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Rating: Two years after the critical and public success of "Scarecrow," John Cougar Mellencamp returns with a new chapter in his musical journey. "The Lonesome Jubilee" was released in 1987 and was produced, like "Uh-Huh" and "Scarecrow," with the help of Don Gehman. The sales success of the previous works has in no way undermined or polluted the spirit of Little Bastard, an artist who is naturally reserved and sharp towards the music business and mass-market promotion.
The peculiarity of "The Lonesome Jubilee" is the sound dictated by the violin-accordion combination. Cougar, more creative than ever, enriches the album's splendid electroacoustic ballads with distant musical echoes borrowed from Irish and Celtic traditions. Often even a pinch of bluegrass makes its way into the grooves of the work. John Mellencamp renews and refreshes roots music; in his work, there is no room for banal pop songs devoid of meaning. The guitars (Mike Wanchic and Larry Crane) remain protagonists but sound more refined and less raw than in the past. The rhythm section (Toby Myers on bass and the great Kenny Aronoff on drums) spectacularly and professionally guides the album's ten gems. Cougar enriches his sound with Lisa Germano's gentle fiddle and traditional instruments: the banjo, mandolin, dobro, accordion, and penny whistle. Furthermore, the already numerous combo is completed by the presence of two backup singers, Pat Peterson and Crystal Taliefero (later with Springsteen and Billy Joel).
The album, a masterpiece for American critics, lines up a series of winning and overwhelming singles with "Paper In Fire", "Check It Out", "Cherry Bomb", "The Real Life", "Rooty Toot Toot", which are permanent fixtures in concert setlists. The author does not forget the hard times honest people are living through, and in the underlying themes, there are barbs at politicians and social denunciations against a leadership class blind to the problems of ordinary people. Thus, like a great folk singer, in "Down And Out In Paradise" and "Empty Hands", he lets individuals who live an apparent normality with few satisfactions speak. He, as demonstrated in "We Are The People", always sides with the weakest ("If you're homeless, may our thought be with you...").
The album is followed by a highly successful tour (documented by the bootleg "Overdrive") and another round of critical and public success in Europe as well. During these concerts, the rapport between the musicians will grow day by day, transforming Cougar's group into one of the best live bands of the period. Highlighted in the concert setlists is a splendid reinterpretation of Bob Dylan's classic "Like A Rolling Stone," sung in three voices by John with the two backup singers. An important tribute made by one great to another of the greatest.
In the years to follow, "The Lonesome Jubilee" will be a source of inspiration for a generation of new musicians (including Michael McDermott, Will T. Massey, Whiskeytown, and the Jayhawks among others). Its folk roots will reach the new millennium when Bruce Springsteen will dust it off, citing it in some inspired moments of the masterpiece "The Rising."
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Check It Out (04:21)
A million young poets screaming out their words
To a world full of people just living to be heard
Future generations, riding on the highways that we built
I hope they have a better understanding
(Check it out) Going to work on Monday
(Check it out) Got yourself a family
(Check it out) All utility bills have been paid
You can't tell your best buddy that you love him
(So check it out) Where does our time go
(Check it out) Got a brand new house in escrow
(Check it out) Sleeping with your back to your loved one
This is all that we've learned about happiness
(Check it out) Forgot to say hello to my neighbors
(Check it out) Sometimes I question my own behavior
(Check it out) Talking about the girls that we've seen on the sly
Just to tell our souls we're still the young lions
(So check it out) Getting too drunk on Saturdays
(Check it out) Playing football with the kids on Sundays
(Check it out) Soaring with the eagles all week long
And this is all that we've learned about living
This is all that we've learned about living
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out
A million young poets screaming out their words
Maybe someday those words will be heard
By future generations riding on the highways that we built
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
(Check it out) Hope they'll have a better understanding
(Check it out) Maybe they'll have a better understanding
(Check it out) Maybe they'll have a better understanding
