John Cougar Mellencamp
Freedom's Road

After the excellent "Trouble No More," an album that assembled a series of covers, traditional songs, ancient blues, and protest folk, John Mellencamp returns to the beloved rock'n'roll sounds with which we were accustomed in the Eighties.

"Freedom's Road" is his best album since "Human Wheels," a sort of "Scarecrow" of the new millennium, sharing the choice of a dry, essential, and clean sound anchored to the classic and electric sounds of rock. It's a work influenced by the old vinyl records of the Sixties, featuring the crystalline guitars of the excellent Mike Wanchic and Andy York, always taking center stage and committed to producing vintage sounds and rolling stones riffs. Behind them, a rhythm section that's never invasive but still precise and dynamic, with the discreet fiddle of Miriam Sturm. The overly arranged urban rhythms of "Mr. Happy Go Lucky" and the soul-rock indecision of "Cuttin' Heads" give way to heartfelt music in which John Mellencamp finds inspiration, tradition, and pride. Even the cover with its old yellowed photos and newspaper clippings has a direct visual impact that cannot help but make one think of the historic cover of the Rolling Stones' "Exile On Main Street" and the philosophical musical and life philosophy hidden between its grooves. In the hands of the former Cougar, rock'n'roll becomes a weapon of rebellion against absurd obligations, with which to defend the freedom of choice.

The album opens with "Someday", a hopeful, choral song, with guitars and vocals in the foreground. Splendid are "The Americans", "Our Country", "Forgiveness", and the title track, proud and substantial songs in which the artist does not hide his political thoughts and lets the music lead his democratic ideas, not very compliant with the current American administration. America, which Mellencamp harshly depicts in the folk-like "Rural Route" and the visionary "Ghost Towns Along The Highway", two tracks that hide real and tragic stories set in small-town America. In "Jim Crow", we find the civil rights champion Joan Baez duetting with him, while the dark "My Aeroplane" and the concluding "Heaven Is A Lonely Place" revive classic sounds and irresistible refrains with the guitars absolutely taking the spotlight until the end.

"Freedom's Road" is an album with a strong social impact in which John Mellencamp never forgets to keep the music front and center. Music tied to its roots, capable of touching the heart, and finally bringing a true and honest musician back to the forefront. Rare qualities these days.