Rock Minutes

Let me start out by saying I am not trying to say that John Mellencamp is better than Bruce Springsteen I am not looking to sway your opinion on either one of these artists. I am sure there are some of you that will read this story and think that you could care less about either one of these guys. I am OK with that. If you think reading about these two aging rock stars is not worth your time you can always head back to Facebook and read about how someone’s kid scored 6 touchdowns in little league football or how the weather sucks or some other riveting status update.

I will preface what I am about to write with the fact I am a huge John Mellencamp fan. He was the first concert I ever attended in 1983 and I have lived in Indiana virtually my entire life where liking if not loving Mellencamp is almost as synonymous with the state as not being able to buy beer on Sundays. With that being said I am also a huge Bruce Springsteen fan and he was the second concert I ever attended in 1984 on the “Born In The USA” tour. I love both artists and have enjoyed nearly everything they have released but I have a problem with the way these two artists seemed to be viewed by fans, the music industry, and the critics.

Over the years Bruce Springsteen has been viewed as Rock royalty but for some reason Mellencamp is not. He always seems to be just slightly below Springsteen on the musical food chain and I do not agree with it one bit. While Springsteen seems to be the voice of the working man nationwide Mellencamp seems to be the voice of only the farmer in the Midwest. If you listen to both of their lyrics I do not think Mellencamp’s lyrics are any more limited to the Midwest than Springsteen’s lyrics are limited to the state of New Jersey. Yes I know Mellencamp plays Farm Aid every year but aren’t there farmers pretty much everywhere in this country including New Jersey? I have even read over the years where Mellencamp has been called a poor man’s Bruce Springsteen which is ridiculous. There are several other instances in which I think Mellencamp gets the shaft as well.

When it comes to politics both of these guys are known as very liberal. When Mellencamp records a song like “To Washington” or campaigns for John Edwards he receives death threats from people. When Springsteen campaigns for Barack Obama he is seen as the guy campaigning for the “working man”. Hell Ronald Reagan even mentioned the song “Born in the U.S.A ” in his campaign back in 1984. Reagan obviously never listened to the lyrics in that song.

When it comes to their body of work I firmly believe Mellencamp’s catalog easily stands up to Springsteen’s catalog. I am not trying to take anything away form what Springsteen has done. He has obviously made some outstanding albums. Nebraska, Born To Run, Born In The U.S.A just to name a few. His work cannot be questioned at all. I happen to think Mellencamp has produced music that is every bit as good as Springsteen. Springsteen’s work in the 1970′s cannot be touched by Mellencamp since Mellencamp was really just getting started in the late 1970′s. Springsteen was recording long before Mellencamp but from the 80′s on Mellencamp has releasing music as good as Springsteen if not better. Even though Springsteen released Nebraska, Born in the U.S.A and Tunnel of Love in the 1980′s they do not compare to the American Fool, Uh-Huh, Scarecrow, Lonesome Jubilee, and Big Daddy. Mellencamp was at the top of his game lyrically and his band was every bit as the mighty E-Street Band. After playing a concert at Madison Square Garden in the mid 80′s a New York music writer called Mellencamp’s band the “greatest road band in the world”. That is quite a compliment in Springsteen’s back yard.

In recent years both of these guys have stepped outside the box and recorded albums that are much different than what their fans are used to hearing. In 2003 Mellencamp released “Trouble No More” which was an album full of cover songs. He covered artist such as Son House, Robert Johnson, Lucinda Williams, and Hoagie Carmichael. This album was was a far cry from the days of “Hurt So Good”. Mellencamp’s band was playing vintage instruments and really trying to recreate the feeling these songs created when they were originally recorded. It was a creative highpoint for Mellencamp and his band, yet it went almost unnoticed by most critics and was not met with the reviews it deserved. Three years later Springsteen releases “We Shall Overcome-The Seeger Sessions”. It was a tribute to folk singer Pete Seeger. Springsteen used banjos, horns, fiddles, and washboards on the album. It was a very good album but of course critics cannot say enough good about the album. It was a considered a real triumph by the critics. The funny thing is that Mellencamp started releasing albums with washboard, fiddle, and banjo back in 1987. As a matter of fact I believe when historians look back on the creation of the “Americana” movement many of them will point to the influential albums Mellencamp released in the late 1980′s as a catalyst for that movement. Once again Springsteen looks like a genius and Mellencamp is overlooked.

As I stated at the beginning of this story I do want you to walk away from this article thinking I do not like Bruce Springsteen. That is not the case. The point I am trying to make is that if you look at the careers of both of these men I think you will see that the work of Mellencamp is every bit as good as the work Springsteen has produced. I want you to look at Mellencamp as more than the guy that sang “Pink Houses” and he definitely should not be looked at as a step down from the Springsteen. He is every bit as creative and important as Springsteen has been. Springsteen is looked at as an American hero in the music world and I believe Mellencamp deserves the same consideration. Hopefully in time that will happen.

In the meantime checkout Mellencamp doing a Springsteen song.

Help support Rock Minutes - Add to social bookmarking site: