I Walked Like a Hero into the Setting Sun

There is a good reason why Life and Death become Love in Freedom in the title of the new John Mellencamp album; mortality and preparing for life when no longer on this Earth is abound on Life, Death, Love and Freedom. In fact, really the only time he goes on for a while on the subject of Love in is the aptly titled My Sweet Love, a rockabilly style romp. Not surprisingly the lone upbeat and romantic song is the album’s next single.

As for the other word in the title, considering the politically charged album, last year’s Freedom’s Road, Freedom this time is not as represented. The lone political statement comes on Jena, a song and video that hit the internet late last year dealing with the Jena 6 controversy. Half a year later you have to wonder the impact of the song now and if it has done any good. And what’s with calling people “with paper bag skin”? I would say that could be offensive to African American except I’m not entirely sure he was refereeing to them. But paper bags are to dark to describe Caucasian unless it is one of the tan-obsessed kinds. So is Mellencamp blaming George Hamilton for hanging the nooses?

But it is life and death that really takes up Mellencamp’s time on the album. And that seems like a conscious effort to saying he wanted to write about the darkness in his life for this album and try writing sad songs. And sad and dark songs are abound especially with titles like When I Die and Don’t Need This Body. Or when he states in a growl for John Cockers, “There must be 10 million people but I ain’t got no friends.”

The real MVP of Life, Death, Love and Freedom is producer T Bone Burnett, the guy behind the O Brother, Where Art You? Soundtrack and the pairing of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. That pairing could have inspired bringing in a female to duet on My Sweet Love, A Ride Back Home and For the Children. But it is Burnett help shaping the music where is presence is really feel taking the folk of the last album and fleshing it out more giving this album more of an Americana feel, making it sound classic and contemporary at the same time. Over time, and the more they gel together, T Bone Burnett could be to John Mellencamp what Rick Rubin was to Johnny Cash.

It should be noted that this album is the first album to be released in the CODE format. Think CODE as to CD what Blu-Ray is to the DVD. You will need a standard DVD player to play the format, but the CODE version comes bundled with the CD version at no extra cost. The CODE disk can be copied into most computer music software and is iPod compatible. Please note that I didn’t listen to the CODE version for this review. It should also be noted that Mellencamp didn’t license any of these songs to be played ad nausea for a truck commercial. Because this is arrrrrrrre country.

Song to Download - A Ride Back Home

Life, Death, Love, and Freedom gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.