(Check it out) Hope they have a better understanding
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out
05 Cherry Bomb (04:49)
Well, I lived on the outskirts of town
In an eight room farmhouse, baby
When my brothers and friends were around
There was always somethin' doin'
Had me a couple of real nice girlfriends
Stopped by to see me every once in a while
When I think back about those days
All I can do is sit and smile
That's when a sport was a sport
And groovin' was groovin'
And dancin' meant everything
We were young and we were improvin'
Laughin', laughin' with our friends
Holdin' hands meant somethin', baby
Outside the club "Cherry Bomb"
Our hearts were really thumpin'
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
The winter days they last forever
But the weekends went by so quick
Went ridin' around this little country town
We were goin' nuts, girl, out in the sticks
One night, me with my big mouth
A couple guys had to put me in my place
When I see those guys these days
We just laugh and say do you remember when
That's when a sport was a sport
And groovin' was groovin'
And dancin' meant everything
We were young and we were improvin'
Laughin', laughin' with our friends
Holdin' hands meant somethin', baby
Outside the club "Cherry Bomb"
Our hearts were really thumpin'
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
Seventeen has turned thirty-five
I'm surprised that we're still livin'
If we've done any wrong
I hope that we're forgiven
Got a few kids of my own
And some days I still don't know what to do
I hope that they're not laughing too loud
When they hear me talkin' like this to you
That's when a sport was a sport
And groovin' was groovin'
And dancin' meant everything
We were young and we were improvin'
Laughin', laughin' with our friends
Holdin' hands meant somethin', baby
Outside the club "Cherry Bomb"
Our hearts were really thumpin'
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
09 Hotdogs and Hamburgers (04:05)
Drivin' down on a dry summer's day
Old Route 66 and I was just a kid
Met a pretty little Indian girl
Along the way
Got her into my car
And tried to give her a kiss
I'll give you beads and wampum
Whatever it takes girl, to make you trade
She jumped into the back seat
And she kind of flipped her lid
She said you're tryin' to get something for nothing
Like the pilgrims in the olden days
We rode for a while till the sun went away
And I realized it was sort of an honor
Bein' around this girl
I felt embarrassed
Of what I tried to do earlier that day
She was the saddest girl I ever knew
She told me stories about the Indian nations
And how the white man stole their lives away
And although she kinda liked me
She could never trust me
And when the sun comes up
We'd go our different ways
Now everybody has got the choice
Between hotdogs and hamburgers
Every one of us has got to choose
Between right and wrong
And givin' up or holdin' on
So I dropped her off at some railroad crossing in Texas
An old Indian man was waiting there
He smiled and thanked me
But he saw right through me
I could tell he didn't like me
For my kind he did not care
Because to him I was the white man
The one who sold him something that he already owned
And it was like he'd been riding in the car right there with us
And I felt ashamed of my actions
And the way the west was really won
So I drove down the highway
Till I came to Los Angeles
The town of the angels
The best this country can do
I got down on my knees
And I asked for forgiveness
I said, Lord, forgive us for we know not what we do
Now everybody has got the choice
Between hotdogs and hamburgers
Every one of us has got to choose
Between right and wrong
And givin' up or holdin' on
10 Rooty Toot Toot (03:29)
Written by: John Mellencamp
Got my hands on a little bit of dough
So I went to the grocery store
And got some steaks to go
went by and picked up my gal, Teddi Jo
We had ourselves a picnic
Beside a dirt road
Chorus
Rooty toot toot
Rooty toot toot
We had it made in the shade
Like a ball through the hoop
Spinnin' and tumblin' inside this hoola hoop
Livin' and learnin'
Rooty toot toot
We laid out a blanket
And started a fire
Had the radio playin'
From inside the car
I took off my shirt and kicked off my shoes
She read the paper
And told me the news
She said, there's a lot of people out there
Who are at the end of their rope
Sometimes baby
You've got to lay low
Chorus
We stayed there all day
We both got us some real good suntans
I thought that was ok
Sometimes life can be so grand
We were gettin' ready
To shake out of that place
When the Illinois state trooper
Got in my face
He said, You're on private property
But once he cooled down he was ok
Sometimes you're golden, man
That's all I got to say
Chorus
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