Okay, I'll admit it. I like John Cougar-WhateverHeGoesBy. Not the entire catalog, mind you, but a lot of it. I never intended to, but you know how it works. One song catches your ear, you begrudgingly admit that it's pretty good, then the same thing happens again and suddenly you're a fan.
Now, I was just barely a fan until I saw him perform at Live Aid a few years back. It was a great set and I liked every song he did, the live setting making some songs I previously thought were only okay live and breathe and turn into bona-fide classics. So that's where I'm coming from listening to this record.
Incredibly lame artwork aside, this is a pretty good offering. The first three songs are radio hits ( "Crumblin' Down", "Pink Houses", and "Authority Song"),and arguably some of his best. The rest is not without its charm. I am particularly fond of the attitude filled "Play Guitar" and "Lovin' Mother Fo Ya" makes me happy, slight hokeyness aside. And to back track just a tad to "Authority Song",has a more honest song about the necessity and futility of a young man's rebellion been written?
Mellencamp claims to have been a major influence on the alt-country movement but never got his due. Most alt-country acts would dispute that and accuse him of being part of the problem with pop/rock country music in the first place. While those artists may have a point, Mellencamp opened up the ears of the MTV generation to a slightly more rural rock/pop sound. That made it possible for bands like The Georgia Satellites, Timbuck 3 and the early REM stuff to find a way onto our radios which was cool. But it also paved the way for what Country music is now, so that's kind of a wash.
Still, combine this record with "Scarecrow" and add in some of his more recent work and you've got more than enough reason to not begrudge the man's success but be happy for it. "Uh-huh" is not a perfect record by any means. But it is a fun listen, and a key piece of a solid career. The linear notes claim the record was written, arranged and recorded in sixteen days. Perhaps a little more time would have strengthened some songs, but there is an energy and immediacy here that is undeniable.
4 out of 5 Daves.
