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No Better Than This is the 21st album by American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp, produced by T Bone Burnett, that was released on August 17, 2010.
The album was recorded at several historic locations throughout the United States. The title track was the album's first single and was sent to multiple radio formats on June 28, 2010.
Mellencamp said that the album is "as American folk as I've ever been". He also told Rolling Stone in July 2009 that he's not concerned whether or not there's a large audience for such a raw, simple record.
"I am done being a rock star", Mellencamp said. "I have no interest in that, in having the biggest concerts. I have only one interest: to have fun while we're doing this and maybe have something that somebody might discover".
The first thing that grabs the listener about John Mellencamp's No Better Than This is its sound: mono -- recorded live to an Ampex 601 tape recorder circa 1955, with a single microphone without mixing or overdubs. It's warmth and presence are immediate and engulfing. Mellencamp and T-Bone Burnett cut the album while on tour supporting, Life Death Love and Freedom, Mellencamp's celebrated precursor.
This album was cut in some very famous locales: First African Baptist Church in Savannah, GA (the first African American Christian church in North America), Sun Studios in Memphis, and in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, TX, where Robert Johnson recorded "Stones in My Passway" in 1936.
While Mellencamp's last album was celebrated for its wonderfully crafted songs, it nonetheless reflected Burnett's dictatorially heavy-handed production style. This set feels far more like the artist. The songs are rooted in country, rockabilly, folk, country-gospel, and an even rawer Midwestern rock--Mellencamp's brand. The band is equal parts his standard road group and Burnett's studio crew, but the latter plays more of a supporting role than a guiding one; this set, with its brilliantly pruned songwriting, is Mellencamp at his focused best.
The album's opener, "Save Some Time to Dream," is from the older, wiser songwriter who gave us "We Are the People," "Jackie Brown," "Human Wheels," and is a skeletal part two of "Your Life Is Now." These historic locales reflect the tunes somewhat -- especially the driving title track, "Coming Down the Road," and "Each Day of Sorrow" that come from, respectively, the rockabilly of Carl Perkins, early Elvis, and Johnny Burnette.
"No One Cares About Me" is a pure Mellencamp lyric, but its sound is reminiscent of the Sun-era Johnny Cash. The spooky banjo of the minor-key blues that makes up "The West End" touches on the folk-blues Bob Dylan utilized on "The Ballad of Hollis Brown." "A Graceful Fall" is electric hillbilly blues. "Love at First Sight," with Mellencamp accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, is among the finest love songs he's ever written. "Don't Forget About Me" is a country ballad that acts as its mirror image and resonates deeply.
He may be looking back at some earlier styles of music that influenced him, but these songs feel invigorated, unfettered; melodically and lyrically astute. He possesses an independent streak in abundance; he is making music only for himself now; as a result, he's in a league of his own. No Better Than This proves that good songs need very little to communicate instructive narratives and complex emotions, and that primitive recording methods are still sometimes the best ones.
Rolling Stone placed No Better Than This No. 12 on its list of the best albums of 2010.
Tracklist
1. "Save Some Time to Dream" – 4:30
2. "The West End" – 3:58
3. "Right Behind Me" – 4:00
4. "A Graceful Fall" – 3:20
5. "No Better Than This" – 3:12
6. "Thinking About You" – 3:28
7. "Coming Down the Road" – 4:45
8. "No One Cares About Me" – 6:11
9. "Love at First Sight" – 4:37
10. "Don't Forget About Me" – 3:14
11. "Each Day of Sorrow" – 2:36
12. "Easter Eve" – 6:30
13. "Clumsy Ol' World" – 3:29
All songs written by John Mellencamp.
Personnel
Released: August 17, 2010
Recorded: July and August 2009 Studio
First African Baptist Church, Savannah, GA
Sun Studio, Memphis, TN
Gunter Hote, San Antonio, TX
Genre: Americana, Country blues, Heartland rock
Length: 53:50
Label - Rounder Records
The album was recorded at several historic locations throughout the United States. The title track was the album's first single and was sent to multiple radio formats on June 28, 2010.
