Plain Spoken

Plain Spoken
Studio album by John Mellencamp
Released	September 23, 2014
Recorded	2014 at Belmont Mall Studio in Belmont, Indiana
Genre	Americana, folk rock, roots rock, heartland rock
Label	Republic Records
John Mellencamp chronology
Trouble No More Live at Town Hall (2014) Plain Spoken (2014)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Pop-Topia	[1]
Team Rock	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
New York Daily News	[4]
Allmusic	[5]
PopMatters	[6]

Plain Spoken is the 20th studio album by American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp. It was released on September 23, 2014 by Republic Records.^[7] Plain Spoken marks the first project of Mellencamp's new lifetime recording contract with Republic Records. The album's cover photo was taken by actress Meg Ryan, Mellencamp's on-again-off-again girlfriend.

Recording and production

Mellencamp began recording the album in January 2014 at his Belmont Mall Studio in Belmont, Indiana. In late 2013, Mellencamp told Rolling Stone magazine: "I've got a notebook with 85 new songs that I've written for my next record. T Bone Burnett is going to come out to Indiana sometime in early January and we're gonna go into the studio for however long it takes to make a new album. I haven't done one in five years."^[8] As Mellencamp mentioned, T Bone Burnett, who had produced Mellencamp's previous two studio albums and the soundtrack to his musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, was originally going to serve as the producer of Plain Spoken, but Burnett is credited only as "executive producer" in the album's liner notes and there is nobody credited as the album's "producer."

Promotion

"Troubled Man," which Mellencamp debuted during his brief summer tour in June and July 2014, was the album's first single. It went on sale at iTunes on August 19 and impacted radio on September 8.^[9]

On September 10, 2014, Mellencamp announced plans for an 80-date Plain Spoken tour, which hit most major areas in the United States and Canada. The tour began on January 21, 2015 and concluded on August 4, making it one of his largest tours in years. Carlene Carter served as the opening act at every show on the tour and a portion of the ticket proceeds from the tour finale held in Indianapolis at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse were donated to the Riley Children's Foundation, which supports Riley Hospital for Children ^[10]

Lyrical themes

The 10 songs on Plain Spoken tackle a wide variety of subject matter, with some songs taking on a personal tone, some dealing with society problems in the 21st century, and others serving as character sketches of down and out and troubled people. "Tears in Vain" touches on Mellencamp's recent divorce from Elaine Irwin, his wife of 18 years. The song's lyrics hint at infidelity on Irwin's part ("I just sit here by myself/As you meet your friend down the road"). "Blue Charlotte" is a folk-based acoustic love song sung from the perspective of a man spending his final days with his dying wife. The spiritually-centric "Sometimes There's God" outlines various situations when God is present in a person's life ("Sometimes there's God/When sickness is healed"), and other times when His presence isn't so apparent ("Sometimes you work/Only in vain"). "Lawless Times," the album's closing track, rails against the various aspects of today's society that seem less than moral, from "creepers tapping on your cell phone" to the widespread digital theft of music ("If you wanna steal this song/It can be easily loaded down").

Track listing

All songs written by John Mellencamp.

1. "Troubled Man" - 4:14
2. "Sometimes There's God" - 4:34
3. "The Isolation of Mister" - 5:35
4. "The Company of Cowards" - 3:52
5. "Tears in Vain" - 3:53
6. "The Brass Ring" - 5:37
7. "Freedom of Speech" - 3:53
8. "Blue Charlotte" - 4:40
9. "The Courtesy of Kings" - 3:33
10. "Lawless Times" - 3:52

Personnel

• Andy York – Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Mike Wanchic – Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• T Bone Burnett – Electric guitar
• John Gunnell – Bass
• Dane Clark – Drums
• Miriam Sturm – Violin
• Troye Kinnett – Keyboards

Charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11]	19
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12]	84
Italian Albums (FIMI)[13]	97
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14]	58
US Billboard 200[15]	18
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[16]	2
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[17]	9
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[18]	5
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[19]	13

References

1. Jay Roberts (October 5, 2014). "John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken". Pop-Topia.
2. Chris Roberts (September 23, 2014). "John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken". TeamRock.
3. Jon Dolan (September 23, 2014). "Plain Spoken". Rolling Stone.
4. [. New York Daily News. September 23, 2014 http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/new-music-rush-article-1.1948475. Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. "Plain Spoken". Allmusic.
6. "Plain Spoken". PopMatters.
7. "John Mellencamp Signs 'Lifetime' Deal With Republic; New Album This Fall". Billboard. May 29, 2014.
8. "John Mellencamp Hard at Work on New Album, Eyes Massive 2014 Tour". Rolling Stone. December 6, 2013.
9. "John Mellencamp's New Album "Plain Spoken" Will Be Released September 23, 2014 On Republic Records Tour". Mellencamp.com. August 14, 2014.
10. "John Mellencamp Announces Plain Spoken 2015 North American Tour". Yahoo.com. September 10, 2014.
11. "John Mellencamp – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for John Mellencamp. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
12. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
13. "Artisti - Classifica settimanale WK 39 (dal 22-09-2014 al 28-09-2014)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
14. "Swisscharts.com – John Mellencamp – Plain Spoken". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
15. "John Mellencamp – Chart history" Billboard 200 for John Mellencamp. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
16. "John Mellencamp – Chart history" Billboard Folk Albums for John Mellencamp. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
17. "John Mellencamp – Chart history" Billboard Digital Albums for John Mellencamp. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
18. "John Mellencamp – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for John Mellencamp. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
19. "John Mellencamp – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for John Mellencamp. Retrieved October 2, 2014.