Thursday, June 05, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Listening Station

John Mellencamp

Trouble No More

John Mellencamp is underrated. It has to do with the fact that he launched his career as "Johnny Cougar," a music industry creation heavy on image and light on creative license. But Mellencamp managed to slip the industry noose many years ago, gradually shedding the pop idol persona in favor of the honest, politically charged roots rock he has consistently delivered over the past 20 years. Still, most critics would place Mellencamp a notch or three below revered stylistic brethren such as Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young. Maybe. But even a notch or two below those guys is pretty damn good.

Mellencamp's new album, Trouble No More, is a ton of fun. Essentially it's an album of covers but it's unlikely most listeners will be familiar with any of the 12 songs. Mellencamp basically gives us a lo-fi tour of the rootsiest aspects of the 20th century musical landscape, from Delta blues to folk to gospel to his own brand of heartland rock. It's clear these are the songs from which he has drawn inspiration for his best original work.

The blues are represented by Delta legend Robert Johnson's "Stones in My Passway," Son House's "Death Letter" and Willie Dixon's "Down in the Bottom." In each case, Mellencamp's gravelly voice is well-suited to the task, and his band convincingly re-creates the tinny, soulful acoustics of the Delta pickers.

On the folk front, Mellencamp tackles Woody Guthrie's "Johnny Hart," Lucinda Williams' "Lafayette" and the traditional ode "John the Revelator." The Lucinda Williams number is particularly entrancing, revealing not only Williams' songwriting talents but Mellencamp's ability to make a song his own.

The album's first single, "Teardrops Will Fall," is a remake of the very minor 1958 hit by Dickie Doo and the Don'ts, and it fits nicely into Mellencamp's oeuvre. It's likely to become a radio fave. Perhaps the most intriguing track is "Baltimore Oriole," a noirish Hoagy Carmichael number.

Trouble No More closes out with "To Washington," which Mellencamp released several months ago as a free download. He crafts new words to fit into a traditional composition popularized by Guthrie and the Carter Family. The anti-war theme is thankfully more reflective than strident--it goes down easily.

Although this is an album of covers, it is not a mere snack between Mellencamp's "serious" work. This is his work--and he's doing it well.--Geoff Schumacher

Powerman 5000

Transform

Transform indeed. Powerman 5000 has slipped into the phone booth as a passably novel sci-fi schtick-laden band and emerged as, well, anything but a superhero. No cape or chest-logo here, just tattered denim, pins and patches, as Powerman 5000 stumbles from the booth as--huh?--a back-to-basics mallterna-rock outfit? Jaded Reviewerman 7000 rolls his eyes: Whatever.

That grumble comes after a few full spins of Transform, which reveal a strong start, a sputtering middle and a limping endgame that finally sees PM5K rotely cranking ho-hummers through the radio sausagemaker. Indeed, the closing suite of tunes is utterly overripe with a kind of thwarted, half-ass invention featuring tricks and gimmicks about 10 years past their freshness date. Check out the Moog-inflected voxwork (yawn) on "Hey, That's Right!" or the plodding marcher (streeetch) "I Knew It," cheaply dressed up with neon frills. The closer (snore), "The Shape of Things to Come," is forgettable filler that will no doubt fit nicely on the radio between car stereo ads. Perhaps the most telling detail is the CD's inside spread, which features those "handwritten" and "extreme typewriter" fonts for that oh-so-DIY look. Yeah, DIY'd on the New York-based design agency's Apple G4.

Not that PM5K's transformation is a complete abortion. Opening tracks "Theme to a Fake Revolution" and "Free" manage to rock some 'nads. "Theme" sees leadman Spider One shouting over a spiral guitar breakdown that's about as catchy as it gets; "Free" aims for competent open-ended power-rock and pulls it off. In, say, 1993, Transform woulda given grunge mopery a kick in its flannel Underoos. But 2003? It doesn't pass Justice League muster.--Andrew Kiraly

Various artists

Punk-O-Rama 8

Almost without exception, label samplers are plagued by one of two problems. Either a) they rely on a single band to push the rest of their crappy product on the unsuspecting masses or b) they piggyback off washed-up bands to boost their genre credibility. In recent years, Epitaph Records' Punk-O-Rama series has been guilty of both.

Amazingly, though, the eighth installment of this industry institution does not suffer from either of these shortcomings--at least, not in any serious way. Actually, if there's anything flawed about this two-disc behemoth, it's the name; because no matter what its PR people would like to claim, Epitaph isn't really a punk label anymore. No, during the past few years, Epitaph's become a bona fide rock 'n' roll powerhouse, serving up emo (Hot Water Music), rockabilly (Tiger Army), metalcore (Death By Stereo), blues-rock (The Black Keys), indie (Ikara Colt), hardcore (F-Minus) and Swedish garage (Randy and Division of Laura Lee). All of which makes Punk-O-Rama 8 feel like a genuine sampler--a 99-minute joyride through the boulevards and back alleys of Rock City. Of course, you might want to keep the remote handy to skip over the potholes gouged by Matchbook Romance and Guttermouth.

Or you could just think about it this way: On Apple's new iTunes Music Store, downloading the 32 songs on Punk-O-Rama 8 would cost $31.68. As it is, Punk-O-Rama 8 will only run you about $7 (and that's brand spanking new). That alone ought to be enough to wipe the slate clean of memories of compilations past.--Newt Briggs