{"id":60628,"date":"2022-01-26T12:53:12","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T17:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/records\/john-mellencamp-strictly-a-one-eyed-jack\/"},"modified":"2022-01-26T22:38:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T03:38:01","slug":"john-mellencamp-strictly-a-one-eyed-jack","status":"publish","type":"records","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/records\/john-mellencamp-strictly-a-one-eyed-jack\/","title":{"rendered":"John Mellencamp – Strictly a One-Eyed Jack"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“I always lie to strangers – I am a man of low d\u0435gree – This world is run by men – Much more crooked than m\u0435”: bleak words sung by John Mellencamp in \u201cI Always Lie to Strangers,\u201d the opening track of Strictly a One-Eyed Jack<\/em>. Towards the end of the album, the song \u201cLie to Me\u201d puts lies in the spotlight again: “I never took much trouble – With the truth myself – So lie to me – Lord knows I’m used to it”… Such is the extent of the disillusionment Mellencamp feels, when this venerable singer from the USA\u2019s heartland sees the gangrene eating away at the heart of his country. Now in his seventies, Mellencamp has never seen reality so clearly, even if his son Speck represented him with an eye-patch (like John Wayne in True Grit<\/em>) on the portrait that illustrates this 24th studio album. This is a direct reference to the title of the album and the song \u201cSimply a One-Eyed-Jack,\u201d where John invites us to be wary of the jack seen in profile, this coveted but deceptive card (“We’d better make a move or become the victim of – That lying one-eyed Jack “). Strictly a One-Eyed Jack<\/em> is therefore a journey into the heart of lies… and Americana music at its most moving. Mellencamp’s larynx holds up, though you can hear it\u2019s been roughened up by the three packs a day its owner once smoked. Led by Andy York, the elite roots-rock troupe that accompanies the \u201cLittle Bastard from Indiana\u201d plays more tightly than ever. All in nuances like on the smoky ballad \u201cGone So Soon.\u201d Or in power as on Lie to Me<\/em> and its rural riffs. And as a bonus, Mellencamp is backed by his brother-in-arms Springsteen on three tracks, including the instant anthem \u201cWasted Days.\u201d
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