John Mellencamp has always been a protester. But not like this. “Life, Death, Love and Freedom,” Mellencamp’s newest release on Concord Records, is radically different from the start. In the hauntingly stripped-down album’s opening track, he sings:

Nothing lasts forever / Your best efforts don’t always pay / Sometimes you get sick / And you don’t get better / That’s when life is short / Even in its longest days

“Life, Death, Love and Freedom” isn’t, as the title suggests, Mellencamp’s next “Rockin’ in the USA” or “Little Pink Houses.” And you won’t find cutesy Americana like Jack and Diane here, either. Instead, the album is raw, unrelenting, and dark. The standout track “A Ride Back Home” underscores Mellencamp’s weariness of age:

Hey Jesus can you get me a ride back home / I’ve been out here in this world too long on my own / I won’t bother you no more / If you can just get me in the door / Hey Jesus can you get me a ride back home

This is an album of blacks and whites and all the gray areas in between. It’s an album of stark contrasts - high hopes and bitter disappointments. Mellencamp, who in 2004 joined the Vote for Change Tour in support of John Kerry’s presidential campaign, makes no secret of his contempt for what has become of the America of his youth. In one of the album’s most political songs - “Without a Shot” - Mellencamp accompanies a stark mandolin and haunting field organ:

The distant sleeping shadows / That lie out in the yard / The wind that distorts the meaning / Of who we really are / Saluting of ourselves / As we pass by our mirrors / This show of phony adulation / Just masquerades all our fears … So the hole gets dug deeper / With every wedding bell / And we sell each other down the road / ‘Til there’s nothing left to sell / And slowly but surely / We disappear without a trace / We point our fingers at each other / Say what the hell happened to this place / Without a shot / Without a shot / Without a shot

This is without a doubt one of Mellencamp’s finest albums, and even newcomers to the rock legend will recognize the sound of a master at the top of his artistic game. Complementing the album’s harsh lyricism is a voice that time has weathered into prophecy. In “Jena,” the album’s most controversial track, Mellencamp mourns the racial violence that persists in America today, citing the recent intimidation in the Louisiana city:

An all white jury hides the executioner’s face / See how we are me and you / Everyone here needs to know their place / Let’s keep this blackbird hidden in the flue / Oh oh oh Jena … Take your nooses down

In the midst of the darkness, however, “Life, Death, Love and Freedom” offers glimpses of light. On the standout rockin’ track “My Sweet Love,” Mellencamp gives lifelong fans some of that ol’ time rock ‘n’ roll religion, giving such classics as “Jack and Diane” a run for their money. And “For the Children” is as moving a prayer as rock has offered in a long, long time:

I hope you can be a child of life / With big dreams for everyone / And know that dying’s as natural as birth / And our troubles here / They don’t last long / I have worried about many things / Most of which did not come to pass / I hope you find someone to give you love / And that your love will last / I can’t even make a guess or an uneducated thought / All I can do here is my best / And be thankful for what we’ve got / What we’ve got

Most of “Life, Death, Love and Freedom” is concerned with darkness and the struggle to merely hold to life amidst uncertainty. But make no mistake about it: above all, this album is about love and the power of redemption. In the closing track, “A Brand New Song,” Mellencamp sings:

Life is always in motion / New people to count on / Here we find a purpose / To sing a brand new song / Brand new song / To sing a brand new song

In “Life, Death, Love and Freedom,” John Mellencamp has proven himself as much a kind of American folk prophet as an exceptionally talented rocker.

Rating: 5/5