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- Summary: The 22nd studio album for the singer-songwriter was self-produced (T Bone Burnett was credited as executive producer) and is his first release on the Republic Records label.
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- Record Label: Island
- Genre(s): Country, Americana, Pop/Rock, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Roots Rock, Country-Folk, Heartland Rock
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Top Track
Troubled Man | |
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It's the wake of all evil A universal mess I've always found trouble Even at my best No hopes to get better Until they put me down to rest I am a... | See the rest of the song lyrics |
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 8
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Mixed: 2 out of 8
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Negative: 0 out of 8
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MojoNov 7, 2014He's rarely sounded better. [Nov 2014, p.98]
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Sep 29, 2014The hooks are restrained, yet Mellencamp never loses sight of melodies and his fine song sense. Unsettled and disconsolate, these songs fittingly reflect their time.
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Entertainment WeeklySep 29, 2014His self-produced 22nd release is less fussily arranged, which lets Plain's simple tunes unfold breezily and organically. [3 Oct 2014, p.69]
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Sep 29, 2014He’s never inhabited traditional folk and blues-imbued settings as personally as on his 22nd album.
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Sep 30, 2014If his bitterness is unavoidable in the lyrics or in his voice, his music softens his bite, turning these tunes into melancholy laments instead of invective, so there winds up being a bit of a needed cushion to Mellencamp's straight talk on Plain Spoken.
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Sep 29, 2014Mellencamp finds his own delicate melodies, including some of the prettiest of his career. Their finery offers a sweet contrast to the increasing grit in his voice and bile in his lyrics--the most incisive of which take dead aim at himself.
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Nov 4, 2014Without Burnett directly quarterbacking the affair, the sepia overlay that tinted Life Death Love and Freedom and No Better Than This is too transparent this time around.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 0 out of 1
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Mixed: 0 out of 1
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Negative: 1 out of 1
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Mar 3, 2015
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