All-American rock legend cracks the Code

At a recent concert in the US, rock and roll singer-songwriter John Mellencamp marvelled about releasing his 23rd album, Life Death Love and Freedom.

"When I was a kid," he told the crowd, "I just wanted to make a record. That was it. I really had no vision I would be 56 years old and make 23 albums." But now the Indiana rocker, once called Johnny Cougar, finds himself 32 years into a still-potent career.

For his new album, which was released last month, Mellencamp collaborated with producer T Bone Burnett not only on the record's austere and textured sound but also on Code, a high-definition sound process developed by Burnett that's featured on the DVD version of the album. Mellencamp is still basking in the glow of his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in March by old friend Billy Joel, but he's hardly resting on his laurels, he tells Emirates Business.


Life Death Love and Freedom is not 'a sing-along album'. It handles some big and serious issues and questions. What was the creative charge or mission you felt as you made it?
All of these songs were written in a 15-day period. I had no intention of writing songs for a record, they just sort of happened. One would be making an error to personalise these songs too much. [They] were written in the American Songbook tradition.

What led you to work with T Bone Burnett for this album, and what did he bring to the party that led to what we hear on Life Death Love and Freedom, thematically and sonically?

I've known T Bone for about 10 years. He knows more about music from 1960 backwards than anyone I have ever met. Regardless of how the record turned out, he and I became very good friends. Our friendship became more important than the record. It's very rare that you make a musical friend.

How would you describe the path you've taken during these 23 albums? I would contend there's been a thread through them, that the landscape on Life Death Love and Freedom is the same world Jack & Diane inhabited, only 26 years later. How do you see it?

All of these records are same to me. All the songwriting come from the same place. But it's how we choose to use the band that changes. I have been fortunate enough to go from being a young man to an old man.

How does Code allow you to present your music in a way that's more satisfying as an artist?

Digital technology was sold by the record companies as a better sound. But we guys who make the records always knew different. Code gives a wider band range to allow the sound to be captured in a more analog way, if that makes any sense to you at all.

Musicians, including yourself, played an active role in the 2004 presidential election. What impact do you think you had, and what do you see as your role, if any, in this year's campaign?

Slowly but surely, this country changes by the men that we elect and admire. If my music can help change the culture in any small way, then let the change be near.

 What made Hear Music (your new record label) a good fit for this album? Are you on a record-to-record deal with it?

Hear Music is strictly a logo now. This record is being worked by Concord Records. I was with PolyGram for 25 years, so I have no desire or need for any long-term record contracts.


PROFILE: John Mellencamp, Singer

John Mellencamp, 56, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer, songwriter and actor. With a career spanning more than three decades, Mellencamp has amassed more than 29 Top 40 singles from over 23 albums. Actively political, he remains one of the few recording artists who has not sold songs for television commercials or accepted corporate sponsorships – a decision that has cost him millions. The musician was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year by old friend Billy Joel.