Rough Harvest

John Mellencamp | Format: Audio Cassette

Product Details

• Audio Cassette (August 17, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B00000JWNX
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,547,756 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Love and Happiness

2. In My Time of Dying

3. Between a Laugh and a Tear

4. Human Wheels

5. Rain on the Scarecrow

6. Farewell, Angelina

7. Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)

8. Jackie Brown

9. When Jesus Left Birmingham

10. The Full Catastrophe

11. Minutes to Memories

12. Under the Boardwalk

13. Wild Night [Live]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Just when critics seemed ready to consign him to the 1980s nostalgia bin, John Mellencamp began to release some of the most surprising music of his career. Albums like Mr. Happy Go Lucky fulfilled the difficult transition the Indiana singer-songwriter began on Scarecrow from a clichéd Bruce Springsteen of the heartland to an iconoclastic, dark-witted musical poet. Those charmed by Mellencamp's '90s renaissance will find this collection of unreleased studio recordings and live tracks to be further evidence of his growth as an artist. Largely recorded during a 1997 touring break, Mellencamp deconstructs previous work such as "Rain on the Scarecrow," "Jackie Brown," and "When Jesus Left Birmingham" and recasts them with a stripped-down, rootsy sensibility that's equal parts country and blues. It's much to his credit that these unadorned songs stand effortlessly alongside covers of early Bob Dylan ("Farewell Angelina" and the gritty "In My Time of Dying," a cover from Dylan's debut), as well as a deliciously folksy version of the Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk." A live take of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" is the only track here that stoops to Mellencamp's early persona, but set against the rest of the rest of this rustic jewel of an album it's a refreshing coda. Another gratifying surprise from an artist who refuses to be pigeonholed. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rough Mix, July 28, 2005

By 

Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Rough Harvest (Rpkg) (Audio CD)

After leaving Mercury for Sony, John Mellencamp still was contractual obligated to Mercury for one more release. Instead of giving them a bunch of subpar, leftover tunes, he set about to rework songs from his back catalog. Most of the songs are album tracks or minor singles, but they are not generally considered his most popular. What Mr. Mellencamp does is strip the songs down to their skeleton and adds back just a little bit of skin. The songs have a stark, raw, personal sound that makes them sound new again. "Love & Happiness", "Human Wheels", "Jackie Brown" and "Under The Boardwalk" stand out, but there isn't a bad track in the bunch. Rough Harvest is great listen as it is interesting to hear an artist go back and revisit old songs. It would have interesting to hear him give the same treatment to more familiar songs like "Cherry Bomb' or "Jack & Diane".

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Intermezzo from Mellencamp, June 6, 2003

By 

a man from the east coast (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rough Harvest (Audio CD)

An "intermezzo" is a piece of music composed for the purpose of linking two larger compositions together. Mellencamp has used this term to title one of his songs, namely "Key West Intermezzo (I saw you first)". This CD functions as an intermezzo between releases of new, original work.

This intermezzo has a function. It serves to present some of Mellencamp's best tunes in a different light, bringing their messages home ever more fully. These songs either represent Mellencamp's influences (the strikingly beautiful "Farewell Angelina" and "In my Time of Dying") or Mellencamp's most profound, and often most personal, songwriting efforts. "Jackie Brown" gets a more rythmic, percussive arrangement, as does "Between a Laugh and a Tear". "Scarecrow" gets its tempo slowed a bit, and its arrangement made stark, so that it no longer sounds like a heartland rocker's tune, but rather like something a delta bluesman would perform. Although a few songs remain faithful to their mostly-acoustic original recordings (see "Key West Intermezzo" and "When Jesus Left Birmingham"), many of these tunes utilize their new arrangements to demonstrate their strength and vitality.

Throughout his career, Mellencamp had developed from a rocker who showed occasional depth and insight into a great songwriter. The versatility of his tunes stand as a testament to his ability to communicate some fundamental truths about the realities he sees around him. By stipping down his arrangements a bit, and calling upon his blues, folk and country influences, Mellencamp enables his work to communicate more clearly the everyman experiences and insights that form the cornerstone of his best work. For example, "When Jesus Left Birmingham" has as its protagonist a man who observes, in himself and in those around him, the limitations of the human ability transcend worldly circumstances and act solely according to the dictates of the conscience and heart. Stripping the song down a bit allows the starkness of the song's observations to ring even more truly.

If you like Mellencamp, you might be pleasantly surprised by this recording. I highly recommend this CD.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mellencamp Raw, January 2, 2001

By 

Matt (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rough Harvest (Audio CD)

You'll never hear these songs on eighties music stations, which is where you'll find most of John Cougar Mellencamp's work. But if you're looking for John "Cougar" Mellencamp's latest release, look elsewhere. In Rough Harvest, Mellencamp & co. cut softer, more introspective songs, similar to those of his last two albums ("John Mellencamp" and "Mr. Happy Go Lucky"). In fact one of the songs on this almbum is an alternate cut of "Mr. Happy Go Lucky's" big hit, "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First.)" Fans looking for a throwback to earlier Mellencamp will enjoy a live rendition of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" which Mellencamp and Me'Shell NdegeOcello covered so well. While the in-your-face style of "The Authority Song" and "Paper in Fire" are absent, Rough Harvest does include a few fast-paced songs like "Love and Happiness" and my pick for best song on the album "Human Wheels". I'd rank this album in my top ten for the 90's, with breathing room. This is a great album for both Mellencamp fans and those unfamiliar with his previous work.