Search - John Cougar Mellencamp :: Big Daddy

Its not about the politics, its the songs

brian skinner | cranberry twp, pa USA | 09/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't see why people in here have to bring up g.w when he was not even president when this album was recorded. Having said that I think John mellencamp and Steve Earle are two of the best songwriters out there and I'm a republican. I really love this and the previous album "lonesome Jubilee" for some reason this album never really stuck with me at the time It came out. But after listening to the samples I can see what I have been missing out on all these years."

Mellencamp's finest album

J. Houzet | Chicago, IL | 03/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Personally, Big Daddy is my favorite JM album. It is a little on the lean side in terms of recording minutes (each song is quite short), but it is strong on tunes and lyrics. It is much more laid-back than JM's earlier work and he has retained the folk instruments of The Lonesome Jubilee. People may say that lyrically he is being clichéd and rehashing his previous work, but I really like this album. Apparently (and obviously from the cover photo and title) JM was feeling reflective as a father, and it helps.
The title track is a catchy little song. The next two tracks are listed as singles on my cassette copy of the album, but they aren't my favorites. The two story-songs, "Theo and Weird Henry" and "Jackie Brown" are what hooked me. "Jackie Brown" especially got a lot of airplay in South Africa. It's a sad song about growing up poor and dying alone and almost forgotten.
Side two is actually the stronger part of the album. "Pop Singer" was the first single, JM's ironic look at himself. I just love the tracks "Void in My Heart" and "Mansions in Heaven." Those are tunes I never get tired of hearing. When I have come across this album in a jukebox, those are the two songs I put money in to hear first. Mellencamp also has his political commentary here. "Country Gentleman" and "J.M.'s Question" lament the greed and the poverty of the late `80s. The CD also has a bonus track I have not heard in its entirety."

A great record from a great songwriter

A man from the east coast | The East Coast of the USA | 03/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Folks, I'll make this short. This record has no anthems on it, no groundbreaking rock 'n roll-as-great-art tunes like "Scarecrow" and "Small Town". It is an understated, subtle masterpiece of a man exploring the depths of his soul and finding both tremendous pain and great dignity. JM goes to many places in the heart on this one, and each journey is remarkable in its own way. He is the type of plain spoken songwriter who can speak volumes in just a few lines when other writers would need entire books, screenplays and albums to say. Example: "There's a void in my heart / I can't seem to fill / I do charity work when I believe in the cause / but my soul it bothers me still". Yes, we've all been there ... some folks never find their way out of that place.



I think JM did find his way out, especially on the advent of his third marriage, which came (I think) after the recording of "Whenever We Wanted". On this record, his second marriage was breaking up do to his repeated infidelities. To give you an example of his mindset during the recording of this record, here's a quote he made regarding the demise of his union to Vicki Mellencamp: "I want to get back together, but I really don't see what would change, and I don't want to hurt this woman anymore. She doesn't deserve it."



I think that this record represents a time in JM's life in which, deep in his heart, he felt truly lost. You can hear it in his voice and in his words, and that is a lot of what makes this record a masterpiece.

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