John Mellencamp - Sad Clowns & Hillbillies

"Sad Clowns & Hillbillies is a solid effort with as many peaks and valleys as southern Indiana." — Paste Magazine

Sad Clowns & Hillbillies is the 23rd album from John Mellencamp, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame icon and Grammy
winning singer-songwriter.

The new album features a mixture of songs written by Mellencamp and Carlene Carter (daughter of June Carter Cash), along with direct collaborations between the duo. Mellencamp also teams up with Martina McBride for the track "Grandview."

On the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration, Mellencamp released the brooding political ballad "Easy Target," which addresses income inequality and Black Lives Matter.

"Openers 'Mobile Blues' and 'Battle Of Angels,' then 'Grandview' (a by-the-numbers paean to trailers featuring country-pop star Martina McBride) sound curiously lowkey... but when the album delivers on its artwork credit and starts 'featuring Carlene Carter,' the magic really happens. ... Carter duets on five of the 13 songs, notably 'What Kind Of Man Am I' (sung by Sheryl Crow in Ghost Brothers...) and the light-hearted 'Sugar Hill Mountain' (from Ithaca), while elsewhere Mellencamp shines alone — particularly on 'Sad Clowns' (where his voice and lyric hurtles into Tom Waits territory) and 'All Night Talk Radio.' Miriam Sturm adds stellar fiddle work everywhere, before the album ends brilliantly with a thigh-slappin' Carter duet — 'My Soul's Got Wings' featuring lyrics by Woody Guthrie — and Mellencamp's own barbed state-of-the-nation lament 'Easy Target,' its 'black lives matter' theme biting deep and proving he's a man we should never ignore." — Classic Rock Magazine

 

1. Mobile Blues

2. Battles of Angels

3. Grandview featuring Martina McBride

4. Indigo Sunset

5. What Kind of Man Am I

6. All Night Talk Radio

7. Sugar Hill Mountain

8. You are Blind

9. Damascus Road

10. Early Bird Cafe

11. Sad Clowns

12. My Soul’s Got Wings

13. Easy Target

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