staple of Grin's, and later Nils' live performances, an enduring fan favorite that refuses to disappear quietly.

Grin expanded to a foursome in 1972, adding Nils' brother Tom on guitar and keyboards, a pairing that continues even today, the two brothers touring in support of Nils solo material. This Grin line-up would record two albums, the criminally-overlooked All Out, which would be their Spindizzy/Columbia swan song and the ill-promoted Gone Crazy for A & M Records. The Very Best Of Grin includes a half-dozen cuts from All Out including the rocking "Love Or Else" with Nils and Berberich's shared vocals playing off each others differences and strengths. "Sad Letter" is a bittersweet love song with a tearful guitar riff courtesy of brother Tom while the title cut is a soulful ballad featuring solid vocals by Berberich and guest Kathi McDonald. "You're The Weight," the lone cut here from Gone Crazy, is a flat-out rocker, featuring forceful vocals from Lofgren, a full band chorus and some tasteful six-string work from Nils.

Grin would be dropped by A & M Records after the lukewarm success of Gone Crazy, the band playing their farewell show in front of a hometown D.C. crowd in late 1974. Nils was almost immediately picked up as a solo act by the label, and would go on to enjoy a critically acclaimed if commercially questionable career until joining the E Street Band in 1984. Lofgren's solo releases have been less frequent since hitting the road with Bruce, but albums like Silver Lining or Damaged Goods show a mature artist mining different musical veins than those enjoyed in his youth. For those Nils Lofgren fans who know him only through his solo work or E Street Band performances, I'd recommend The Very Best Of Grin as a portrait of Lofgren's roots. With only the classic 1+1 still in print, this is the best documentation of the range and depth of one of rock's most talented, if unknown bands. (Sony Legacy Recordings)

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Immortal Lee County Killers - These Bones Will Rise To Love You Again (2005)

Just a mere two years after the White Stripes won massive critical acclaim for their attempts to reinvent the blues-rock idiom with a bastard hybrid of shambling electric blues and garage rock fervor, the Immortal Lee County Killers came roaring out of Alabama with The Essential Fucked Up Blues. Taking the blueprint so carefully constructed by Jack White, the ILCK's Chetley Weise scribbled some notes on a brown paper bag and then proceeded to toss the White Stripes' formula into a meat grinder of distorted guitar riffs and primal, explosive percussion. Punker, bluesier and far more powerful than the Stripes' media-approved soundtrack, the Immortal Lee County Killers kicked out the jams with Son House spirit and Black Flag attitude.

A few years have passed by now, Jack and Meg became a tabloid sideshow and the bloom has fallen off the rose of punk-blues or garage-blues or whatever the hell you want to call it. R.L. Burnside is dead and many of those bands that once pursued rock & roll stardom with a washed-out, carbon-copy blues-rock sound have now become '80s new wave revival bands. Shudder. The Immortal Lee County Killers, however, are seemingly, well...immortal...the band carrying on with a new line-up and a more mature sound on album number three. Don't fear, erstwhile ILCK fans, because even though Cheetah and his crew have expanded their sound beyond the delightful musical trainwrecks of The Essential Fucked Up Blues and Love Is A Charm Of Powerful Trouble doesn't mean that the band has lost its way. They still hit your ears like the less-desirable business end of a shotgun blast.

If anything, These Bones Will Rise To Love You Again is even meaner and scarier than the ILCK's previous two albums, the band incorporating more elements of Southern soul and '60s psychedelica into the creative palette of their lo-fi aesthetic. "Turn On The Panther," for instance, includes tough-as-nails sonic distortion courtesy of Weise's over-amped guitar, Toko the Drifter's percussive drumming filling in with lightning-and-thunder intensity. Jon Spencer's "Revolution Summer" is the same sort of blues-influenced, three-chord hard rock that won the MC5 everlasting notoriety, the ILCK covering the song with a chaotic clashing of vocals and instrumentation. "Boom Boom" is the sound of the music industry imploding, a cacophonic death rattle writ larger-than-life with unrelenting percussion, manic vocals and some of the squonkiest guitar that you'll hear outside of East Village jazz clubs.

"The Damned Don't Cry" evokes the late, great R.L. Burnside, the song's martial rhythms and almost-chanted lyrics creating an air of menace, its roots in the Mississippi Hill Country and its sound straight out of Junior Kimbrough's juke joint. Even slower, more deliberate numbers like "Lights Down Low" evince a certain swampwater consistency, the song a cross between a funeral dirge and a tent revival while "No More My Lord" is a spiritual plea for relief in a Blind Willie Johnson vein. The addition of keyboardist Jeff Goodwin was definitely a good move, providing the band with another talented songwriter and complimenting the material with an instrumental style that sounds like Deep Purple's Ian Gilliam, Jerry Lee Lewis and Booker T jamming together at the Stax studios in Memphis.

