Search - John Mellencamp :: Uh-Huh (Rpkg)

The declaration of a great American recording artist.

M J Heilbron Jr. | Long Beach, CA United States | 06/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mellencamp achieves greatness for the first time here with "Uh-Huh", with this recent remastering rendering these songs in exquisite detail.



And what a set of songs!



Opening with a swaggering "Crumblin' Down", Mellencamp grabs us by the collar and declares himself a rock star with a purpose.



"Pink Houses" has become a heartland anthem, that even people in NY and LA love. (The acoustic bonus version is pretty freakin' cool...)



The snarling "Authority Song", a great flat-out top-down-convertible rocker if there ever was one, gives Mellencamp three classics in a row.



How many albums open with three spectacular songs in a row? Very few. Very very few.



But he doesn't stop there. "Warmer Place to Sleep" channels early Rolling Stones, with a guitar lick Keith Richards would be proud of.



"Jackie O" is a little wan, but "Play Guitar" is a rousing fist-pumping rocker.



The remainder of the album (there not a lot left) doesn't leave as much of an impression as the first half-dozen songs.



The guitars across the album are huge; lacerating licks mixed with monstrous chords. The drums thunder and crack like an out-of-control electrical storm.



What you have here is the declaration of a major American artist, beginning a run of amazing records few recording artists have matched.



Put "Uh-Huh", "Scarecrow" and "The Lonesome Jubilee" up against anybody else.



...Springsteen, U2, Dylan, The Who...



Those three records are great, intensely American rock albums...and belong in every rock fan's collection."

Becoming Mellencamp

Thomas Magnum | NJ, USA | 06/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After exploding into the big time with American Fool after several years of obscurity, no one would have blamed John Cougar for making an American Fool, part two. Instead, he moved away from that leather rocker image he created and became more himself. He added his real surname and started writing songs that were socially aware. "Pink Houses" is one of the most earnestness songs of the 80's. With it's look at life in America, Mr. Mellencamp shows that he has a finger on the pulse of the people. "Warmer Place To Sleep" is a strong rocker that addresses his "selling out" and coming back to a style of music that is more his own. "Crumblin' Down" is one of his all-time best songs, with it's pulsating bassline and wall of sound chorus, the song explodes out of your speakers. "Authority Song" has the feeling of a loose remake of Bobby Fuller's "I Fought Law". "Jackie O" has a jazzy vibe to it and "Play Guitar" is a ballsy rocker. "Serious Business" is another hard rocker that sums up his view on the music business, it's all sex and violence and rock and roll. Uh-huh was a quantum leap forward and showed that Mr. Mellencamp had true ability and wasn't just some manufactured hard rocker. The acoustic version of "Pink Houses" was originally released as b-side to "Authority Song" and it strips the original down to the bone and gets to the real heart of the song.

"

The bonus track is worth the ten bucks!

John Langenkamp | West Lafayette, Indiana | 05/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought the remastered album for the bonus track alone, and it was well worth it. The remastered sound adds a good touch to a classic record."