Track Listing
1. When Jesus Left Birmingham
2. Junior
3. Human Wheels
4. Beige to Beige
5. Case 795 (The Family)
6. Suzanne and the Jewels
7. Sweet Evening Breeze
8. What If I Came Knocking
9. French Shoes
10. To the River
| Details | | Contributing Artists: | Lisa Germano, Sounds Of Blackness | | Distributor: | Universal Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Personnel: John Mellencamp (vocals, guitar); David Grissom (guitar, mandolin, bass); Mike Wanchic (guitar, dobro, dulcimer, background vocals); Malcolm Burn (guitar, harmonica, organ, synthesizer); Toby Myers (guitar, keyboards, bass, background vocals); John Cascella (penny whistle, accordion, organ, melodica, background vocals); Pat Peterson (accordion, maracas, background vocals); Kenny Aronoff (drums, percussion).
Producers: John Mellencamp, Malcolm Burn, David Leonard, Michael Wanchic.
Recorded at Bellmont Mall, Belmont, Indiana.
On his previous albums, John Mellencamp always infused his heartland rock with a hopefulness and party spirit that kept his paeans to the trials of the working man from becoming bleak. Not so here--if those discs were gritty rock & roll efforts, then HUMAN WHEELS is the artist's dark, confessional singer/songwriter record. Here swaggering, power-chord-driven bombast and anthemic choruses are often replaced by gently strummed mandolin, organ swells, and whispered, elegant verse. There are also hints of things to come--"Junior" and "French Shoes" are driven by dance rhythms that foreshadow the electronic beats of MR. HAPPY GO LUCKY. "What If I Came Knocking," on the other hand, is all thrashing Crazy Horse-style guitars and scary imagery. An album that is by turns disconcerting and deeply moving, HUMAN WHEELS finds John Mellencamp still rocking, but in a subdued and intensely personal manner.
Editorial Reviews
4 Stars - Excellent - ...Mellencamp's richest and most fully realized album since SCARECROW (1985)....Within these songs of middle-aged malaise, Mellencamp may not know what it means, but he knows exactly how it feels...
Rolling Stone (09/30/1993)
Highly Recommended - ...HUMAN WHEELS is just another John Mellencamp record, and it's a rewarding one...it's fortifying stuff...
Spin (11/01/1993)
4 Stars - Excellent - ...[Mellencamp] presents himself in a more lyric, mythic mode on HUMAN WHEELS...full of fairly memorable songs...done with a hint of acceptable strangeness...
Q (10/01/1993)
...there's something dark and unshaven about [HUMAN WHEELS]...the world may be in a sorry state, but by working together with such obvious joy, these musicians demonstrate how things ought to be... - Rating: A
Entertainment Weekly (09/16/1993)
Performance: Familiar / Recording: Good - ...[Mellencamp's] returned to strolling down Main Street, USA, squinting warily at life as most people live it...a splendid return to form. John Mellencamp is back home again....
Stereo Review (12/01/1993)
Performance: Familiar / Recording: Good - ...[Mellencamp's] returned to strolling down Main Street, USA, squinting warily at life as most people live it...a splendid return to form. John Mellencamp is back home again....
Stereo Review (12/01/1993)
| See an error? Submit a change request |
All rights reserved.
