GREENLIGHTS (audiobook) by Matthew McConaughey

Published in October of 2020 by Random House Audio.
Read by the author, Matthew McConaughey.
Duration: 6 hours, 42 minutes.
Unabridged,

Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey's memoirs are a unique blend of life lessons, reminiscing and bumper stickers that he admired. The title, Greenlights, refers to life giving you opportunities to move forward that you need to take.

The life lessons and bumper stickers are laid out as he tells his life story. He decided to acknowledge his 50th birthday by going through his diaries and notebooks full of observations that he has kept for decades. It is not a true biography, but it is not a true philosophical discussion. What he ends up with is a rambling, yet endearing story.

Some observations:

-His childhood was more than a little concerning.

-I loved his decision to go on the road for a year. 

-John Mellencamp. He's a fan - he quotes his songs several times. I get it. 

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey.

String Quartet Tribute to John Mellencamp by the Vitamin String Quartet

Does it work? Yes, oddly enough it does!

Released in 2003 by Vitamin Records

I am a dyed-in-the-wool Mellencamp fan and I have been since American Fool came out in 1982. Fans like me could either love projects like this, or absolutely hate them and view them like a desecration. The attitude taken towards the project has a lot to do with it and this album has taken a respectful attitude towards Mellencamp's work.

The songs have been adapted for String Quartet but have not been radically altered - you can sing right along with them if you'd like. Most have been thoughtfully chosen - for example, if it featured a strong fiddle component, such as "Paper in Fire" than it was worked in to this album.

"Peaceful World" is achingly beautiful in this adaptation. "Small Town" has a more melancholy tone than the original song, but it is not at all inappropriate. It is also quite beautiful and it is respectful reinterpretation of this anthem to small town life.

John Mellencamp

The only duds in the group are "Hurts So Good" and "Jack and Diane." Unlike the other songs which seem to have been carefully chosen for their string quartet friendliness, these had to have been chosen because they are two Mellencamp standards - you cannot have a collection of his work without them. Heck, the first song I cued up was "Jack and Diane". It just did not translate well.

 Most are strong, two are tremendous, two are weak.

If you are a true Mellencamp fan (a Mellenhead, if you will) this one is one to pick up. I rate the entire collection 4 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: String Quartet Tribute to John Mellencamp.

Reviewed on July 20, 2007.

The Best of John Mellencamp: 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

A review from a Mellencamp fan from way back

Released by Island in 2007

I was kind of torn about giving this collection a 5 star rating - not because it is not a quality sampling of his work, because they are all good choices. But, there's so much that has been left out. But, reality has to set in and the CD publisher just has to leave stuff out - there is only room for ten songs in this collection series.

I always check out the "20th Century Masters" series when I am browsing in the CD section because they usually get a strong cross-section of an artist's work. This is fairly easy if the artist is a flash-in-the-pan type, but Mellencamp has been cranking out hits for more than 25 years. Sure, his best days as a top seller are long gone, but he continues to put out quality work and scores an occasional top 40 song. The wealth of hits to choose from must have made the choices a bit tricky.

This album is arranged in reverse chronological order, covers most of his albums and definitely samples his changes in style. The only album that is represented with two songs is 1985's "Scarecrow". This is arguably his best album and although I personally like "Lonely Ol' Night" much better than "R.O.C.K. In the U.S.A.", "R.O.C.K." is one of his best-known hits and has more than earned its place on this compilation.

This is most likely not an album for the serious Mellencamp fan (or Mellenhead as some prefer or Mellencamper as John's concert T-shirts say) because a serious fan would have all of these songs on the original albums or on the greatest hits album ("Words and Music") that he recently released. But, it is a good starting point for the casual fan or as a gift for someone who is just starting to convert over to a digital collection (like I said, I'm a fan from way back - I still have Mellencamp on cassette tapes and even on a few on vinyl.)

I rate this collection 5 stars out of 5.

This CD can be found on Amazon.com here: The Best of John Mellencamp: 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection.

Reviewed on November 18, 2007.

Born in a Small Town: John Mellencamp by Heather Johnson

A much-needed biography for Mellencamp fans

Published in 2007 by Omnibus Press.