For all of his bluster, drummer Toko the Drifter is capable of both tornado-force blasts and subtle, jazzy flourishes while Chet Weise is a six-string madman throwing razor-sharp riffs like ninja death stars and pounding out earth-scorching leads like bolts from the meaty paw of Zeus. Weise's understated lyrical style is short on nonsense and long on imagery, the underrated wordsmith throwing together minimalist blues-haiku that says what it needs to and then gets the hell outta the way of the general instrumental din. These Bones Will Rise To Love You Again is both a fine garage blues workout and an encouraging third album, displaying the Immortal Lee County Killers' evolution from a loud, badass duo with lots of heart into a loud, baddass trio with lots of heart and soul. These Bones Will Rise To Love You Again will kick you in the ass and leave you asking for another boot...and folks, it just doesn't get any better than that! (Tee Pee Records)

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John Mellencamp - Scarecrow (2005)

It's surprising to remember, but up until the mid-80s, John Mellencamp was looked down upon as some sort of illegitimate little brother of American rock. "He sings like Springteen," sniped some critics. "He writes like Tom Petty" whined others. After the commercial successes of 1982's American Fool and Uh-Huh the following year, however, even the most hardcore critics had to admit that Mellencamp had developed a loyal following entirely of his own making. Half-dozen albums into his career, the onetime "Johnny Cougar" had experienced a sort of adolescent "growth spurt," finding his creative voice with a mix of electric roots rock and small-town populist imagery. With the release in 1985 of Scarecrow, Mellencamp's eighth album, all arguments became moot...any critic that would deny the rocker his hard won artistic credibility just wasn't listening.

With Scarecrow's song cycle, Mellencamp championed the common man in a manner separate though equal to Springsteen's best work, concentrating on the trials and tears of Middle America, the land he grew up in. True, some of the material on Scarecrow, most notably the rambling "Rumble Seat" or the hit "Small Town," is somewhat cliched in its handling and presentation. The best songs here stand up tall alongside the works of any populist songwriter, from Woody Guthrie through Bob Dylan to Springsteen, Seger and Petty. Mellencamp's salute to his musical forebears, "R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A." or the allegorical "Justice And Independence '85" each score a musical and lyrical bull's eye.

It is with two cuts, both from the first side of the original vinyl release of Scarecrow, with which Mellencamp lays low any criticisms ever leveled in his direction. The countryish "Minutes To Memories" is the engaging story of an old man handing down his mantle of wisdom, unheard, to a young man during a chance encounter on a cross-country bus. The young man later relates his regrets over ignoring the old man's advice (to his misfortune). The masterpiece here, though, is "Rain On The Scarecrow," a dark, disturbing song, tragic in its story of America's betrayal of the farmers who pioneered the Midwestern badlands.

Opening with a driving beat swelling towards a powerful crescendo and joined by a massive guitar riff, Mellencamp relates his sad tale of the diminishing American family farm. Delivered matter-of-factly, Mellencamp bitterly sings "rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow/this land fed a nation, this land made me proud/and son I'm just sorry, there's no legacy for you now." This moment, as powerful as any in rock & roll, is the equivalent of Joe Grushecky's steeltown blues or Springsteen's lament for the lost Jersey shore. Art can make you think; great art will make you cry in terror at the truth it conveys. In the three minutes and some odd seconds of "Rain On The Scarecrow," Mellencamp achieved that which most rockers strive their entire lives to create: a fleeting, immortal moment of perfection.

The incredible success of Scarecrow and Mellencamp's increased role as the voice of a largely-forgotten Mid-America would help to make him one of the biggest stars of the decade, a heartland rocker whose popularity and artistic credibility remains strong today. It would also enable him to gain near-total control of his music from the label and producers, resulting in a pure representation of Mellencamp's vision on subsequent albums like The Lonesome Jubilee and Big Daddy. Twenty years after its initial release, Scarecrow stands tall as a timeless classic of rock & roll, the album an integral part of John Mellencamp's canon and a long ways from the Chestnut Street of the artist's misguided early days. (Mercury Records)

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John Mellencamp - The Lonesome Jubilee (2005)

John Cougar Mellencamp's breakthrough album, 1983's Uh-Huh, provided the artist with the commercial success he craved while 1985's Scarecrow brought him the critical respect that he had earned. Two years later, The Lonesome Jubilee brought Mellencamp something else entirely – freedom. With this 1987 album release, Mellencamp not only claimed his place alongside Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Bob Seger as a respected working class wordsmith, he also won the creative freedom to explore his muse unlike anything he had previously recorded.

Extending the lyrical themes he began outlining in detail on the American Fool album a half-decade earlier, songs like "Paper In Fire," "Cherry Bomb" and "The Real Life" continue Mellencamp's fascination with life in the heartland and the everyday trials and tribulations of the average man, woman and child. These hit singles only tell part of the story, however, with Mellencamp pursuing a darker vision of the American Dream™ on the album's less well-known songs. Lyrical broadsides like "Down And Out In Paradise," with its bleak American landscape, the anthemic "We Are The People" and "Hard Times For An Honest Man" suggest that nearly two terms of Conservative Reagan administration policy had seriously eroded the country's working class prospects by '87.

The songs still rock hard on The Lonesome Jubilee in spite of Mellencamp's ongoing evolution in sound. Incorporating instrumentation like fiddle, accordion and acoustic guitars, Mellencamp adds an Appalachian flourish to his material, extending his artistic milieu to include elements of folk and country alongside his native roots rock. It would prove to be an excellent move, creating a distinctive and timeless flavor to his material that would serve as Mellencamp's trademark well into the next decade. A bonus cut added to the CD reissue of The Lonesome Jubilee – the previously unreleased "Blues From The Front Porch" – is a real gem. A Delta-dirty duet with singer Crystal Taliefero, it is a fitting addition to the album.

The Lonesome Jubilee has withstood the test of time, the songs sounding as fresh, original and, sadly, lyrically relevant as they were nearly two decades ago. Not amazingly, John Mellencamp's musical legacy seems to grow with each passing year, the artist that once struggled for critical acclaim now overshadowing his colleagues in defining the voice of a decade. The Lonesome Jubilee stands tall as both one of Mellencamp's best works and as a truly classic masterpiece of rock & roll. (Mercury Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Lonesome Jubilee from Amazon.com)