John Mellencamp's No Better Than This

John Mellencamp's new album No Better Than This was recorded in mono at Sun Studios in Memphis, a Baptist church in Savannah, Georgia, and at a hotel in San Antonio where Robert Johnson recorded. The result isn't some self-consciously retro affair but rather a stripped down set of country/blues/folk originals as vital as anything Mellencamp has ever done. The recording (on 1950's equipment) and production by T-Bone Burnett give No Better Than This an out-of-time feeling that recalls Dylan's recent run of highly praised albums; Mellencamp's emotional directness is in a vein Dylan rarely approaches these days. I can't remember Mellencamp being as sly and funny as he is on the title song ("Take me to a party/where I'm the only man") and "Love At First Sight" is a sweet and light a love song as he has ever recorded. The almost murder ballad "Easter Eve" is the only misfire; it's too long and tries too hard to be serious. Mellencamp has never been this free with his vocals; if I hadn't known it was him I might not have recognized "A Graceful Fall." An artist with nothing to prove can either fade into irrelevance or transcend our expectations. If No Better Than This is any indication Mellencamp has a revelatory second act ahead of him.