Born in a Small Town: John Mellencamp makes use of a previous biography, American Fool: The Roots and Improbable Rise of John Cougar Mellencamp by Martin Torgoff, but that was published in 1986, before John's most successful era with the Scarecrow and Lonesome Jubilee and Big Daddy albums.

Heather Johnson's unauthorized, but nonetheless well-researched biography is based on the Torgoff book, interviews with 25 people over an eight-month period in 2006. These include band members, producers and even Elaine Mellencamp, but not John. There are 4 pages of sources, including magazine, newspaper and TV interview and even a letter Mellencamp wrote to Seymour Daily Tribune when he was in high school. But, the book lacks some credibility without having John's explicit involvement.

Positives:

Well-researched, as already noted.

John Mellencamp

The author, Heather Johnson, knows her way around the music studio, which is a credit to the book since that is where the music that Mellencamp fans is created and recorded.

Wonderfully detailed index.

Nice discography, including the unauthorized releases by the Main Man producers after John made it big.

Negatives:

-When I read Born In A Small Town there were times where I wondered if she has actually been to Indiana. She refers to an ancestor (Johann Herman Mollenkamp) that helped organize the White Creek Lutheran Church in Hamilton Township (Jackson County). Well, that church is in Bartholomew County (although not far away). Nitpicky, maybe, but this is a big deal to me because I grew up right in the heart of Mellencamp-land and I went to Indiana University. I learned to skate at the Rok-Sey roller rink (a Mellencamp family businesses where you could request John Cougar songs all night long.) and I can talk about all of the places in Seymour in the Small Town video.

-She refers to Vincennes, IN as being "nearby" to Seymour, IN (p. 5). Hardly.

-She claims John and his band performed 1,000 dates with the Kinks in 8 months in 1980 (p. 41). That would be 4 performances per day, every day. Wow. Also, highly unlikely.

-She calls Guns 'N Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin an "Indianian". There is no such word, as any Hoosier will tell you.

At times her low-key writing style wears thin - too informal, too many repeated phrases.

**********

Okay, despite these nit picky negatives, I did enjoy the book. Johnson's details about the process of the creation of John's music are interesting. Mellencamp's songs are the soundtrack of my life in a lot of ways. I listened to American Fool, Uh-Huh, Scarecrow and The Lonesome Jubilee so many times that if you play me one of the songs, I can sing it, tell you the album and the songs that precede and follow it. If it is the same with you, go ahead and pick this one up.

I rate this biography 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Born in a Small Town.

Reviewed on July 19, 2008.

Too Long In The Wasteland by James McMurtry

One of the best albums I have ever heard for driving, listening and. 

Released in 1989.

I bought this album on the recommendation of a friend and boy am I glad I did! The lyrics are intentionally poignant and yet work without being cheesy. You can tell that he inherited his dad's (Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurtry) ability to mold and use the English language. But the great thing is that the music is just as good as the lyrics - you'd be singing along even if the words were meaningless.

This album was made with John Mellencamp's band - sort of on loan. The music is very solid, but the stories told by the lyrics steal the show.

I gave my only copy to a friend (and fellow fan who had worn his cassette out) that was called up to active duty after 9/11 - I knew that he could use the boost more than me.

Every McMurtry album has great songs but this one is strong all of the way through!

I rate this album 5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on August 14, 2004.

This album can be found on Amazon.com here: Too Long In The Wasteland by James McMurtry.

Scarecrow by John Mellencamp

Awesome album

Released in 1985.

The first five songs on Scarecrow are as great together as any combination that I've ever run across on an album. They remind me of my rural Indiana roots - "Rain on the Scarecrow' starts us out at the farm, 'Grandma's Theme' reminds me of my own grandmother's voice, 'Small Town' and 'Minutes to Memories' link the urban and rural Indiana experience and 'Lonely Ol' Night' captures that restless, lonely spirit that we've all had. Perfectly put together.

This is not Mellencamp's best album overall (Uh-Huh is his best overall album, in my opinion) but it does have many of his absolute best, including 'Lonely ol' Night' and 'Small Town'. 

Truly a great album. 

Wonderful.

I rate this album 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Scarecrow by John Mellencamp.

Reviewed on August 14, 2004.