John Mellencamp Community

I do not read all of the newsletters, so I may be asking an already answered question; is there a new album on the horizon?

The next release should be the music/album for Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. It's not a John album per see since it's not him playing/singing the songs, but he wrote them all. The release date is very much up in the air as it depends on any changes made to the show during the preview/run in Atlanta.

John mentioned in a recent USA Today interview that he may release a covers record using things recorded over the years, but that is not a sure thing.

He also mentioned that he may record a rock record, but again that seems off in the distance since parts of his band is in the Ghost Brothers band and then they are touring Canada. That would prevent recording an album until much later this year, again in a best case scenario.

Would be nice to have a new "Rock" record, although love the
direction he has gone in, in the past few years.   Hoping he comes back to NYC!   

Totally agree.

Totally agree.
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So do I. but before a full live album of this great tour would fit in. this long tour deserves to be immortalized somehow.
and then a rock´n´roll album in the style of "Rodeo Clown". Andy York on guitar for the stones sound, and John still can shout. he should shout it out again that he "just don´t care".
but it´s nothing we can plan...he´ll do the right thing anyway!

Hmmm, we'll see ;)

If you have one of the many high-quality bootlegs of this tour floating around, you'll see there's no need for an official release.

I wished I had one of those high-quality bootlegs. Lol  ;)

Another great rock 'n' roll album is still in the cards.  I think an official live album is a must.  What band musician hasn't released a full length live album?  The bootlegs often don't have the sound quality of a professional recording and the artist doesn't make any money on a bootleg.  Even if john wasn't interested in the money aspect of releasing a live album, the money earned could go to Farm Aid or another worthwhile charity.

It's just a thought.




Mike           

It's 2012, even if John released a live album, it wouldn't sell more than a few thousand copies. His days of big record sales are over, as they are for all veteran artists. The bootlegs have great quality, even if they aren't quite as good as a professional release, there are still quite enjoyable. Many bootlegs from this tour and past tours have been posted on this very site. They are easy to find. The thought of a live album, IMHO, puts me to sleep, unless it was a complete high-quality soundboard recording of a show from the Scarecrow or Lonesome Jubilee tours.

The thought of a new studio album is what is really exciting, and I've long been an advocate for a deluxe reissue of one of his classic albums. For example, if they were going to reissue Scarecrow in 2015 for the 30-year anniversary of its release, they could include in a deluxe box set:

- The Scarecrow album remastered
- A disc of songs recorded during the Scarecrow sessions that didn't make the album
- A complete show from the Scarecrow Tour
- A DVD on the making of the album, complete with interviews with John and the band

They could do the same thing for the 30-year anniversary of The Lonesome Jubilee in 2017. This is incredibly unlikely because of John's dislike of looking into the past, but it would be a treasure trove for fans.  

He should do that, many of them are. It would be a great treasure. Don't get me wrong I loved my box set, but having an anniversary of each album would be cool, they can add even more like photos and music that never made it into the album/cd or even DVD of concert footage of that year. Possibilities are endless.  :o