Music for Grownups Reviews: John Mellencamp, Bajofondo
By: Richard Gehr | Source: AARP.org | 2008-07-08
Richard Gehr is a veteran music critic based in New York City. His reviews for AARP.org appear every Tuesday; his columns on Thursdays.
John Mellencamp
"Life Death Love and Freedom"
Hear Music
Ironically, John Mellencamp, 56, looks at least a couple of decades younger in the photograph gracing the cover of "Life Death Love and Freedom," a deeply moving yet frankly pessimistic album that focuses on the second noun of its title.
With the exception of "My Sweet Love," which resembles a Buddy Holly or Everly Brothers hit, Mellencamp growls these songs about dashed hopes, resignation, loneliness, missed opportunities, and plain bad luck over arrangements as stark as they are beautiful. The country's not doing so well either, reckons Mellencamp in "Jena" and "Without a Shot."
Typical of this future folk classic is "For the Children," a prayerlike song so full of honesty and doubt that a line like "our troubles here, they don't last long" reflects about as much optimism as Mellencamp can muster.
Bajofondo
"Mar Dulce"
Surco/Decca
The accordion being the grandfather of the synthesizer, there's probably no easier way to dip your toe into the "sweet sea" (as the title translates) of electronic dance music than through the electrified tangos of such groups as the Gotan Project and Bajofondo.
Led by Gustavo Santaolalla, the Grammy-winning composer of "Brokeback Mountain," Bajofondo updates the music of Argentina and Uruguay with a lineup of instruments includ the “bandoneon” (a small-button accordion), guitar, violin, and sampler. Pop singer Nelly Furtado, Mexico's Julieta Venegas, and crooner Elvis Costello supply guest vocals to suavely chugging tracks that suggest either a sophisticated melancholy disco or a tango ballroom with a new lease on life.
"Life Death Love and Freedom"
Hear Music
Ironically, John Mellencamp, 56, looks at least a couple of decades younger in the photograph gracing the cover of "Life Death Love and Freedom," a deeply moving yet frankly pessimistic album that focuses on the second noun of its title.
With the exception of "My Sweet Love," which resembles a Buddy Holly or Everly Brothers hit, Mellencamp growls these songs about dashed hopes, resignation, loneliness, missed opportunities, and plain bad luck over arrangements as stark as they are beautiful. The country's not doing so well either, reckons Mellencamp in "Jena" and "Without a Shot."
Typical of this future folk classic is "For the Children," a prayerlike song so full of honesty and doubt that a line like "our troubles here, they don't last long" reflects about as much optimism as Mellencamp can muster.
Bajofondo
"Mar Dulce"
Surco/Decca
The accordion being the grandfather of the synthesizer, there's probably no easier way to dip your toe into the "sweet sea" (as the title translates) of electronic dance music than through the electrified tangos of such groups as the Gotan Project and Bajofondo.
Led by Gustavo Santaolalla, the Grammy-winning composer of "Brokeback Mountain," Bajofondo updates the music of Argentina and Uruguay with a lineup of instruments includ the “bandoneon” (a small-button accordion), guitar, violin, and sampler. Pop singer Nelly Furtado, Mexico's Julieta Venegas, and crooner Elvis Costello supply guest vocals to suavely chugging tracks that suggest either a sophisticated melancholy disco or a tango ballroom with a new lease on life.
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