John Cougar Mellencamp ''The Lonesome Jubilee'' turns 25.

Love Lonesome Jubilee. Have some fond memories of watching the video on Muchmusic for Check It Out at Christmas time 1987 as I was on holidays. Took a few years to get the cassette and loved it and helped set my love for the Americana sound. One of the first records I picked up last fall when I got my turntable and find the sound great.

 

What I enjoyed about Lonesome Jubilee then and now is how its "newer" sound (fiddles and accordions) just sounded like a natural extension of Uh-Huh and Scarecrow...

 

I got the vinyl bug again a couple of years ago and have since acquired Scarecrow, Jubilee and Big Daddy, his last two albums as well although those are ''purposely'' on the lo-fi side, John's albums really do sound phenomenal on vinyl.

 

I agree that LJ is almost criminally underrated, and his trilogy of Scarecrow, LJ and Big Daddy is as fine a trio of records as any artist has released. I would disagree about Scarecrow vs Nebraska, however. Nebraska, IMO, is leagues above Scarecrow, and I love Scarecrow.

Has Mellemcamp done any reissues? Doesn't seem like something he'd be interested in doing. To him, it would be a combination of looking back, not forward and would be considered as a money grab. Can't see him doing that.

 

I still love Hotdogs & hamburgers, no matter what that little Cougar brat thinks of it.

 

I respect your opinion, but i'm curious as to what makes Nebraska a better album ''is it because the critics gushed all over it'' on one hand you say that Scarecrow, LJ and Big Daddy is as good a trio of albums as anyone's ever released, that would mean it's as good as '' Born To Run, Darkness and Nebraska'' and on the other you say that Nebraska is leagues above Scarecrow, Nebraska is certainly a good record, but John Hiatt and James McMurtry release a Nebraska every other year and nobody notices.

What songs from that album will be remembered as classics on the level of ''Small Town, Rain On The Scarecrow, Lonely Old Night etc...not to mention incredible album tracks like ''Minutes To Memories'' and ''Between A Laugh And A Tear'', i wonder if you'd still feel the same way if Nebraska was a Mellencamp album and Scarecrow was by Springsteen.

It reminds me of of a quote i once read from an Amazon review about John's at the time excellent new album Trouble No More ''it's a good one, but it's no Ghost Of Tom Joad'' i had to laugh at it, because just the previous weekend i had attended a party where a family member was trying to give away his just bought copy and there were no takers

 

Holy cow, a quarter century? Man, I'm getting old.

For my money, Mellencamp is one of the most consistently underrated artists of the last few decades.

 

The Lonesome Jubilee

Great, great album.

 

Wow that's one album I haven't listened to in ages. I agree, it's a great album and it's one that I love to listen to all the way through. I'm not sure I get the comparison to Springsteen to be honest, but I definitely prefer Mellencamp.

 

Great album.

 

I have very similar memories. The Check It Out video sealed the deal for me after Paper In Fire got my attention.

 

On a side note, wasn't there talk of his 80s band reuniting for a tour?

 

I recently saw the "It's About You" movie, filmed during the recording of 'No Better Than This', and he has a line after recording a first take that, in the 80's, he would have 25 (?) takes on a track.

 

http://rockforward.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/larry-crane-on-new-album-mellencamp-band-reunion/

http://www.nuvo.net/MusicBlog/archives/2010/11/10/mellencamp-on-80s-reunion-current-band

 

I'd have to strongly disagree. I seem to recall when this record came out that he was one of the biggest rock stars around, and the hits from this record were on the radio and the video stations CONSTANTLY. It took me until after the actually underrated Big Daddy came out to be able to go back and listen to Lonesome Jubilee again due to the overexposure at the time.

 

+2

 

Mellencamp had two secret weapons in his band at that time, Kenny Aranoff. How badly did Mellencamp goof up to exit him out of his band, and the criminally overlooked Lisa Germano. That is what made this period of his career so unique in terms of sound.

Around this time period I saw Mellencamp in Worcester, MA. He followed up a cover of Under The Boardwalk with a note by note cover of The Stooges "No Fun" Suffice to say there were many puzzled looks on many faces

 

I can see why Big Daddy would be underrated, at the time of release i thought Big Daddy was a very hard record to get into, very low key and mostly acoustic with what sounded like purposely muted vocals by John.

I can still remember driving home from Lechmere ''remember them'' listening to the cassette in the car and thinking what a huge disappointment it was coming after LJ, it's the only Mellencamp album i didn't take to on first listen, it took me a long time to appreciate it.

 

Wow....never thought I'd see a thread to this great album, but had to add my comments to all the previous. I completely agree that this is a great album, one of the very few (as someone already said) that every track is at least good and some are great.

Like Scarecrow, I loved this album. It was unmistakeably by an American artist - I thought "This is what pure American rock-n-roll should sound like", sort of an updated, evolved set of songs whose roots were in 1950's rock, with a very slight element of 80's country thrown in. There was nothing that sounded like it at the time and there really still isn't. While I like Springsteen, Mellencamp is the heartland and that has always stuck a chord.

Like many I have always been shocked at the lack of critical praise for LJ, along with Scarecrow. I would purchase a Deluxe edition pretty much immediately. Great thread!

 

Very nicely put.

 

Great album - this tour happen to be my first concert ever, too. (15 yr. old).
I think the show set the bar very high for all my future shows. Hell of a performer and a great band at that tour.

 

You are wise beyond your years.

 

I loved the album, dragged a friend with me to see the tour, she went right out and bought the lp.
Hard Times for an Honest Man was my favorite John song for many years.
Cherry Bomb, if you think about it, is a pretty cliched lyric, but it works out great. Not too many people could pull off that song, I give him a lot of credit.

And I agree with those who love Big Daddy. If you dump that horrible single Pop Singer, you have an lp that's about equal to Jubilee.

 

I think ''Pop Singer'' is one of the most misunderstood songs ever, maybe it doesn't belong on that particular album, but it's such a cool tune, sorry you feel that way.

 

"The Lonesome Jubilee" has been my favorite Mellencamp since the first time I heard it, and I think it's his best. Love it.