I am shocked this album isn't getting higher reviews as of now.
3.5 stars from allmusic.com, thats lower than Cuttin Heads and No Better Than This.
3.5 stars from Rolling Stone... tired of Rolling Stone giving every album he makes a 3.5 (the last 3 have all been 3.5). Rolling Stone doesn't even offer anything more than a generic review on the album. This is the same Rolling Stone that just gave U2's (very weak) new album a 5.
6/10 from TeamRock.com.
http://www.teamrock.com/reviews/2014-09-23/john-mellencamp-plain-spokenThis one really irritates me because of what is said in the review:
"He addresses social issues, as is his wont. He’s been paying attention to the news. Less universal perhaps is a dig at digital downloading as theft, but this self-regarding sidestep is redeemed by the touching Blue Charlotte, written from the perspective of a man watching his wife dying. Sometimes There’s God cleverly straddles the divide between religious faith and scepticism (it’s all in the “sometimes”), while Tears In Vain – relatively candidly – deals with his own acrimonious 2011 divorce after eighteen years of marriage. If all these lyrical themes are highlighted, it’s because the music is very stripped-down and slightly ho-hum, operating primarily in the area of acoustic folk-blues, with “earthy” guitars, fiddles and harmonica. Mumford alert!"
Really?!?! John copying Mumford and Sons, John invented that sound!!!!
There's a few other reviews I have found that say the lyrics are weak.
I just found it all a bit strange, this album is definitely a 5 out of 5 in my books and one of Mellencamp's best.
Right now Sometimes There's God, The Isolation of Mister, and The Company of Cowards are my favorites. I am so glad John really let his band and his melodies shine on this album, which was missing on the previous few albums. NBTT was strong regardless but Plain Spoken is on another level.