Mellencamp said that the album is "as American folk as I've ever been". He also told Rolling Stone in July 2009 that he's not concerned whether or not there's a large audience for such a raw, simple record.
"I am done being a rock star", Mellencamp said. "I have no interest in that, in having the biggest concerts. I have only one interest: to have fun while we're doing this and maybe have something that somebody might discover".
The first thing that grabs the listener about John Mellencamp's No Better Than This is its sound: mono -- recorded live to an Ampex 601 tape recorder circa 1955, with a single microphone without mixing or overdubs. It's warmth and presence are immediate and engulfing. Mellencamp and T-Bone Burnett cut the album while on tour supporting, Life Death Love and Freedom, Mellencamp's celebrated precursor.
This album was cut in some very famous locales: First African Baptist Church in Savannah, GA (the first African American Christian church in North America), Sun Studios in Memphis, and in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, TX, where Robert Johnson recorded "Stones in My Passway" in 1936.
While Mellencamp's last album was celebrated for its wonderfully crafted songs, it nonetheless reflected Burnett's dictatorially heavy-handed production style. This set feels far more like the artist. The songs are rooted in country, rockabilly, folk, country-gospel, and an even rawer Midwestern rock--Mellencamp's brand. The band is equal parts his standard road group and Burnett's studio crew, but the latter plays more of a supporting role than a guiding one; this set, with its brilliantly pruned songwriting, is Mellencamp at his focused best.
The album's opener, "Save Some Time to Dream," is from the older, wiser songwriter who gave us "We Are the People," "Jackie Brown," "Human Wheels," and is a skeletal part two of "Your Life Is Now." These historic locales reflect the tunes somewhat -- especially the driving title track, "Coming Down the Road," and "Each Day of Sorrow" that come from, respectively, the rockabilly of Carl Perkins, early Elvis, and Johnny Burnette.
"No One Cares About Me" is a pure Mellencamp lyric, but its sound is reminiscent of the Sun-era Johnny Cash. The spooky banjo of the minor-key blues that makes up "The West End" touches on the folk-blues Bob Dylan utilized on "The Ballad of Hollis Brown." "A Graceful Fall" is electric hillbilly blues. "Love at First Sight," with Mellencamp accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, is among the finest love songs he's ever written. "Don't Forget About Me" is a country ballad that acts as its mirror image and resonates deeply.
He may be looking back at some earlier styles of music that influenced him, but these songs feel invigorated, unfettered; melodically and lyrically astute. He possesses an independent streak in abundance; he is making music only for himself now; as a result, he's in a league of his own. No Better Than This proves that good songs need very little to communicate instructive narratives and complex emotions, and that primitive recording methods are still sometimes the best ones.
Rolling Stone placed No Better Than This No. 12 on its list of the best albums of 2010.
Tracklist
1. "Save Some Time to Dream" – 4:30
2. "The West End" – 3:58
3. "Right Behind Me" – 4:00
4. "A Graceful Fall" – 3:20
5. "No Better Than This" – 3:12
6. "Thinking About You" – 3:28
7. "Coming Down the Road" – 4:45
8. "No One Cares About Me" – 6:11
9. "Love at First Sight" – 4:37
10. "Don't Forget About Me" – 3:14
11. "Each Day of Sorrow" – 2:36
12. "Easter Eve" – 6:30
13. "Clumsy Ol' World" – 3:29
All songs written by John Mellencamp.
Personnel
- John Mellencamp – vocals and acoustic guitar
- Andy York – acoustic and electric guitars
- Marc Ribot – electric guitar and banjo
- T Bone Burnett – acoustic and electric guitars
- David Roe – bass
- Jay Bellerose – drums and percussion
- Mastered By – Gavin Lurssen
- Producer, Guitar – T Bone Burnett
- Violin – Miriam Strurm
Released: August 17, 2010
Recorded: July and August 2009 Studio
First African Baptist Church, Savannah, GA
Sun Studio, Memphis, TN
Gunter Hote, San Antonio, TX
Genre: Americana, Country blues, Heartland rock
Length: 53:50
Label - Rounder Records
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