Song-by-Song Breakdown of the Self-Titled '98 Album

Mellencamp's songs convey moral message

By David Lindquist, Star/News Staff Writer
10/6/98

Recording sessions for John Mellencamp took place from early April to
late July, with breaks occurring only on weekends.

John Mellencamp produced the album. Paul Mahern and longtime Mellencamp
guitarist Mike Wanchic are credited as co-producers.

Mellencamp says Mahern was hired in the role of engineer, but cited the
Bloomington resident's diligence, humor and fruitful suggestions as
crucial contributions in the making of the album.

In sequencing the order of songs, Mellencamp became frustrated with the
single-side format of the compact disc. Having recently rediscovered an
appreciation of vinyl, Mellencamp says he approached John Mellencamp as
a two-sided LP -- an exercise that is reflected below.

Side one

Fruit Trader -- Mellencamp says this is his favorite song on the album.
It begins with an argument between biblical brothers Cain and Abel. It
closes with cries of a person lacking purpose, direction and morals. "I
think that's the way we are now," Mellencamp says. "For whatever
reason, we're in the wind. America is in the wind."

Your Life Is Now -- When Mellencamp shipped the first single from John
Mellencamp to rock radio stations, electric guitars replaced a violin
segment that permeates the album version. Mellencamp says he did so at
the urging of Jim DelBalzo, Columbia's senior vice president for rock
promotion. "'I love the song, but those violins are going to scare
(radio programmers) off,'" recalls Mellencamp, who has known DelBalzo
for 24 years. "'To be honest, you've been scaring them off with these
violins since The Lonesome Jubilee (Mellencamp's 1987 album).'"

Positively Crazy -- Mellencamp says he encouraged the members of his
band to write material for this album. Guitarist Andy York penned the
music for this bittersweet love song, while Mellencamp and lyrics
collaborator George Green came up with the words over the course of a
day. "I just loved (York's) chord progression," Mellencamp says.

I'm Not Running Anymore -- This upbeat meditation on faded youth most
likely will be John Mellencamp's second single. Mellencamp's sons Hud
and Speck are the mischievous focus of the second verse: "They are the
hoodlums of my third wife. / Whatever I say they will oppose."
Mellencamp admits to laughing out loud as he composed the verse. "It's
really good when you can write songs that entertain yourself," he says.

It All Comes True -- In this song about sealed fates, Mellencamp
portrays a disadvantaged African-American man from East Chicago and a
restless woman who wants more from life. "I'm a reporter," says
Mellencamp, who wrote the song with Green. "When we wrote "Rain on the
Scarecrow," George and I didn't make that up."

Eden Is Burning -- After 16 years, the fabled characters of "Jack and
Diane" return. "For years, people have suggested to me that I write
about these people again," Mellencamp says. "It never made sense to me.
... But when I looked at (the completed "Eden Is Burning"), I thought,
'I don't feel funny or weird about this.'" Listeners shouldn't,
however, expect happily ever after.

Side two

Where the World Began -- Mellencamp says the first line of this rocker
succinctly captures his feelings about making records for his former
label, Polygram: "I'm tired of being grateful for the chance to take a dive."

Miss Missy -- This is a rescued artifact. In 1991, Mellencamp convened
a recording session with his bass player, Toby Myers, and two guests --
drummer Stan Lynch (then a member of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers) and
guitarist Izzy Stradlin (then a recent ex-member of Guns 'N' Roses).
"There were three or four sessions," Mellencamp says. "I thought
nothing had come of it." During the making of John Mellencamp, however,
Mahern came across the long-shelved tape and asked Mellencamp about
"Miss Missy." "I had forgotten I had even written or recorded that
song," Mellencamp says.

Chance Meeting at the Tarantula -- "I've done my share of running
around with girls," Mellencamp says during a discussion of this song,
which involves a pair of ex-lovers who have differing thoughts about
the old days. Mellencamp says he believes the narrative has a quality
reminiscent of the work of playwright Tennessee Williams.

Break Me Off Some -- Keyboard player and loops guru Moe Z. MD co-wrote
this modern R&B workout with Mellencamp and Green. It was in the
running to be the first single, but Mellencamp said the funk-flavored
track wouldn't be a fair representation of the album.

Summer of Love -- Co-written by York, this song's lyrics were inspired
by Mellencamp's Los Angeles adventures during the '70s. He and a friend
would camp out Sunday mornings on Sunset Boulevard with the sole
purpose of watching people -- primarily women -- return to their homes
after one-night stands. "I see everything in that song very vividly,"
Mellencamp says. "I see the guy. You know these people don't know each
other. There's no commitment involved here."

Days of Farewell -- Myers co-wrote this song that's propelled by a
Talking Heads-esque rhythm. The sister of Moe Z. MD provides additional
vocals that prompted a debate between Mellencamp and Green, who
believed her intense spiritual monologue didn't fit on the album.
"George and I had hundreds of conversations about whether that should
be on the record," Mellencamp says. "Of course -- since it's my record
-- he lost.