John MellencampPlain Spoken

Older, rougher and unafraid, Mellencamp rasps these spare heartland songs like a man telling truths over a dwindling fire. Acoustic guitar, fiddle and weathered croak carry tales of love, sin and weariness with no varnish at all. The polish of his radio days is long gone, replaced by hard-bitten grit. Lean, lived-in Americana.